Despite Brexit and Trump, law firms have “grounds for optimism” on cross-border trade
Law firms advising on cross-border commerce should be “cautiously positive that Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as US president will not damage future global trade or the legal work that flows from it, according to a report. It said the long-term trend in trade and its regulation is not protectionism but rather continuing globalisation.
Clifford Chance and litigation partner fined £100,000 for unlawful CFA
City giant Clifford Chance and partner Alexandros Panayides have agreed to pay fines of £50,000 each for conducting the infamous Excalibur case under an unlawful confidential fee agreement. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has approved an ‘agreed outcome’ that means a full hearing will not be held.
Vos: Courts need to embrace ODR or risk younger generation losing faith in justice system
The courts need to “move fast” to develop online dispute resolution and other forms of speedier dispute resolution, “before the millennials lose faith in the way the older generation is content to deliver justice”, the Chancellor of the High Court has warned. He also said that technology that aimed to forecast the outcome of disputes was “very useful”.
Regional firm forges alliance with US legal business in differentiation push
A south-east commercial firm has signed a memorandum of understanding with an American firm of legal consultants to meet the needs of in-house counsel without “bulking up” its own business. Its managing partner said there was a “massive gap in the market” for client-centred law firms as general counsel became increasingly frustrated with their panels.
LSB rejects call to harmonise indemnity insurance and compensation rules
The Legal Services Board has rejected a call from its consumer panel to consider a centralised regime of financial protection for clients to replace what the panel called the “fragmented” nature of insurance and compensation arrangements across the different legal regulators.
Chatbot-based ‘firm without lawyers’ launched
A lawyer has launched an artificial intelligence-backed (AI) chatbot that powers what he calls the ‘Law Firm Without Lawyers’, initially aimed at consumer and tax law but shortly to be extended to domestic violence. Ailira is short for Artificially Intelligent Legal Information Resource Assistant.
Slater & Gordon: It will take 18 months to complete separation of UK and Australian businesses
It will take around 18 months to completely separate Slater & Gordon’s Australian and UK operations, the law firm revealed this week as it told shareholders that failure to approve plans to recapitalise the business will leave it facing an “unsustainable” level of debt.
CMC which failed in its due diligence over text messages loses bid to overturn regulator’s £50,000 fine
A claims management company has failed to overturn a £50,000 fine imposed by the Claims Management Regulator last summer for breaching the rules relating to third-party referrals, misleading information and keeping proper records.
Six years after it was due to begin, BSB pulls the plug on QASA
The Bar Standards Board effectively killed the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) today – six years after it was meant to come into force – by saying it was pulling out to go in a different direction to assure the quality of criminal advocates. QASA was originally meant to start in December 2011.
Tribunal berates “careless and disrespectful approach” of SRA and solicitors it was prosecuting
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has criticised both the Solicitors Regulation Authority and two former directors of a Preston law firm for their “careless and disrespectful approach” in applying for approval of an ‘agreed outcome’ only a day before their hearing. The pair were accused of multiple accounts rules breaches and also allowing non-solicitors to control the firm.
