Government PI reforms will push 80% of RTA cases into small claims court, research finds
Hundreds of thousands of people face the prospect of pursuing their personal injury claims through the small claim court after new research showed that 80% of road traffic accident claims settled by solicitors over the past year were for less than £5,000.
Online courts hackathon won by Colin – a talking digital assistant for litigants
Some 220 lawyers and technologists battled each other at a 24-hour hackathon over the weekend, overseen by the likes of the Lord Chief Justice and Professor Richard Susskind, to devise useful software tools that could support the forthcoming online courts. The winner used voice interaction and an online help assistant to assist litigants.
SRA shuts down law firm referred by Court of Appeal after it revoked £500,000 costs order
A law firm referred to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) by the Court of Appeal earlier this year has been shut down by the regulator. Neumans, a City firm specialising in criminal law, had a further office in Manchester, and, according to the Law Society website, employed 20 solicitors before it was shut yesterday.
Clients bankrupted by dishonest solicitor lose Court of Appeal case
The former clients of a solicitor whose dishonesty left them in what a High Court judge described as a ‘Kafkaesque’ situation that wrongly led to their bankruptcy, have seemingly reached the end of the road in seeking legal restitution.
First disbarred, now in jail – “charlatan” barrister imprisoned for legal advice offences
A barrister who continued to offer immigration law advice after being disbarred has been jailed and branded a “charlatan” by the sentencing judge for taking advantage of “vulnerable and often desperate people”.
EU lays out opening gambit in Brexit negotiations over cross-border legal co-operation
All cross-border civil legal matters started before Brexit should continue to operate under EU law after the UK leaves the union, the European Commission has proposed. However, it has left the question of what should happen to matters that post-date Brexit up for negotiation.
New rules mean being cleared of misconduct by disciplinary tribunal may not be the end for barristers
Barristers who are cleared of misconduct by a disciplinary tribunal can still be sanctioned for breaching the BSB Handbook, under new changes to the rules approved by the Legal Services Board. The Bar Standards Board said the changes aimed to fill a “gap” in its disciplinary powers.
ABSs set sights beyond pure legal services by launching corporate finance arms
Two alternative business structures have moved to extend their reach to corporate finance advisory work with separate joint ventures. Cardiff-based Greenaway Scott Group has launched a boutique as part of a joint venture with Lime Finance, while Needle Partners in Leeds has teamed up with Sheffield-based corporate advice firm Mackenzie Spencer.
Regulators to take price transparency rules slowly as SRA outlines limited pilot
Legal regulators have responded cautiously to the Competition and Markets Authority’s recommendations on price transparency, pledging to pilot regulatory requirements and test their effects on the lawyers and firms they regulate. They promised to implement controversial measures to encourage lawyers to publish prices if possible.
Associate arrested after “trying to extort money from Dentons with stolen emails”
A junior associate at Dentons has been arrested for allegedly threatening to send confidential and sensitive information – including financial reports and details of how the firm determined its billing rates – to a legal blog if the firm did not hand over around £160,000 and a piece of artwork from its office.
