“Massive memory test” preventing Bar students from understanding ethical values
Bar students are struggling to understand ethical values because of the “massive memory test” awaiting them in the examination room, a senior lecturer has claimed. William Ralston, a former barrister, also questioned why anti-money laundering does not feature in the Bar professional training course exam.
Queen’s Speech: Government to press ahead with PI reform and court modernisation
The government is to reintroduce its personal injury reforms, it was confirmed this morning in the Queen’s Speech, provoking fury among claimant lawyers. What was the Prisons & Courts Bill will not be reintroduced but there is to be both a Civil Liability Bill for the PI changes and a Courts Bill to progress court modernisation.
Legal chatbot to issue own currency as new platform aims to predict case outcomes
LawBot, a legal advice chatbot created by four Cambridge University law students, is to relaunch next month in seven countries with the aim of becoming a commercial operation funded by issuing its own cryptocurrency. The new version analyses the quality of users’ claims, moving from decision-tree reasoning to data-driven intelligence.
Law firms, legal executives and licensed conveyancers join forces to lobby for leasehold reform
A new property law alliance, the Legal Sector Group, has written to the government with a detailed set of proposals on leasehold reform. It brings together the Conveyancing Association, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the Society of Licensed Conveyancers and the Bold Legal Group. The Law Society has decided not to join.
Prevalence of all-male teams of counsel at Supreme Court “damaging diversity”, research finds
Supreme Court judges should question the make-up of all-male teams of barristers appearing before the highest court in the land as their prevalence is damaging diversity in the profession, researchers have argued. The work highlighted the existence of homophily at the Supreme Court – the tendency of people to associate and bond with their own gender.
Yet another firm comes a cropper by promoting SDLT avoidance schemes
A law firm in Surrey has become the latest to be sanctioned for its involvement in stamp duty land tax avoidance schemes, even though it stopped working on them within eight hours of the Solicitors Regulation Authority issuing a warning about their dubious nature.
Road trip seeks out top European lawtech start-ups
Nextlaw Labs – the tech venture launched by global law firm Dentons – has joined with London lawtech community Legal Geek to tour European capitals in search of the best legal technology. So far, a team of lawyers and technologists has visited Amsterdam and Berlin, and will visit Brussels this week and Paris next week, before returning to London’s Canary Wharf.
SDT strikes off solicitor for dishonesty after 45 years of practice
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor for dishonestly backdating enduring powers of attorney and claiming to have witnessed signatures “to save clients money” after an unblemished career of more than 40 years. He also failed to return money to a client for at least six years and used some of it for the benefit of another client.
Firm that broke assurance not to act for client’s ex-wife still entitled to unpaid fees, CA rules
A law firm that gave a client an assurance that it would not act for his ex-wife, but later handled two small matters for her, did not breach its fiduciary duty to him and could claim for unpaid fees, the Court of Appeal has ruled. It also found that the firm had the power to retain a lien over his files until he paid.
Fee-earner who forged clients’ signatures on LPAs banned from profession
A fee-earner who signed lasting powers of attorney in the names of her clients and misled the Office of the Public Guardian has accepted a rebuke, £1,000 fine and ban on working for law firms in the future. Meanwhile, a solicitor and a barrister separately convicted of drink driving have also been sanctioned.
