Not about the money: personal injury firm to open City “client knowledge hub”
Defendant personal injury firm BC Legal is launching an unusual “client knowledge hub” in the City next month, which will provide a range of free services but “very little fee-earning”. It said the hub would offer training, software demonstrations and free access to meeting rooms, a roof terrace, a gym and a hotel.
Hackathon aims to “harness technology to improve access to justice”
A legal hackathon is to be held north of the border as part of a push to stimulate lawtech innovation among Scottish law firms and promote the use of technology in improving access to justice. Two broad challenges will be presented in the hope that technological solutions emerge, such as mobile phone or computer apps.
Sumption: Legal specialisations are “essentially bogus”
Legal specialisations are “essentially bogus”, Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption declared today as he urged practitioners to break out of their core areas and learn from other parts of the profession. He said he did not regard law as comprising distinct bundles of rules, one for each area of human affairs.
Four websites accessing law firm information in SRA open data initiative
Only four organisations have so far taken advantage of a Solicitors Regulation Authority initiative that gives them access to information about all 10,000 law firms. On top of the searchable, online database of firms that was announced in March, this basic data was also made available to registered data re-publishers via a new web service.
Immigration advisers using McKenzie Friend status “to dodge regulation”
People are avoiding regulation as immigration advisers by “purportedly acting as McKenzie Friends”, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner has warned. It said they were “effectively frustrating the will of Parliament”.
We need full separation from Law Society to police money laundering, SRA tells Treasury
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has opened a second front in its campaign for full separation from the Law Society by appealing to the Treasury to intervene over the issue of money laundering. The Ministry of Justice is expected to reveal its plans on separation after the EU referendum.
Law Society pushes ahead with governance reforms
The Law Society has said it is making progress in its overhaul of governance, after its ruling council agreed that work should be done to “develop suggestions for change in more detail”. However, it is unclear exactly what council members have agreed.
Conveyancers sanctioned for advice failures and registration oversight
A conveyancer who failed to report important details to lender clients or follow their instructions in over 100 transactions has been fined £2,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Meanwhile, an assistant solicitor who failed to secure a party’s interest in a property by registering a form at the Land Registry, has been fined £5,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Solicitor who faked client care letters in “moment of madness” is struck off
A solicitor who faked three client care letters and backdated them has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. The SDT rejected Rafique Chowdhury’s claims that he acted “in a moment of madness” and was “regularising the files, not seeking to mislead anyone”.
Online legal document firm creates “dementia-specific” lasting power of attorney
A business specialising in legal documents has created a web-based, dementia-specific lasting power of attorney that it claims is far superior to the online LPA provided by the government. Net Lawman has teamed up with the Alzheimer Society-backed dementia support website Unforgettable.org to distribute the LPA.
