MoJ “firing in wrong direction” on PI reforms, says justice committee chair
Bob Neill, Conservative MP and chairman of the justice select committee, has accused the Ministry of Justice of “firing in entirely the wrong direction” in its plans to reform low-value personal injury claims. He said the focus should be on putting claims management companies out of business.
Top crime solicitor and former GCHQ legal head sanctioned over advice after CPS complaint
One of the country’s top white-collar crime lawyers and a former head of legal affairs of GCHQ have been fined for advising a client to remove material from their premises ahead of a police search. It was the Crown Prosecution Service that complained to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Solicitor reported after personal relationship with witness raises conflict concern
A solicitor acting for a father in a care case has been reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority after it emerged she was in a personal relationship with a witness. Her Honour Judge Cameron in Medway Family Court said it was the third occasion such an instance had occurred with this solicitor.
Baker McKenzie to introduce AI-based due diligence technology as part of innovation drive
Baker McKenzie, the world’s second biggest law firm, has announced plans to introduce due diligence software based on machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, as part of an innovation drive that looks to import ‘design thinking’ into how it delivers legal services.
Burford and Gateley beat the market but most legal stocks underperformed in 2016
Most listed UK businesses with a strong legal element did not prove good investments in 2016, although litigation finance business Burford Capital and national law firm Gateley both bucked the trend in eye-catching fashion, a Legal Futures analysis has found.
AI-based start-up aims to give law firm and their clients glimpse of the future
A start-up using artificial intelligence (AI) to filter news and information, offering services that include being able to track how firms are perceived in the media and also give them intelligence tailored to their clients’ businesses, has acquired several major practices as clients.
Exclusive: PI reforms could make justice system “unworkable”, district judges tell government
The judges on the front line of low-value personal injury litigation have added a powerful voice of opposition to the government’s proposed reforms, saying the civil justice system could become “unworkable” as a result. The Association of District Judges said they should at least be deferred until court reform is completed in 2022.
Profession under fire after Shiner is struck off
The decision of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal yesterday to strike off human rights lawyer Phil Shiner over his conduct of abuse claims against British soldiers in Iraq has received unprecedented coverage across the media today and arguably put the entire legal profession on the back foot.
Low-overhead barrister law firm aims “to pass on cost savings to commercial clients”
Two barristers have launched a Bar Standards Board-regulated entity offering commercial advice as an alternative to traditional chambers, hoping to pass on the savings from low overheads to clients. Lorna Hackett and David Dabbs have formed Hampshire-based Hackett & Dabbs.
Call for delay to making online court mandatory by “up to 10 years”
The online court should be trialled alongside physical courts for five to 10 years because so many people will be excluded – some one in five according to government figures – from accessing digital-only services, according to a leading researcher.
