Practice Management

The case of the law firm partner required to retire at 65 has finally reached an end after an employment tribunal rejected the age discrimination claim brought by Leslie Seldon against Kent firm Clarkson Wright & Jakes.

A barristers’ chambers which offered an unfunded pupillage to a former police chief constable has lost its appeal against a Bar Standards Board decision that the move ran foul of equality rules designed to stop ‘rich kids’ from self-funding.

The abolition of referral fees is “dramatically reshaping” the online personal injury (PI) market, with legal brands pushing out claims management companies, according to major new research seen exclusively by Legal Futures.

Artificial intelligence will be in widespread use by tomorrow’s law businesses, serving clients who will be mobile users of “digital personal assistants” that use holographic displays and respond to the thoughts of their owners, according to futurologists.

Legal problems are costing small businesses in England and Wales £100bn a year, with fears over the cost of legal advice meaning they are far more likely to go it alone than seek help, authoritative new research from the Legal Services Board has found.

The use of fixed fees in family, probate and housing cases has risen significantly, leading to far higher rates of client satisfaction than when they pay by the hour, according to a major consumer survey.

The Law Society will launch a paralegal accreditation scheme later this year for non-qualified staff working in organisations regulated by the SRA, it has emerged. It will be for all staff from secretaries to those with an LLB or LLB/LPC and no training contract.

Five legal price comparison websites have signed up to good practice standards issued by two regulators and the Legal Services Consumer Panel – although they are to remain voluntary, with no external validation.

More large law firms are expected to fail over next few years and the risk of theft of client funds is rising, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned. It has also speculated that in future indemnity insurance or even policies purchased by clients may need to cover the cost of intervening in firms.

Crime lawyers have by far the worst work-life balance amongst all lawyers and the pressure on them risks deterring the next generation, according to new research. Criminal solicitors are almost three times more likely to move jobs because of anti-social hours than others.

US/UK law firm Reed Smith becomes first legal practice to sign up to a major initiative aimed at opening up access to work experience opportunities to anyone with an Internet connection. The firm has joined the likes of ITN, Capgemini, MediaCom, ZenithMedia, Channel 4 and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen.

A new collective marketing brand called Dynamo Legal has today announced plans to recruit 245 law firms across England and Wales and build a £7m advertising warchest. It is the brainchild of Welsh businessman Alexander Mills, who previously founded a company selling slate signs.

The dream of partnership is becoming ever harder to fulfil, especially for female solicitors, according to Law Society figures. Whereas in 1992 52% of solicitors in private practice were partners, that figure slumped to 42% in 2002 and less than 35% in 2012.

Law firms will be held responsible for breaching the personal injury referral fee ban if they sign up to ventures that appear to be genuine joint marketing schemes but prove illegal, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned. It will also target senior individuals within firms that “recklessly trade into insolvency”.

Three-quarters of lawyers in the UK and Ireland report being more stressed than they were five years ago but two-thirds are reluctant to report their concerns to employers, a survey has found. Seven out of ten said their work environment was stressful.