Practice Management

A national template of working practices in the family courts – dealing with issues such as how late lawyers can email each other – could be developed to protect their wellbeing, a top judge has said.

A pilot enabling domestic abuse victims to take part in hearings by video link from a computer in their solicitor’s office has begun running in Manchester – the fourth started in recent weeks.

A law firm that made its staff redundant by text message has been ordered by an employment tribunal to make a protective award of 90 days’ pay to one of them.

Creating an incubator for lawtech start-ups has led to deeper and more rewarding relationships than expected, the law firm that pioneered the format said this week.

The experience of using video-link technology to hold immigration bail hearings shows how far it has to go to be as effective as face-to-face hearings, a researcher has warned.

English law is poised to capitalise on vast numbers of smart legal contracts expected to be created every year, according to Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court.

Government money aimed at accelerating the use of technology to widen access to justice will only go to ideas that directly aid consumers, rather than simply help lawyers do their jobs better, it has emerged.

An employment tribunal has said it would be “wholly inappropriate” to strike out a disability discrimination claim against a law firm from a legal secretary suffering from depression.

The biggest civil service trade union has criticised senior judges for becoming too closely involved in the government’s £1bn court modernisation programme.

The High Court has ordered Cardiff-based Hugh James to pay six-figure damages to the family of an asbestos victim for professional negligence in abandoning their personal injury claim.

Bias and inaccuracy render artificial intelligence algorithmic criminal justice tools unsuitable for assessing risk when making decisions on whether to imprison people or release them, according to a report.

A large majority (77%) of consumers are more likely to use law firms that publish their fees online, a major survey has found. A smaller majority (58%) would be prepared to use freelance solicitors.

A London law firm yesterday launched a programme giving non-law tech start-ups already making money free legal advice for six months, and the prospect of investment funds.

A married couple has largely failed in a claim of negligence against a firm of solicitors which had admitted that it failed to advise properly on a separate negligence case against another law firm.

The chief executive of a high-profile law firm was not fired because he blew the whistle on financial problems at the practice, an employment tribunal has ruled.