Practice Management

Solicitors acting for the buyer of a property purportedly ‘sold’ by an imposter were liable for the losses suffered by their client, the Court of Appeal has ruled by a majority in the long-awaited decision in Dreamvar However, the court also found that seller’s solicitors liable, meaning that the other solicitors could sue them for a contribution.

Two former partners of leading City law firms have launched an online legal directory venture that they hope will replace the traditional printed directories. Top3legal enables client recommendations to be linked to an existing database of 156,000 lawyers, assembled from publicly available information.

Training law students in emotional competency, and a change in culture, led from the top, in law firms and chambers are among the shifts needed to combat the growing problem of stress in the legal profession, according to a roundtable held in the run-up to Mental Health Awareness Week, which begins today.

The number of qualified accountants’ reports due to rule breaches has fallen by two-thirds since the rules were changed in 2015, but the amount then being investigated for possible rule breaches has tripled, it has emerged. A handful of them have led to regulatory action as a result.

The failure of HM Courts and Tribunals Service to carry the support of lawyers for its ambitious modernisation plans has contributed to failing to meet its timetable, according to Parliament’s spending watchdog. The National Audit Office warned that the service was “behind where it expected to be at this stage” of the £1bn reforms

Profit per equity partner is down by 10%, although other performance indicators are up, according to an influential benchmarking report of SME law firms, published today. However, although PEP was down – from £120,000 last year to £108,000 – median fees per equity partner were up by an inflation-busting 5.4% to £539,000 last year.

The government has rolled out its online divorce service after a successful pilot. More than 1,000 petitions were issued through the new system during the testing phase – with 91% of people saying they were satisfied with it and barely any forms returned because of mistakes.

Only a handful of legal professionals believe that artificial intelligence software is more accurate than junior lawyers and thus a reason for implementing it, according to a survey. But over three quarters planned to invest in AI systems within the next two years nevertheless, mainly to remain competitive and provide a better service to clients.

Self-employed barristers are “data controllers” and not “data processors” for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as they need to be able to act independently of instructing solicitors, the Bar Council has said.

International law firm Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) is facing a $100m (£73m) class action over claims that it discriminates against female staff when they return to work after childbirth. Three female associates currently employed at the firm alleged that MoFo subjected them and other female staff to lower pay and delayed advancement.

Two-fifths of junior lawyers have looked for another job as a result of the level of stress their current role is causing them, according to a survey out today. Over 82% of the 959 respondents reported either regularly or occasionally feeling stressed in the month before completing the survey, with 26% of them being severely or extremely stressed.

Failure to make criminal practice – whether for the prosecution or the defence – an attractive career choice will have “long term and detrimental consequences” for the quality of justice, the president of the Queen’s Bench Division has warned.

Twice as many large City law firms had adopted ‘agile working’ policies by the start of 2018 as had a year earlier, and have been quicker than non-law businesses to embrace artificial intelligence technology, according to a survey about office use. Between them, the top 100 firms – when ranked by office floorspace in London – spend a total of £495m per annum on rent.

Small and medium-sized law firms will get free help and advice from some of the biggest firms in the country on how to become more inclusive employers under a pilot scheme launched this month by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

A host of leading law firms, the Law Society and universities have teamed up with Barclays Bank to launch the most significant lawtech incubator in the UK to date. The ‘Eagle Lab’ will open soon in Notting Hill, in west London, with the aim of creating a centre of excellence.