Practice Management

Law firms in England and Wales have imported the practice used by some American firms of offering clients the opportunity to reduce bills if they perceive poor service, it has emerged.

A law firm with offices in Italy and England was under a duty to warn British and Irish property investors of the risks of investing in a part of Italy associated with organised crime, the High Court has ruled.

Owners and managers of small to medium-sized businesses begin by searching the internet when looking for specialist legal help, a survey by Google has found. Individuals still preferred to rely on friends. Meanwhile, the use of mobile devices to search for law firms is “going bananas”.

The number of people receiving unsolicited personal injury marketing messages has changed little in the last three years, research by YouGov has found. Meanwhile, a claims management company has been rapped over the knuckles for not making clear in a television advert that calls from mobiles to its 0800 number would not be free.

CourtNav, an online tool designed to help litigants in person fill out court forms, could be offered not only by an advice service based at the High Court but by advice agencies around the country, it has emerged. It won the access to justice through IT award at this week’s Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards.

The barrister and law firm with the top High Court win rates in England and Wales will be named later this month, Legal Futures has learned. The names will be included in a report from US analysts Premonition.

The High Court has dismissed a claim of professional negligence against a firm of solicitors because, although the claimant successfully established liability, no loss or damage was found to be have caused.

Solicitors running two firms caught out by changes to the indemnity insurance rules and the closure of the assigned risks pool in 2012-13 have been fined by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for failing to wind-down their practices in an orderly manner.

A YouTube video of an angry man slicing household goods and a car in half in response to separating from his wife – which has been viewed more than six million times and been covered by media outlets across the world as he sought to sell his share on eBay – has been revealed as a stunt by lawyers.

The court system is on the verge of a “profound revolution” as technology sweeps away the old way of conducting litigation of all types, Sir Brian Leveson said yesterday, including dealing with lower-level criminal cases entirely online.

The Bar Council has joined forces with the two Preston-based barristers behind the Direct Access Portal to relaunch it as the “go-to website” for consumers looking for a barrister. The portal will replace the Bar Council’s existing direct access register.

Consumers are being misled by dubious practices in online reviews and endorsements, while more than half of buyers of services are swayed by them, according to an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.

An American celebrity attorney who acted for Michael Jackson has lost a High Court battle with Barclays Bank over a $540,000 loan relating to his time as partner in failed US firm Dewey & LeBoeuf.

Lauren Riley, a solicitor entrepreneur who appeared on ‘The Apprentice’, is launching a bid next week to raise £150,000 for her legal app through crowdfunding. She said about 80 small and medium-sized law firms had registered an interest in the product.

HM Revenue & Customs has given solicitors a week to pay the tax they owe on undeclared income or “face hefty penalties” of 100% on the unpaid tax and the risk of a criminal investigation.