Practice Management

Solicitors working pro bono could offer a triage system to people who cannot, or think they cannot, afford a lawyer so that they can understand their options for resolving legal disputes, the Law Society has told the new government.

A judge has launched an extraordinary attack on “by far the worst solicitor witness I have ever seen giving evidence in the witness box”. Edward Abenson told Legal Futures that the judge was “very harsh” on him.

International law firm Dentons has launched NextLaw Labs, “a global collaborative innovation platform” to develop and invest in new technologies and “transform the practice of law around the world”.

A former Addleshaw Goddard partner has set up a website to help in-house lawyers and law firms work together more effectively. Richard Fleetwood is working on GC Hub with the former head of legal at Rolls-Royce.

Problems with communication continue to dog solicitors, the results of the largest-ever client research have shown, while the way they follow up potential leads is another area where major improvement is needed.

There is still a gap in the market for an “essential, go-to website for employment law”, Professor Roger Smith, solicitor and former director of JUSTICE, has said in an update to his report on digital delivery for people on low incomes.

Cyber security is becoming a central issue for professional indemnity insurers, and firms will in future need to demonstrate what protections they have against cyber criminals before they are offered cover, a leading broker has predicted.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) will focus more on individual regulation and less on firms in the year ahead, chief executive Paul Philip has said.

Economic pressures forcing solicitors to ‘commoditise’ their advice “throw into sharp focus the need for standard form letters of advice to be clear in their exposition”, the Court of Appeal warned yesterday.

Professional negligence as a discrete body of law could disappear if restrictions on the liability of professionals continue to be swept aside as social attitudes towards them also change, Lord Justice Jackson has predicted.

All but one of the entities authorised by the Bar Standards Board since the beginning of this month consist of a single barrister, with the other made up of two barristers, it has emerged.

Lord Dyson has praised a French online dispute resolution (ODR) website for opening up justice and said he hoped “something similar” would be created in this country.

A solicitor has launched an app which he hopes will be the equivalent of taxi service Uber for legal and accountancy advice by allowing consumers to find, connect with and later review their advisers.

The young entrepreneur behind RateMyBarrister.com has expanded the site to include solicitors. William Rees, a barrister based in Cardiff, accepted that this would mean finding a new domain name.

A lawyer comparison website aimed at SMEs is poised to begin an “aggressive growth” campaign to win market share, after securing substantial investment 18 months after it launched.