Practice Management

Nearly half of law firms – 47% – secured cheaper indemnity insurance this year, a survey has suggested. Half of these obtained “significant” reductions. It also indicated a move by firms from unrated to rated insurers.

The websites of leading law firms are failing to take advantage of consumers’ changing habits, a new study has claimed. The ‘white video’ issued by digital marketing agency mmadigital reported that 56% of the top 200 law firms do not have a mobile responsive website.

The Law Society has invested over £5m in a new online conveyancing system, to be launched next spring, which aims to revolutionise the home-buying process.

Specialist knowledge and expertise are more important than price or consistency of delivery for law firms choosing an IT supplier, research has found.

City law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner has launched Streamline, a “process improvement service” designed to cope with the legal challenges of big construction projects and complex or high-volume commercial litigation.

Firms that have not secured professional indemnity insurance have until tomorrow to notify the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Despite the abolition of the single indemnity renewal date last year, 1 October remained the deadline for more than 90% of law firms.

East Midlands firm Nelsons has launched Fusion Legal, a new regional support network, following West Midlands firm FBC Manby Bowdler, which launched Hub.Legal this summer.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) is to launch a complaints portal this month that will enable lawyers to manage all of their contact with the organisation online. LeO will also encourage consumers to manage their complaint through the portal.

Legal entrepreneur Brad Askew has relaunched a property website for landlords, which attracts up to 600,000 unique visits a year. The Tenancy Agreement Service is aimed particularly at the 78% of Britain’s 3.5m private landlords who only let one property.

A law firm has won an injunction against a former client who set up websites about the firm with its name in the URL, after the High Court deemed his actions to be harassment. The injunction also covered Rick Kordowski, who ran the infamous SolicitorsFromHell.co.uk website.

Lawyers2you, the shopping centre-based marketing brand previously owned by failed Birmingham firm Blakemores, has been resurrected and relaunched with the first two stands open for business this week, Legal Futures can reveal.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has proposed scrapping the compulsory management course that all solicitors are required to undertake within three years of qualification.

The work to develop the Slater & Gordon brand in the UK has made it one of the three best-known law firms in the UK, with one in 10 consumers recognising its name, the firm has told shareholders.

A fifth of law firms admit to providing a substandard service at some point in the past year, with extra training for staff the common response, Solicitors Regulation Authority research has revealed.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority will not introduce specific rules to deal with the upcoming legislative ban on personal injury law firms paying inducements to claim, but has pledged to take “strong enforcement action” if firms breach it.