Technology
Barrister rating site not aiming to “undermine the Bar”
A new website which encourages clients to rate barristers aims to help direct access barristers, and “is not looking to undermine the Bar”, its founder has said.
City law firm in dash to add artificial intelligence to software robots
City law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner is in discussions with a specialist provider of artificial intelligence computing to improve its ability to search documents in the field of commercial contracts.
Lawyer-matching service targets major growth after cash injection
A new lawyer-matching service aimed particularly at tech start-ups has secured £260,000 of funding from e-commerce funder Forward Partners and Jonathan McKay, chairman of JustGiving.
Why tweet when you can ‘moot’? QC launches legal social media site
Lawyers frustrated by having to confine their tweets to 140 characters will be free to express themselves in ‘moots’ of up to 500 words on new legal social media site mootis, launched today.
Allen & Overy expands online service for financial institutions
Magic circle firm Allen & Overy has expanded the online legal service it provides to financial institutions as part of its “strategic vision to integrate a range of new service capabilities and delivery models with its core high-end legal practice”.
QualitySolicitors launches online customer platform
QualitySolicitors (QS) has launched a new online customer platform, which has taken a year to develop and is described by the network as the most advanced of its kind.
Big law firms hiring poor-performing barristers, analysts claim
A group of US-based entrepreneurs claim to have carried out pioneering research which has shown that big commercial firms in the UK are “routinely rehiring poor performing barristers while ignoring the best performers”.
Exclusive: “We will be biggest brand in UK,” says LegalZoom
US company LegalZoom today makes plain its ambitions for the UK market by saying there is “no question” that it will become the best-known legal brand on this side of the Atlantic.
Solicitors From Hell founder wins surprise High Court victory
He has been sued 18 times in relation to the website he founded, and lost each time, but now Rick Kordowski, the man behind SolicitorsFromHell.co.uk, has recorded an unexpected High Court win.
Do clients actually need face-to-face advice? Legal aid research suggests they often don’t
Users of the civil legal aid telephone gateway who sought face-to-face advice “often did so out of preference as opposed to need”, a review has suggested.
Calls for government to invest in online dispute resolution as part of digital legal services push
The government should invest in online dispute resolution for small claims – but not until 2016 so lessons can be learnt from pioneering projects in Holland and Canada, a major report has advised. Meanwhile, Professor Richard Susskind has called for ODR to be explored “urgently”.
Riverview launches separate tech business as it targets in-house with software products
Riverview Law is setting up a separate business which will own and exploit the technology built by the alternative business structure over the last three years. The first move has been for Riverview itself to launch a range of software modules targeted at in-house legal teams.
European Commission launches find-a-lawyer search engine – without England and Wales
The European Commission has launched today a new online find-a-lawyer search engine, enabling potential clients to find lawyers in 17 countries, including France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Scotland – but not England and Wales.
Investors target legal entrepreneur after stint on The Apprentice
Solicitor entrepreneur Lauren Riley has described how she has met venture capitalists and tech companies interested in her legal app after appearing in the BBC1 show The Apprentice.
Report: artificial intelligence will cause “structural collapse” of law firms by 2030
Robots and artificial intelligence will dominate legal practice within 15 years, perhaps leading to the “structural collapse” of law firms, a report predicting the shape of the legal market has envisaged.
Blog
The power of participation for trainees and apprentices
It’s important as a trainee or an apprentice to get involved in the life of your firm – even under the pressure of discovering how to navigate professional life and now the demands of the SQE.
Is it time to change how law firms view compliance?
Although COFAs often hold senior positions and play an essential role in a firm’s financial and regulatory integrity, the perception of the compliance function itself is still evolving.
From templates to culture change: Lessons from the SRA on source of funds
The SRA’s new thematic review into source of funds and wealth reveals both progress and persistent blind spots, with source-of-funds checks too often thought of as a procedural hurdle.
