There’s a growing sense of trepidation amongst the UK’s legal community with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into play in just a few months’ time. I’ve spoken to many SME law firms over the past year and, although many of them know that it’s coming, the majority don’t yet know what they need to do about it. It seems this confusion isn’t just confined to the legal profession either. I was very interested to read the findings of a recent survey by the learning provider Litmos Heroes, which found that almost 30% of UK business decision-makers say they are completely in the dark about the law changes and what they need to do to ensure their business is ready.

I met one of my favourite authors recently at a book signing. No, not the famous ‘7 Habits’ author Stephen Covey (who is sadly no longer with us) but Robert Harris, whose latest novel ‘Munich’ is set 75 years ago during the negotiation of the Munich Agreement. The novel is a fly-on-the-wall take on Chamberlain’s leadership in the face of adversity. Whether you think Chamberlain’s paper-waving declaration in Downing Street – “I believe it is peace for our time so go home and get a nice quiet sleep” – was a naïve act of appeasement or a clever tactic that won the nation a vital year to prepare for inevitable war, it makes a fascinating read. The novel got me thinking about the obvious parallels between political leaders and business leaders and how they behave in the face of adversity.

Increasingly, firms are recognising the importance of adopting and investing in technology in order to effectively compete in today’s market. Clients are also continuing to demand greater engagement with technology, and in many ways the traditional law firm model is falling behind expectations of the service industry generally. Coupled with this year’s study by Deloitte which suggests that technology is already leading to job losses in the UK legal sector, and the fact that 114,000 jobs could be automated in 20 year’s time, you really can’t afford not to take notice of the impact technology is having and will continue to have on the legal sector. Although this sounds bleak, firms should think of it as an opportunity to innovate and provide stellar service for clients. Artificial intelligence, automation, and gamification all give firms the opportunity to interact with their clients, and potential clients, in new and exciting ways, while improving efficiency and job satisfaction.

Choosing an after-the-event (ATE) insurance provider isn’t easy for solicitors. Differentiation between products and price is not always clear at first glance and you don’t really know what you’re getting until you use it years later. And, as with all intangible insurance products, you can’t take it back. Many solicitors are very loyal to their ATE providers and often focus on price, but this isn’t the only consideration. So, as a law firm, what should you be thinking about when considering who to work with?

This year, like many in recent years, has seen some key changes within the employment law field, with the government, trade unions and lobbyists remaining endlessly engaged in seeking to impose their interpretation of fair balance between employers and their respective workforces. Although consensus on that equilibrium can never really be achieved, sometimes there are pieces of legislative movement which are difficult to argue with regardless of your perspective: This is one of those. Published on 13 October 2017, the Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Bill would provide for the first time a legal right to parents who are employed and have suffered the death of a child, a minimum of two weeks’ leave in which to grieve.