Practice Management

Three-quarters of law firms furloughed fee-earners last year and 84% support staff, a Law Society survey has found. Some 15% were forced to negotiate ‘time to pay’ arrangements with HMRC.

Law firms should advertise unbundled services or offer them directly to clients, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said, highlighting the “untapped potential” to support consumers in accessing advice.

A law firm did not discriminate against a legal secretary turned apprentice with menopausal symptoms on the grounds of disability or sex, an employment tribunal has ruled.

An accountant who acted as a law firm’s part-time finance director through a company was a worker and not self-employed, even though he had another client, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Embracing online reviews can trigger a positive, service-driven culture change at law firms, the practice director of a leading West Country firm told last week’s Legal Futures webinar.

Law firms have been advised to remove many of their printers before staff returning to the office this summer from lockdown start using them again and increase costs.

The Bar Council has launched an initiative to help chambers “transition to a more sustainable way of working”, saving not just carbon emissions but costs too.

The average fee income per equity partner at law firms with up to seven partners rose by 29% last year despite the pandemic, research has found. But profit per equity partner was static, with margins tumbling.

The pandemic has not stopped activity in the law firm M&A market, with a series of different types of deals announced, as overall the number of law firms continues to drift downwards.

The managing partner of a South Yorkshire law firm has won his claim against the practice for both direct and indirect disability discrimination, as well as a failure to make reasonable adjustments.