Practice Management
SRA allows trainees to qualify before completing PSC
Trainee solicitors will be able to qualify without first completing the professional skills course because of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has decided.
EHRC warning on use of video hearings in criminal cases
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has called on the government to take action to reduce the risk of disabled people being wrongly convicted because of video hearings in criminal cases.
McFarlane: Remote hearing on future of child a step too far
It is not appropriate for a 15-day hearing into whether a mother has harmed her seven-year-old daughter to be held remotely, the president of the Family Court has ruled.
Investment for legal apps amid call for government support
Legal tech continues to attract investment, with money for a new wills app and the more established The Link App, but it must be able to benefit from a new coronavirus support package for tech companies.
Tax schemes “discourage investment” in legal start-ups
Government schemes to help SME companies grow by offering investors tax relief exclude legal businesses and so constrict technological innovation in the market, it has been claimed.
LeO weighs using big data to aid decision-making
The Legal Ombudsman is exploring whether to use big data and machine learning technology to suggest outcomes and make recommendations in resolving complaints about lawyers.
One in seven female solicitors suffer bullying or discrimination
One in seven female solicitors have experienced bullying, discrimination and harassment in the workplace over the past year, while there is also a large gender pay gap, Law Society research has revealed.
Firm did not discriminate against assistant sacked after three days
A conveyancing assistant dismissed by a law firm for turning up late on each of her first three days was not a victim of sex discrimination, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Susskind: No return to old ways after Covid-19 crisis
Many of the technologies and techniques that have been “forged in the heat” of the coronavirus crisis will usurp old ways of practising when life returns to normal, Professor Richard Susskind has predicted.
Law firm defeats broker’s claim for £100k introducer fee
A Liverpool law firm has defeated the claim of a finance broker who sought a £100,000 fee for introducing it to a new loan provider, even though it eventually secured £2m in funding.