Practice Management
Court modernisation “undermining access to justice”, lawyers tell MPs
Criminal and civil lawyers have separately spelt out to MPs on the justice select committee a catalogue of ways in which court modernisation is undermining access to justice.
Deloitte seeks to leverage size advantage in tech race
Deloitte Legal in the UK is looking to ramp up its technology strategy as it bids to exploit its perceived advantage in providing multi-disciplinary services across the world.
Smart contracts and investment: innovations speed march of lawtech
A City firm has launched an off-the-shelf smart contract for insurers which triggers an automatic payment to a solar power company if it is cloudy, while a legal tech company has attracted £1.2m in investment.
Call for curbs on Lord Chancellor’s power over online rule committee
A future Lord Chancellor could impose “quite radical changes” on the court system unless changes are made to the Courts and Tribunals (Online Procedure) Bill, peers have warned.
British lawyers more likely to be bullied, global survey finds
British lawyers are more likely to be bullied in the workplace than their colleagues elsewhere in the world, the largest ever global study of bullying and sexual harassment in the legal profession has found.
Sole practitioners ‘more profitable than small firms’
Sole practitioners have overtaken small firms with two to four partners in terms of profit per equity partner, a survey has found. Sole practitioners also led the way in fee income growth compared to larger firms.
Groups join forces to launch #SupportingSolicitors campaign
A new campaign, #SupportingSolicitors, has been launched to promote the help available to solicitors facing professional and personal challenges. It goes live today at the start of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Government consults on law underpinning smart contracts
The UK has launched the first step in its bid to make English law the bedrock of a future where digital smart contracts and distributed ledger technology are the norm in the global trading of goods.
Inns of Court to re-enter training market with new Bar course
The Inns of Court are to re-enter the student training market and become the first to unveil plans to deliver the new Bar training course at a price 30% cheaper than the current BPTC as it is not-for-profit.
McFarlane eyes national wellbeing standards for family lawyers
A national template of working practices in the family courts – dealing with issues such as how late lawyers can email each other – could be developed to protect their wellbeing, a top judge has said.