Blog
The International Data Insights Report: Trends in international arbitration
Mark Fallmann
SRA Standards and Regulations – what you need to know
Reach for the StaRs!
Understanding the new SRA Principles and Code: the long read
SRA and the regulation of your personal life
Ethics and what’s expected of you
Reporting concerns - understanding your obligations
Stand up and be accountable
The new Solicitors Accounts Rules: what has changed?
The new ‘freelance’ solicitor: practical aspects and our predictions
Time to prioritise, but not to panic
12 January 2018
Legal Services Regulation in 2018 – 6 things to watch
New Year is, of course, prediction season. Some commentators are placing bets on who will win the World Cup, others bullishly forsee FTSE highs and some are punting on whether Gary Oldman will win an Oscar for Darkest Hour.
8 December 2017
The Business Case For Legal Ethics
The last few years have seen an increased interest in legal ethics in England and Wales. Frances Dingwall of Legal Risk has written an excellent book Cautionary Tales: Lessons in Ethics for Lawyers. Mena Ruparel and Richard Burnham have written a book published this year entitled: How to be an ethical solicitor. Tracey Calvert has written Ethics in Law Firms: a Practical Guide. For my part, I have written a Chapter on ethics for Cordery on Legal Services and an article for the May 2016 Edition of the Law Society’s Legal Compliance Bulletin entitled Legal Ethics 2.0.
1 December 2017
SDT refuses solicitor’s application to terminate suspension
A solicitor that was suspended indefinitely by the SDT in 2005 has his application to lift suspension refused, despite practising as a lawyer abroad for 12 years.
George Babalola was indefinitely suspended by the SDT in 2005 for making claims for costs which were excessive, claiming disbursements on the basis of invoices bearing false and/or inaccurate signatures and making misleading representations to the Law Society’s investigation officer.
30 October 2017
#LSA10 and the future of Legal Services: Artificial Intelligence, cyber-courts, global markets and block chain
The Legal Services Act 2007 (‘the Act’) marked a profound upheaval of the regulation of the legal services market that, for centuries, had existed practically in stasis. While the provision of legal services had traditionally been the preserve of practitioners operating within conventional partnerships or barristers’ chambers, the Act enabled other types of organisation to offer a competitive alternative.
27 October 2017
#LSA10: The Impact of Alternative Business Structures
One of the most radical of changes to the legal market as a result of the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA) was the introduction of Alternative Business Structures (ABSs) which are law firms owned partly or wholly by those outside the legal profession Whilst some considered that this would reshape the legal profession in England and Wales it is worth reflecting as to whether this is indeed the case 10 years on.
Leading firm in the "Future of legal services - UK" category in Q3, 2019