High Court dismisses negligence claim over failed group action – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has struck out a negligence claim against the law firm and eight barristers who acted on a failed group action on behalf of more than 40,000 Kenyans against the Foreign Office.’

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Legal Futures, 30th May 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law firms and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace – Kingsley Napley Employment Law Blog

‘Sexual harassment in the workplace has attracted growing concern globally over the past five years. The House of Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee (WESC) inquiry in July 2018 triggered a parliamentary debate around the need for stricter duties for employers to prevent unwanted sexual behaviour at work. In parallel, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has prioritised tackling sexual misconduct in law firms and recent changes to its Codes of Conduct emphasise the expectation on firms to foster a culture of zero tolerance to counter-inclusive behaviours, including sexual misconduct.’

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Kingsley Napley Employment Law Blog, 23rd May 2023

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

No continuing loss from law firm’s breach of contract, tribunal rules – Legal Futures

‘A trainee solicitor who never took up his job after the terms of employment were changed four days before he began work has failed in his bid for damages greater than his contractual notice period.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd May 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Court rejects £63m claim against PwC over Slater and Gordon deal – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A judge has dismissed a claim that national firm Slater and Gordon was passed confidential information which caused it to chop £63m off the price of an acquisition.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th May 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Opportunities opening up for “long neglected” returners to the law – Legal Futures

Posted May 5th, 2023 in employment, flexible working, law firms, news, solicitors by tracey

‘The legal profession’s growing appetite for hiring career returners is opening up a wealth of opportunities for a talented group of lawyers who have “long been neglected”.’

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Legal Futures, 5th May 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Paralegal wins claims for disability discrimination and harassment – Legal Futures

‘A paralegal at a London law firm was unfairly dismissed over unpaid wages, subjected to disability discrimination and harassed on the basis of her sex, an employment tribunal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 26th April 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Firm ordered to pay ex-client £400k for negligent divorce advice – Legal Futures

‘A law firm that narrowed the scope of its retainer after a divorcing woman negotiated her own financial settlement was nonetheless negligent in failing to give her advice on the deal, the High Court has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 24th April 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Firm ordered to pay wasted costs for “inexplicable” error – Legal Futures

Posted April 21st, 2023 in abuse of process, costs, hospitals, law firms, negligence, news, probate, wills by tracey

‘A law firm which started proceedings when its client did not have standing to bring them has been ordered to pay wasted costs because it failed to check this.’

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Legal Futures, 21st April 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law Society: Climate change a “valid” reason to reject clients – Legal Futures

‘Climate-related issues may be “valid considerations” for law firms in deciding whether to act for potential clients, the Law Society has said.’

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Legal Futures, 19th April 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New ‘failure to prevent’ offence tabled – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A new offence of failure to prevent fraud will be created by an amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill tabled by the government today. Under the measure, an organisation where a fraud has been committed must be able to demonstrate that it had ‘reasonable measures in place to deter the offending’ or be liable to an unlimited fine.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th April 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Law firm to “harness power of ChatGPT” for clinical negligence cases – Legal Futures

‘The biggest specialist personal injury firm in the country is working on ways to harness the power of technology related to ChatGPT to help it handle medical negligence claims.’

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Legal Futures, 11th April 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

High Court: Losses too remote for claim against law firm – Legal Futures

Posted March 29th, 2023 in compensation, conveyancing, law firms, negligence, news by sally

‘A law firm has successfully fought off a former client’s bid to broaden a multi-million-pound negligence claim after the High Court found the losses too remote to be recoverable.’

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Legal Futures, 28th March 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law firm unfairly dismissed “homophobic” secretary – Legal Futures

‘A law firm unfairly dismissed a legal secretary who made homophobic comments because of how it ran the disciplinary process, an employment tribunal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd March 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Negligence claim over law firm’s ground rent advice dismissed – Legal Futures

Posted March 17th, 2023 in conveyancing, law firms, leases, negligence, news by tracey

‘A circuit judge has dismissed a negligence claim over a London law firm’s alleged failure to give a client proper advice on a how much the ground rent would increase under a lease.’

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Legal Futures, 17th March 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

SRA wins approval to destroy 765,000 files from shut-down firms – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has given the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) permission to destroy immediately around 765,000 files it is storing after intervening in law firms in recent years.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd March 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

City law firms using diversity schemes for “reputation laundering” – Legal Futures

Posted March 1st, 2023 in diversity, equality, law firms, news, solicitors by sally

‘The efforts of City law firms to become more diverse and inclusive are a form of “reputation laundering”, offering only the “illusion of change”, an academic and diversity specialist has argued.’

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Legal Futures, 1st March 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

News focus: Are lawyers still breaching judgment embargoes? – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 20th, 2023 in appeals, barristers, contempt of court, disclosure, judgments, law firms, news, solicitors by tracey

‘Despite the master of the rolls’ clarion call for lawyers to respect judgment embargoes and a warning about possible contempt proceedings, high-profile breaches continue to happen.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th February 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Ask me anything – Allen & Overy adopts ChatGPT-style legal AI tool – Legal Futures

Posted February 16th, 2023 in artificial intelligence, law firms, legal services, news by sally

‘Global law firm Allen & Overy (A&O) has become the first law firm to adopt an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant similar to ChatGPT to help speed up the work of more than 3,500 lawyers, which could save the firm millions of pounds.’

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Legal Futures, 16th February 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Slips and SLAPPs – SRA review finds good level of compliance – Legal Futures

‘There is an increasing trend of firms threatening to report their opponents to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) as a litigation tactic, solicitors have told the regulator.’

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Legal Futures, 14th February 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Self-employed consultant was employee of firm under Equality Act – Legal Futures

‘A self-employed consultant at a law firm fell within the definition of an employee for the purposes of claims under the Equality Act 2010, an employment tribunal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 13th February 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk