Big firm reveals 23% pay gap between white and BAME staff – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 15th, 2020 in diversity, law firms, minorities, news, remuneration, reports by tracey

‘Listed firm DWF has published its ethnicity pay gap for the first time, admitting it is “not where it needs to be” in terms of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) representation at senior levels. According to the firm’s annual pay gap report, BAME employees and partners earn 23% less on average than their white colleagues. The combined ethnicity bonus gap is 22% in mean terms.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th December 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Law Society: Race inclusion in profession not improving quickly enough – Legal Futures

‘Actions to improve race inclusion in the solicitors’ profession are not delivering change quickly enough, Law Society research has found, highlighting a significant ethnicity pay gap.’

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Legal Futures, 9th December 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Augmented lawyering: The challenge of AI is people, not money – Legal Futures

Posted December 9th, 2020 in artificial intelligence, law firms, legal profession, news by sally

‘The challenge facing traditional law firms from artificial intelligence (AI) is not a lack of finance to invest in technology but having the right “human capital”, a study from Oxford University has argued.’

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Legal Futures, 7th December 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

3,000 law firms “could be forced to close or merge” – Legal Futures

Posted December 8th, 2020 in conveyancing, coronavirus, insurance, law firms, legal services, loans, mergers, news by sally

‘As many as 3,000 law firms could be forced to close or merge over the next few years after the conveyancing bubble bursts and the recession really kicks in, a leading law firm consultant has warned.’

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Legal Futures, 8th December 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Non-lawyers banned from law firms in misconduct blizzard – Legal Futures

Posted December 1st, 2020 in disciplinary procedures, forgery, law firms, legal executives, news, solicitors, wills by sally

‘Six non-lawyers have been banned from working for law firms for a range of offences, from faking signatures and misusing season ticket loans to fabricating a client’s will to name themselves as a beneficiary.’

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Legal Futures, 1st December 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Firm fined £14,000 after missing ‘red flags’ on property work – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 26th, 2020 in conveyancing, fines, identification, land registration, law firms, news by tracey

‘A Midlands firm which wrongly rated three property transactions as low risk has been fined £14,000 for breaching anti-money laundering rules.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 24th November 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Report questions equality initiatives that “set women apart” – Legal Futures

Posted November 24th, 2020 in diversity, equality, law firms, news, reports, women by sally

‘Some of the measures used by law firms to tackle a lack of gender diversity in senior roles could be “ineffective or even counter-productive”, a report has found.’

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Legal Futures, 24th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Only 16% of British courts accessible for wheelchair users – Litigation Futures

Posted November 20th, 2020 in courts, disabled persons, equality, law firms, news, statistics by sally

‘Only a small minority of courts in England, Wales and Scotland are accessible to wheelchair users, research by a London personal injury firm has found.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th November 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Homeworking now a “reasonable adjustment” for disabled lawyers – Legal Futures

‘Employment tribunals may in future need to recognise that homeworking has become an established “reasonable adjustment” to working practices for disabled people, including lawyers, a webinar heard last week.’

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Legal Futures, 9th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Insurer fails in aggregation argument over partner’s multi-million pound thefts – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has refused to aggregate as one claim various actions a Yorkshire law firm’s indemnity insurer is facing because of a multi-million pound fraud run by one of its partners.’

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Legal Futures, 4th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Legal aid services are on brink of collapse, lawyers tell MPs – The Guardian

‘Legal aid services are on the brink of collapse due to successive cuts and the disruption wreaked by Covid-19, say lawyers.’

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The Guardian, 29th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ministers must end their attacks on lawyers – The Guardian

‘Barristers, solicitors, legal academics and retired judges call for the home secretary and the prime minister to apologise for past remarks and refrain from using hostile language.’

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The Guardian, 25th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lawyers call for apology from Johnson and Patel for endangering colleagues – The Guardian

‘The UK prime minister and the home secretary are accused of endangering the personal safety of lawyers through their abusive attacks on the profession and should apologise, more than 800 former judges and senior legal figures have said in a letter sent to the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 25th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

When it attacks ‘lefty lawyers’, this government takes aim at the rule of law – The Guardian

‘The scorn shown by Boris Johnson and Priti Patel marks a departure from centuries of Conservative tradition.’

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The Guardian, 20th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

“Informed consent” ruling threatens avalanche of PI costs refund claims – Litigation Futures

Posted October 20th, 2020 in consent orders, costs, law firms, news, personal injuries, solicitors by sally

‘Personal injury (PI) law firms that fail to spell out in their retainers the costs clients could be liable for beyond what is recovered from defendants face a wave of litigation following a major High Court ruling.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th October 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

PI firms face deluge of costs claims after High Court ruling – Legal Futures

Posted October 19th, 2020 in compensation, costs, law firms, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Personal injury (PI) law firms that fail to spell out in their retainers the costs clients could be liable for beyond what is recovered from defendants face a wave of litigation following a landmark High Court ruling.’

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Legal Futures, 19th October 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Barristers on AG panels “should consider resigning”, says top QC – Legal Futures

‘One of the country’s leading QCs has suggested that barristers on the Attorney General’s panels should consider resigning in protest at the government’s hostility to the law and lawyers.’

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Legal Futures, 13th October 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Lawyers claim knife attack at law firm was inspired by Priti Patel’s rhetoric – The Guardian

‘Britain’s top lawyers have written to Priti Patel to express their concern after a knifeman threatened to kill an immigration solicitor last month in an attack colleagues say was directly motivated by comments made by the home secretary.’

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The Guardian, 10th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Insurers’ decision to appeal Covid insurance test case “disgraceful” – Litigation Futures

Posted October 6th, 2020 in coronavirus, financial regulation, insurance, law firms, news by tracey

‘A law firm at the forefront of the business interruption insurance test case has described insurers’ decision to appeal the High Court ruling as “disgraceful”.’

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Litigation Futures, 5th October 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Disabled lawyers “benefit from homeworking during pandemic” – Legal Futures

‘The suspension of office working under lockdown has helped improve the mental and physical health of disabled lawyers, research has indicated.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd October 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk