The iniquity ‘exception’ to Legal Professional Privilege (Al Sadeq v Dechert LLP) – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted March 14th, 2024 in chambers articles, fraud, legal profession, news, privilege by sally

‘Dispute Resolution analysis: All lawyers know the principle and no doubt regularly rely on legal professional privilege (“LLP”) being a corner stone of the English legal system. However, LLP is not apposite to protect against participation (active or passive) in the commission of fraud. This principle has somewhat inelegantly been described as the “iniquity exception”: – inelegant because it is not an exception (strictly speaking) and rather than applying to iniquity it is applicable in all species of fraud, spanning both criminal and civil jurisdictions.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 4th February 2024

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Apathy and ignorance around legal ethics ‘root causes’ of misconduct – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 11th, 2024 in law firms, legal education, legal profession, news, professional conduct by tracey

‘Lawyers’ lack of interest in ethics may be fuelling an increase in rogue behaviour in the profession, an academic expert on the legal profession has suggested. Professor Richard Moorhead told a conference of lawyers yesterday that “apathy” and “ignorance” were a “root cause” of unethical behaviours that have manifested in issues such as the Post Office scandal.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 8th March 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Profession disappointed with slim Budget pickings – Legal Futures

‘The legal profession yesterday expressed disappointment at the lack of attention given to the justice system in the Spring Budget, which will see the Ministry of Justice’s expenditure fall next year by half a billion pounds.’

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Legal Futures, 7th March 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Lawyers and the misuse of NDAs – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Legal Services Board has published its report on the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). It focuses on the conduct of lawyers and forms part of the LSB’s Reshaping Legal Services strategy, which centres on the delivery of high-quality legal advice with strong professional ethics.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th March 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

It will soon be negligent not to use AI, Master of the Rolls predicts – Legal Futures

Posted March 5th, 2024 in artificial intelligence, legal advice, legal profession, negligence, news by tracey

‘The day is coming, and soon, when professionals and others will be legally on the hook for not using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), the Master of the Rolls said yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 5th March 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

News focus: How well are neurodiverse people supported in the profession? – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 27th, 2024 in autism, disabled persons, diversity, legal profession, news by tracey

‘As volunteer group Neurodiversikey launches a survey to find out how much support neurodiverse people in the law receive, three legal figures recount the anxiety of training and trying to fit in.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 27th February 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Ministers ask LSB to set out strategy on AI use in legal sector – Legal Futures

‘Ministers have asked the Legal Services Board (LSB) to outline how it plans to approach the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the sector by the end of April.’

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Legal Futures, 16th February 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Lawyers’ use of generative AI “accelerating quickly” – Legal Futures

Posted February 13th, 2024 in artificial intelligence, legal profession, news by tracey

‘Lawyers’ use of generative AI is accelerating quickly but there is a major mismatch between in-house and private practice expectations of the impact on billing, new research has found.’

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Legal Futures, 12th February 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

UK court decision provides clarity on scope of litigation privilege – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 12th, 2024 in appeals, disclosure, documents, fraud, legal profession, news, privilege by tracey

‘A recent Court of Appeal judgment provides useful clarity that non-parties can be entitled to the protection of litigation privilege, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th February 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Lawyers raise alarm at struggle to tackle UK local government corruption – The Guardian

Posted February 2nd, 2024 in corruption, fraud, legal profession, local government, news, statistics by sally

‘Lawyers have raised alarm at the lack of oversight in local government, as a Guardian analysis found almost one in 10 councils in the UK have been subject to a corruption investigation in the past decade.’

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The Guardian, 2nd February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Long-term sustainability of civil legal aid in doubt, MoJ research finds – Legal Futures

Posted January 22nd, 2024 in civil justice, legal aid, legal profession, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics by tracey

‘There is “notable cause for concern” over the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid sector, research commissioned by the Ministry of Justice has concluded.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd January 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The New Dilemma: Can Artificial Intelligence Replace Professionals in Courts and Write Judgments in Public Law? – Lamb Chambers

Posted December 20th, 2023 in artificial intelligence, chambers articles, legal profession, news by sally

‘When discussing AI’s role in replacing advocates and writing judgments in public law cases, it is important to recognise that this involves speculation about how AI’s future development, and is not rooted in AI’s current technological capabilities.’

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Lamb Chambers, 8th November 2023

Source: www.lambchambers.co.uk

The profession’s ethics are in the spotlight and junior lawyers want change – Legal Futures

Posted December 12th, 2023 in legal profession, Legal Services Board, news, professional conduct, reports by sally

‘A report published earlier this month by the Legal Services Board highlighted the ethical risks faced by today’s lawyers.’

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Legal Futures, 12th December 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Some lawyers’ conduct poses “significant risk to the rule of law” – Legal Futures

Posted December 1st, 2023 in barristers, legal profession, news, rule of law, solicitors by tracey

‘Lawyers can sometimes be “too inclined” to act unethically or use a “mistaken” adherence to an overly narrow view of the rule of law to justify questionable conduct, major new research has said.’

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Legal Futures, 1st December 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Consolidation of legal regulators “may be a good thing” – Legal Futures

‘Consolidation of legal regulators “may be a good thing” if designed to achieve “the pulling together of knowledge, lessons, consumer research and engagement”, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd November 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

AI helps lawyers complete work quicker, study finds – Legal Futures

Posted November 13th, 2023 in artificial intelligence, legal profession, legal services, news by tracey

‘A groundbreaking study has found that using generative AI to support, rather than replace, humans results in “large and consistent increases in speed” in completing legal tasks.’

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Legal Futures, 13th November 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Is AI about to transform the legal profession? – BBC News

Posted October 19th, 2023 in artificial intelligence, legal profession, legal services, news by sally

‘If there was a court case on whether society should embrace artificial intelligence (AI) or reject it, there would likely be a hung jury.’

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BBC News, 19th October 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Global bar body publishes list of ‘critical’ challenges – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 29th, 2023 in barristers, legal profession, news by tracey

‘The International Bar Association (IBA) has listed the most pressing challenges facing the profession over the next five years – a first for the global body.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 28th September 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Top UK lawyer hits out at ‘authoritarian’ attacks on legal profession – The Guardian

‘A leading British lawyer has compared UK government attacks on the profession to the tactics used by authoritarian regimes. Helena Kennedy KC, one of the UK’s most renowned criminal lawyers and a Labour peer, said ministers were deliberately creating scapegoats.’

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The Guardian, 10th September 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Three-quarters of UK lawyers believe AI will increase productivity – Legal Futures

Posted August 29th, 2023 in artificial intelligence, legal profession, legal services, news by sally

‘Artificial intelligence (AI) could help law firms most by increasing their productivity and is also likely to result in more legal work being done by those without traditional legal qualifications, lawyers have said.’

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Legal Futures, 29th August 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk