Legal centre and barrister cleared of negligence after five-year fight – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The High Court has dismissed negligence allegations which had been hanging over a barrister and legal advice centre for more than five years.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th February 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

In depth: AI revolution is ‘inevitable’ – the challenge is to embrace it ethically – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The master of the rolls was preaching to the converted at the latest LawtechUK event. His message was clear: artificial intelligence is here to stay and the profession should be prepared to embrace it.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 9th February 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Commerce over care: exploring legal advice given in potential economic abuse cases – Legal Ethics

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in debts, families, legal advice, news, solicitors, surety, women by sally

‘This paper argues that solicitors are required to lawyer relationally when delivering independent legal advice (ILA) to (predominantly) women set to provide suretyship for their intimate partner’s debts. Case law tells us that women providing suretyship may be entering the transaction under the coercion of their partner. Coerced debt is a form of economic abuse, which in turn is a form of domestic abuse. ILA in this context therefore provides an important intervention to potentially assist victims of abuse before entering (potentially more) debt at the hands of their abuser. To make ILA purposeful, solicitors must prioritise relational values/dynamics such as consultation, care, judgement, and empowerment; the anti-thesis of market-exchange lawyering which is characterised by the values such as objectivity and detachment. Market-exchange lawyering is also associated with ethical apathy as lawyers prioritise their client’s means-ends above all else, therefore failing to consider the broader implications of those ends (in terms of their client’s best interests and/or the public interest). Drawing on interview data with 22 solicitors, it is demonstrated that most interviewees provide tick-box ILA prioritising completion. That is, most interviewees prioritised values of commerce over values of care when acting for women who may be experiencing economic abuse.’

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Legal Ethics, 15th January 2025

Source: www.tandfonline.com

George Peretz: The Policy Exchange Paper on the Attorney General’s New Legal Risk Guidelines: Excited Adjectives, Unpersuasive Analysis – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted December 5th, 2024 in attorney general, drafting, government departments, legal advice, news, rule of law by tracey

‘One of the best lessons I was given by my pupil supervisors in drafting written submissions was to go back and review the use of every adjective. As they pointed out, there is always a temptation in written advocacy to use excited adjectives, but the cumulative effect often makes the submission less, rather than more, persuasive.

That drafting advice is one that could usefully have been heeded by the authors of the recent paper by Policy Exchange (“PE”) attacking the new Legal Risk Guidelines for government lawyers published by the Attorney General, Lord Hermer KC (“the 2024 Guidelines”).’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 4th December 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Tribunal halves law firm’s fees on HS2 house sale – Legal Futures

Posted November 19th, 2024 in compulsory purchase, fees, law firms, legal advice, news, railways by tracey

‘A tribunal has more than halved the fees charged by a leading law firm for advice on the forced sale of a property affected by HS2.’

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Legal Futures, 19th November 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

CA rejects drug-dealer’s criticism of legal team over conviction – Legal Futures

‘The Court of Appeal has rejected criticisms of his legal team by a man jailed for possessing cocaine with intent to supply.’

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Legal Futures, 19th August 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Role of free legal advice “never been more critical”: Access to Justice Foundation – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 15th, 2024 in legal advice, legal aid, news, reports by sally

‘Providing free specialist legal advice could save the government £4.5billion for every half a million people who receive it, a new report has found.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th August 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Government saves three times what it spends on early legal advice, finds new report – The Bar Council

Posted August 6th, 2024 in budgets, government departments, legal advice, news by tracey

‘Providing free specialist legal advice could save the government £4.5billion for every half a million people who receive it, a new report has found, as leading legal organisations renew calls to “spend to save on justice”.’

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The Bar Council, 5th August 2024

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

AI will have bigger impact on law than the internet, says thinktank – Legal Futures

‘Artificial intelligence (AI) will have a greater impact on legal services than the internet revolution, a roundtable sponsored by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has predicted.’

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Legal Futures, 5th August 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Uyghur v NCA – and how it could affect law firms – Law Society’s Gazette

‘In its recent judgment in World Uyghur Congress v National Crime Agency, the Court of Appeal addressed the application of the money laundering provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) in the context of international supply chains. The appeal court’s clarification of the scope of the ‘adequate consideration’ exemption under POCA has wide-reaching implications not only for businesses with global supply chains but for all professional services firms in the UK.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 19th July 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Single online entry point for legal disputes “should be hosted by HMCTS” – Legal Futures

Posted May 10th, 2024 in consultations, HM Courts Service, internet, Law Society, legal advice, news by sally

‘HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) should host a proposed single online entry point for legal disputes, whether or not they end up in court, respondents to a Law Society consultation have agreed.’

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Legal Futures, 10th May 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Lack of immigration advisers “encourages illegal services” – Legal Futures

Posted April 10th, 2024 in immigration, legal advice, news, statistics by sally

‘A lack of immigration advisers “encourages those who seek to provide advice illegally”, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) has warned.’

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Legal Futures, 10th April 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Family lawyers join forces to support neurodivergent community – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Family lawyers from different firms and chambers have joined forces to set up a specialist group dedicated to ensuring the neurodivergent community has equal access to justice.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 3rd April 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Crackdown on ‘gagging orders’ to protect victims’ ability to access support – Ministry of Justice

‘Victims will no longer be prevented from accessing support or legal advice under plans to crack down on the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).’

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Ministry of Justice, 28th March 2024

Source: www.gov.uk

Miller: Who lawyers decide to act for is not a regulatory issue – Legal Futures

‘Who lawyers choose to act for is not a regulatory issue – and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) needs to be clear on this, a leading legal regulatory specialist said yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd March 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Rapist who complained about lawyers sent counsel ‘thank you’ note – Legal Futures

Posted March 5th, 2024 in appeals, legal advice, news, rape by tracey

‘A man convicted of rape has lost an appeal that was based partly on the quality of legal advice, with evidence showing he actually sent his trial counsel a “thank you” card.’

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Legal Futures, 5th March 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.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

Government announces early legal advice pilot for separating couples – Legal Futures

‘The government is to launch a pilot of early legal advice for separating couples to judge what impact it could have to speed up a resolution.’

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Legal Furures, 26th January 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Court of Appeal to rule on first post-PACCAR funding agreement – Legal Futures

‘The Court of Appeal is set to rule on whether a litigation funding agreement (LFA) that was amended to take account of the Supreme Court ruling in PACCAR is valid.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd January 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Minister seeking advice from lawyers who helped defeat Rwanda scheme – The Guardian

Posted December 5th, 2023 in asylum, attorney general, barristers, government departments, legal advice, news, Rwanda by michael

‘Barristers’ chambers whose lawyers helped defeat the Rwanda scheme at the supreme court have been approached by the attorney general’s office to advise on the next steps for the plans, in a highly unusual move.’

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The Guardian, 4th December 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com