All News focus articles
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NewsA dollar a second? Hourly rates rocket at top global firms
Billing rates for senior lawyers are already 'exceptionally high' and fee inflation is rampant, new study finds.
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News'We need to be hungrier': SFO boss Nick Ephgrave on his 2025-26 agenda
As Nick Ephgrave publishes his first annual business plan after a full year in the role, the SFO chief tells the Gazette that he wants to deploy his policing expertise to make investigations bolder, speedier and more aggressive.
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NewsIn depth: Justice minister admits county court has not recovered from pandemic
Sarah Sackman KC has admitted to MPs that the county court has not recovered from the trauma of the pandemic. Successes such as digitisation of claims are ‘nowhere near enough’.
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NewsIn depth: A digital justice system remains ‘within reach’
The £1.3bn plan to modernise courts and tribunals has fallen short of ambitions, but ‘21st century justice’ is still a realistic aspiration.
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NewsClean up your own backyard: City law firms urged to overhaul client onboarding
Legislators are ready to criminalise professional ‘enablers’ of kleptocracy - the City needs to take the threat of legislation seriously.
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News‘People are distressingly ignorant’: Hale and Sumption at the Lords rule of law inquiry
Appearing before a Lords inquiry into the rule of law, Lady Hale and Lord Sumption called for better education, while highlighting media misinformation and inequality of arms.
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NewsFundão dam collapse: a catastrophe that led Monica Dos Santos to take up law
Monica Dos Santos lost everything in Brazil’s Fundão dam collapse – then trained as a lawyer to fight for justice.
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NewsIn depth: Spring statement - HMRC targets tax avoidance enablers
While Rachel Reeves’ spring statement was devoid of a ‘proper investment plan’ for justice, it did propose a crackdown on advisers who promote tax avoidance schemes – with fines running into millions.
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NewsIn depth: Irish language to be used in Northern Ireland courts
In a ‘historic and monumental achievement’, Irish can now be used in Northern Ireland’s courts. But questions remain about how this will affect the administration of justice.
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NewsAnalysis: Elite US firms attacked by Trump face a dilemma
Donald Trump has unleashed a blizzard of attacks against law firms he has deemed inimical to his cause. With independence and the rule of law at stake, there are calls for the profession to show a united front.
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NewsIn depth: Lifeline for LawtechUK as Master of the Rolls hails 'world leader'
As the government threw a lifeline to LawtechUK, Sir Geoffrey Vos declared that the sector can become a serious competitor to the US. But little cash is flowing into access to justice ventures.
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NewsIn depth: Risk and compliance conference - AML, ethics and workplace culture
The Law Society’s risk and compliance conference last week heard that compliance officers must surmount an ever growing number of hurdles.
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NewsIn depth: Benchmarking survey - client interest profit warning
Law firms buoyed by interest on client money must ‘wean themselves off’ this lucrative income stream. That is a key message of the annual Law Society Financial Benchmarking Survey.
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NewsIn depth: Arbitration Act - new rules put UK ahead
An updated Arbitration Act not only ‘safeguards the UK’s reputation for excellence’, but also reinforces its international credentials. With a wary eye on the competition, practitioners welcome the act’s clarity.
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NewsIn depth: Litigation funding - does the cap fit?
As the Civil Justice Council completes its review of litigation funding, the Law Society’s preference for self-regulation is at odds with the clamour elsewhere for statutory oversight and caps on returns
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NewsIn depth: Eight-year Mastercard saga rumbles on
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved a £200m settlement in the massive Merricks v Mastercard collective action. But new battles loom over card processing fees and the funder’s return.
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NewsIn depth: Law Commission issues proposals on reforming criminal appeals
Replacing the CCRC’s ‘real possibility’ test and elevating more cases to the Supreme Court are among Law Commission proposals.
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NewsIn depth: Cardiff Civil and Family Justice Centre is falling apart
Leaky roof, missing tiles, inadequate security...the Cardiff Civil and Family Justice Centre is not fit for purpose. The centre’s decrepitude touches raw nerves in Westminster’s relationship with Wales.
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NewsIn depth: AI regulation falters as UK snubs international accord
Legal controls over development and use of artificial intelligence hit an obstacle last week, as the US and UK refused to back a statement in support of AI regulation signed by 60 other countries.
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NewsIn depth: Legal policy forum highlights new diversity and inclusion initiatives
The UK’s legal sector is continuing to champion diversity, equality and inclusion programmes as major US corporations, including professional advisory firms, begin to row back on their pledges.