Law Society Group publishes gender pay gap report
The Law Society Group (the Group) has published its gender pay gap report for 2020. The report details the combined results of the Law Society of England and Wales and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which are one legal entity but operate independently. Our 2020 median pay gap between women and men is 11.8%, which is […]
Cafcass welcomes judgment on family case involving domestic abuse
A judgment by the Court of Appeal* on family proceedings featuring allegations of domestic abuse has been welcomed by Cafcass, offering a revised approach in responding to such allegations in the future. Cafcass was invited by the Court of Appeal to intervene in four named Children Act appeals, concerning the application of Practice Direction12J (PD […]
Pioneering family lawyers win Women in Innovation Awards
Three family law professionals have won a prestigious ‘Innovation Award’ at Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Awards 2020/21. Becki Cassia, co-founder of Transparently, Samantha Woodham, one of the co-founders of The Divorce Surgery and Alice Stephenson who leads Stephenson Law were three women in law out of 40 winners each to win a £50,000 cash […]
HMCTS operational position : weekly summary updates
HMCTS have updated their operational summary for week commencing Monday 5th April 2021. –Updated: We’ll be opening a new Nightingale Court in Chichester which will provide 2 additional courtrooms for Lewes Crown Court. Last week we opened a Nightingale Court in Bolton, which provides 2 additional courtrooms for Crown Court work from Bolton Crown Court. […]
Brangelina divorce bill skyrockets
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie two of the world’s superstars, are estimated to have spent more than $1m each on their respective lawyers as the fall out from their spectacularly nasty 2016 split continues unabated. They have been fighting each other longer than they were married and the legal bills are apparently skyrocketing. It is […]
Key considerations for the implementation of new technology
This article has been written by Pippa Shepherd who is the Head of Customer Engagement at Arken.legal (UK) Ltd and a board member of the UKLTA. Pippa joined Arken in 2018 to lead the sales, marketing and customer success functions. The implementation of any technology can be daunting. However, as we have seen with COVID-19 […]
SQE is coming…six month warning
The six-month countdown has begun until the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) introduces a new route to qualifying as a solicitor – the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). There will be a gradual transition to the new system, but solicitors need to get up to speed on the changes that are coming. From September 2021, aspiring solicitors […]
Law Society Awards now open!
The Law Society Awards 2021 are now open for entries with 20 categories to choose from, covering individual, team and firm awards. “After an extraordinary year, it has never been more important to celebrate the outstanding work of our profession,” said Law Society of England and Wales president I. Stephanie Boyce. “Solicitors play a vital […]
HMCTS operational position : weekly summary updates
HMCTS have updated their operational summary for week commencing Monday 29th March 2021. –Updated: This week we will be opening a Nightingale Court in Bolton, which will provide 2 additional courtrooms for Crown Court work from Bolton Crown Court. A full list of all Nightingale Courts can be found on GOV.UK. -Fluid Resistant Surgical Masks […]
Changes in the law and how it impacts your multinational firm?
Following the UK’s exit from the EU, there will be a period of transition during which international law practitioners, such as our team at Witan Solicitors, will face uncertainty as the UK adjusts its position on the application of national and international laws concerning cross-border family law cases. As European Regulations, namely Brussels II and […]
The evolving requirements of a law firm’s website
Digital Marketing expert, Sam Borrett, director of Legmark, the specialist legal marketing agency, addresses why a website is more important than ever. Many potential clients start their search for a law firm online and a website should act as an extension of your firm’s physical office. Translating that experience, the questions they ask and how […]
Law Society welcome Family mediation vouchers
News the government is investing £1 million in a voucher scheme to help families resolve legal issues outside of court was welcomed by the Law Society of England and Wales. Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said: “We welcome the government’s new family mediation voucher scheme and the continued commitment to helping minimise conflict between […]
Book your place on the Resolution Conference now
The Resolution National Conference is taking place from Monday 17th May – Friday 21st May 2021, taking over the virtual stage to provide practitioners with networking opportunities, workshops and information fron key note speakers. The advantage of having a virtual event, means practitioners can ‘build their own event’ that fits in with the topics they […]
Your chance to help The Law Commission to shape Law Reform
The Law Commission has announced its 14th Programme of Law Reform and is asking for contributions to help shape the priorities for the next three to four years. A statement from the Law Commission reads: “The Law Commission carries out law reform projects with the aim of making the law fair, modern, simple and cost-effective. […]
Family Law case to change approach to domestic abuse
Yesterday the Court of Appeal handed down judgment on a groundbreaking case which is set to change the way courts treat domestic abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour claims. Earlier in the year, the Court of Appeal were asked to examine how the family courts treated such allegations, in the said groundbreaking case, which at the […]
Firm websites could suffer as a result of new Google Algorithm
Attracting new business is always important, and although we’d like to rely on recommendations of happy clients, more often than not people will choose our business as a result of a searching for the service on a search engine, and then contacting for a quote. With this in mind, the position of a wills and […]
LSB rally call to put consumers at heart of legal services
The Legal Services Board (LSB) launched a consumer-focussed strategy for legal services in England and Wales, and called for collaboration to reshape legal services to better meet society’s needs. The ambitious ten-year strategy reflects that the significant challenges facing the legal services sector can only be tackled by people and organisations working together to pursue […]
Cleanse your content
This week we just wanted to cover the importance of keeping on top of your existing content. If you have a website or social channel you will have content that is already in existence. As content is quite high on the list in terms of recruiting new customers and continuing to build that ever important […]
Irish re-open door to English and Welsh solicitors
News that English and Welsh solicitors can now requalify in Ireland again without being required to sit any examination under the local Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test was welcomed by the Law Society of England and Wales. From 22 March they can requalify by simply applying for a certificate of admission with the Law Society of […]
MyHMCTS users told to use Manage Cases interface log in
Professionals who use the MyHMCTS system are being asked to log on using the Manage Cases interface as opposed to using the old CCD interface. The link for this is here: https://manage-case.platform.hmcts.net/