Month: May 2017
Companies selling legal services online
It is probably easier for companies to sell legal services and documents online than it is for firms of solicitors. This may seem unfair, given that the ultimate product (eg a divorce or a conveyance) was originally created by lawyers to protect the client. How can it be that non-lawyers can do it better? In […]
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Employment tribunal judgments online
Employment tribunal judgments are now available online on GOV.UK at www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions. Previously, in order to read a first instance judgment, you had to hope that one of the parties published it or that the judiciary website considered it to be of sufficient importance to publish or to take a trip to the central register and […]
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How not to commission a website
Recently, I met a barrister who was handling a case where a website project had gone badly wrong, losing significant sales for the customer who had commissioned it. After comparing war stories, we concluded that a lot more websites go awry than one might realise and that it might be worth sharing some of the […]
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Time for a new intranet at Leigh Day
Leigh Day is a law firm with offices in London, Manchester and Liverpool. It was founded by Sarah Leigh and Martyn Day and celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The firm currently has more than 400 staff, the majority in London, but with an office of more than 60 staff in Manchester and a small […]
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What are smart contracts?
The origin of the term “smart contract” has been attributed to Nick Szabo who wrote a paper in the late 90s in which he described them as combining “protocols with user interfaces to formalize and secure relationships over computer networks.” However, the more popular meaning of “smart contract” in current parlance, and for purposes of […]
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Publications, launches and events
Legal tech startups April’s Legal IT Insider incorporates a new Legal Tech Startup Directory. There are 18 pages of listings and analysis of 52 innovative companies who have “broken with the law firm herd mentality and are set to change the face of legal practice in the UK, Europe, US and APAC regions.” As well […]
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Solicitors’ continuing competence – a reminder
Solicitors no longer need to count CPD hours. Instead you should now reflect on the quality of your practice and identify any learning and development needs. You can then address these needs to make sure your knowledge and skills are up to date and that you are competent to practice. The new regime requires you, […]
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