Legal services

The legal profession’s claim to be a ‘guardian of fairness’ is under scrutiny after stark findings on gender imbalance and opaque progression. Writing in NLJ this week, Joshua Purser of No5 Barristers’ Chambers and Govindi Deerasinghe of Global 50/50 warn that leadership remains dominated by a narrow elite, with men holding 71% of top court roles

A fair & equitable profession? Joshua Purser & Govindi Deerasinghe explore some troubling research

Monisha Shah, who currently chairs the Kings Counsel Selection Panel, has been selected to lead the Legal Services Board (LSB), subject to pre-appointment scrutiny by the Justice Select Committee

The Bar Council has joined the Law Society and CILEX in opposing Ministry of Justice (MoJ) proposals for a levy on interest earned on lawyers’ client accounts

The AI chickens are coming home to roost: Peter Ambrose reports on an unforeseen development ruffling the feathers of the profession

The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself

A highly experienced chartered legal executive has been prevented from representing her client in financial remedies proceedings, in a case that highlights the continued fallout from Mazur

Plans to commandeer 50%-75% of the interest on lawyers’ client accounts to fund the justice system overlook the cost and administrative burden of this on small and medium law firms, CILEX has warned

The collapse of law firms Axiom Ince and SSB Group demonstrate the need for the Legal Services Board (LSB) to strengthen its oversight of frontline regulators, Law Society president Mark Evans said this week

How alien a concept is democracy in solicitors’ firms? Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC