header-logo header-logo

27 January 2023 / Frank Maher
Issue: 8010 / Categories: Opinion , Risk management , Legal services , Cyber , Fraud
printer mail-detail

2023: Challenges & risks ahead

107905
Cybercrime crackdown & anti-money laundering action: Frank Maher looks to the year ahead & runs through the key risks for law firms to keep in mind

Many of the common challenges for law firms in 2023 remain similar to those seen in previous years, but two key areas of potential risk—cybercrime and money laundering—are becoming increasingly more significant as we look to the months ahead.

Eyes on cyber

No firm is too small to be targeted: the client data we hold is valuable, and there is an increased risk of ransomware attacks since the invasion of Ukraine. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) reported a reduction in client losses from cybercrime at the COLP & COFA conference in November 2022, but that is not a reason for complacency. Numbers of attacks have increased in the business world generally, and Miller Insurance noted in their Review of the 1 October Renewal Season that there has been a number of payment diversion fraud and invoice manipulation losses. Meanwhile Howden Insurance Brokers’

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
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 High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
back-to-top-scroll