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Health assessment

18 March 2011 / Josh Bottomley
Issue: 7457 / Categories: Opinion
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The last few years have seen significant changes to the legal market. Increased competition from high street names such as the Co-operative and Halifax...

The last few years have seen significant changes to the legal market. Increased competition from high street names such as the Co-operative and Halifax, as well as the economic consequences of the credit crunch have led clients to look hard at the cost of pursuing legal remedies. In addition the Legal Services Act, changes to legal aid, and the government’s review of the cost of civil litigation, will all equate to the equivalent of the City’s “Big Bang” in the 1980s in the next 12–18 months.

High street lawyers working for small businesses and individuals have faced the greatest challenge. They are the firms that offer services on conveyancing, wills and probate, personal injury, family law, and standard employment and commercial contracts. They have tight margins and tend to be reliant on one or two areas of business. These firms face a stark choice: evolve or continue down a path that could lead

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
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