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22 November 2013 / Nagib Tharani , Joshua Lenon
Issue: 7585 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Silver linings in the cloud

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Local privacy & regulatory issues must not be overlooked in the migration to the cloud, warn Nagib Tharani & Joshua Lenon

As the market for legal services changes rapidly, law firms of all sizes need to be flexible, responsive to client needs and cost-efficient. One consequence of this change is that practice management systems, once considered as just part of the plumbing, are becoming a key strategic asset to serve clients while maintaining profit margins.

A significant development in this regard has been the move of practice management systems from the firms’ own servers and desktop computers into the cloud. Rather than being installed on a firm’s own computer systems or servers, cloud-based practice management systems and their data are located on a remote server and accessed via the Internet. This means that firms require no specialised hardware or software to use cloud-based systems—everything works through a normal web browser such as Internet Explorer or Google Chrome, enabling the system, data and documents to be accessed from wherever a lawyer—or

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

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
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