THIS ISSUE
The requirement to ring-fence retail banking from investment activities, which was introduced following the 2008 financial crash, is to be abolished.
Linklaters has launched a solicitor apprenticeship programme, offering an alternative route to qualification at the magic circle firm.
Bates Wells, Browne Jacobson and Freeths have become the latest law firms to join Project Rise, a scheme to widen access to the profession by offering part-time solicitor training.
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) is considering dropping hours-based requirements for continuous professional development (CPD) and adopting an outcomes-focused approach.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Freeths—Ruth Clare
National real estate team bolstered by partner hire in Manchester
Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon
Partner appointed head of family team
mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison
Firm strengthens agriculture and rural affairs team with partner return
NEWS
Conveyancing lawyers have enjoyed a rapid win after campaigning against UK Finance’s decision to charge for access to the Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has launched a recruitment drive for talented early career and more senior barristers and solicitors
Regulators differed in the clarity and consistency of their post-Mazur advice and guidance, according to an interim report by the Legal Services Board (LSB)
The dangers of uncritical artificial intelligence (AI) use in legal practice are no longer hypothetical. In this week's NLJ, Dr Charanjit Singh of Holborn Chambers examines cases where lawyers relied on ‘hallucinated’ citations — entirely fictitious authorities generated by AI tools
The Solicitors Act 1974 may still underpin legal regulation, but its age is increasingly showing. Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Morrison-Hughes of the Association of Costs Lawyers argues that the Act is ‘out of step with modern consumer law’ and actively deters fairness
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