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Jon Whittle’s commentary and views on the imminent SRA changes make for very sobering reading. He says “Most firms are unaware of the changes and are therefore unprepared and unprotected to face what’s coming next. Is this the fault of the solicitors for not educating themselves, or the regulatory body for not getting through to them?”

I have to agree with Sophie Barrett-Brown’s comment;

“Some regulatory changes may have an impact on standards. Firms are
challenged to do everything faster, cheaper… but there’s only so much that can achieve and for many types of work a certain amount of time is still needed for good, old-fashioned thinking and doing it properly.”

What are your views?

Does your firm provide advice in an area where you will need to give information to the public about your fees? Do we really need a digital badge to show the public that solicitors are SRA-regulated?

You can read the report here – http://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/research-and-reports/bellwether-discussion-paper-2018.html

SRA information on some of the changes are here – http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/better-information-june-2018.page

The new advice I have written is now available from the Handy Guides section of this website – see Continuity Planning.

It isn’t nice to consider what happens if… However, this has information on Special Executors in your Will, appointing an Attorney to deal with your firm and a pro-forma that you can tailor to your own firm for planning for risks such as floods and other disasters. I hope it’s helpful!

Lexis Nexis have published it on their Compliance site, which is well worth a look, as there’s lots of very insightful and helpful material – http://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/sites/en-uk/independent-law/compliance-and-pii.page

The lovely Ben Amunwa has launched a useful newsletter. What is especially refreshing are the topical videos – they are informative, yet easier to engage with than most educational webinars!

I really admire people who are happy to share their expertise in this way (without being camera shy!) and freely make their knowledge available to others. Thanks, Ben!

Here’s a message from Ben:
Dear friends & connections, I’m launching an email newsletter packed with exclusive ‘Law, mostly’ news, updates & behind-the-scenes previews, especially for my Linkedin buddies. 💙

Consider it a small & precious gift from me to you. Don’t miss out – sign up by using the link below…

https://lnkd.in/eEugTWN

Help me spread the word by sharing this opportunity with your connections! 📢

Hit ‘Share’ people.

#linkedin #email #newsletters #marketing #gdpr #law #website #lawyer #legal #solicitors #gifts #preview

If you are a Sole Practitioner or running a small firm, there is a dedicated page on the SRA’s website for you. As well as current information, there is also a link where you can subscribe to their mailing list for relevant updates.

http:/www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/small-firms.page

It was good to see an article by John Hyde of the Law Gazette about the confusion arising from Law firms’ names. There is little restriction on what you call your firm, in terms of it sounding similar to that of other firms, so problems can arise.

For example, the recent proposed changes by the SRA for publishing decisions about Law firms should be considered in light of what becomes available in the press and online. If something like a decision against an intervened firm goes live, in a format from the SRA that has limited information, huge confusion can arise.

Robots from “Solicitors from the Cess Pool”-type websites can trawl the net and could automatically populate their information… wrongly. If you search online for a now-closed firm and only find an innocent firm of a similar name, reputations can be damaged…

You can read the article here – https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/obiter/mistaken-identities/5064958.article