Law Firms Amongst Quickest To Report Data Breaches Pre GDPR
A recent Freedom of Information (FoI) request has found that law firms were amongst the quickest organisations to react and report data breaches to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). However, in the time prior to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), businesses languished for too long until they reported the breach to the UK’s official watchdog. […]
Freehold ‘Inequality Of Arms’ Scrapped Under Leasehold Reforms
Currently, leaseholders who successfully sue their freeholder are frequently liable to pay the legal costs incurred by the losing side. As was reported in The Sunday Times, this legal loophole often leaves leaseholders burdened with far greater debts than they were originally fighting to reduce. Following the report, the government intend to scrap this loophole […]
Dye & Durham UK acquires Index Property Information Group To Grow Share Of UK Property Search Market
Dye & Durham (UK) Ltd today announces that it has acquired 100% of Index Property Information Group Ltd Index Property Information will become an integral part of Dye & Durham’s UK group of companies, joining easyconvey and Finlay Associates and establishes Dye & Durham as a leader in the UK property information and legal technology […]
Specialist Compliance Adviser Joins The Legal Eye Team
Steven Taylor has joined specialist risk and compliance business Legal Eye as Compliance Adviser. Steven brings an extensive background in banking and in litigation funding as well as direct experience as a MLRO, further strengthening the depth and breadth of experience available from the Legal Eye team. Having started his career in financial services with […]
10 Principles Suggested To Revolutionise Archaic Digital Regulations
A recent report, completed by the Communications Committee in the House of Lords, has claimed that the use of and reliance on digital technology has moved at a swifter pace than the regulations monitoring business and individual safety. ‘Regulating in a Digital World’ recommends that a main regulatory body is needed to knit together the […]
Legal Sector Overwhelmingly Unprepared For Brexit
The majority of law firms have failed to prepare for Brexit and do not prioritise it as an immediate concern despite the March 29 deadline just weeks away. According to the most recent Bellwether Report Series – ‘The Luxury of Uncertainty’ – by Lexis Nexis, fewer than 1 in 10 law firms have put in […]
Property Sector Poses Economic Risk From AML Perspective
A new report released on Friday believes that the UK’s anti-money laundering system is fragmented and needs urgently re-ordering. The unanimously agreed report ‘Economic Crime – Anti-Money Laundering Supervision and Sanctions Implementation’ was transparent in their confusion as to the extent of the problem in the UK. Conflicting reports indicating the problem could be anywhere […]
Gender Equality Needs More Prominent Position In Society
March 8 marked the annual International Women’s Day (IWD). Whilst ‘great strides’ have been taken since the Sex Disqualification Act was passed in 1919, allowing women to train as a solicitor, recent Law Society research indicates that the legal sector still needs to place gender equality on a higher pedestal as there is a clear […]
The Importance Of Price And Service Transparency
A recent report by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has found that the public have severe misunderstandings and negative attitudes toward legal service providers. In particular, perceptions of affordability deter many people from using legal service providers. BSB research has found that a staggering 63% of the UK population do not believe that professional legal […]
Lawyer Checker Partners With Global Legal Technology Solution Provider
Lawyer Checker has collaborated with Tikit, a global supplier of technological solutions to legal firms, to safeguard their clients against fraud. Exclusive risk management solution provider, Lawyer Checker has integrated with Tikit’s practice and case management software, Partner for Windows (P4W) interface so clients now have the ability to use their own Lawyer Checker’s Account […]
Law Firm Closes After Working Through Eight Monarchs’ Lifetimes
One of the oldest law firms in England has fallen into liquidation and closed its doors after almost 250 years of providing legal advice. Founded in 1773, Brighton Firm Howlett Clarke Solicitors, would have been engaged in legal concerns regarding the Tea Act that looked at issues involving smuggled tea into England when they were […]
Reduced Stock Levels Inflate Property Prices In February
Reduced housing stock has created a short-term sellers market that has inflated price growth for the month of February according to a recent report. Halifax House Price Index have found property prices have increased by 2.8% annually, an increase of 2% from the 0.8% annual growth recorded in January. Prices have also increased 1.8% between […]
Recovery Plan Urges Countrywide To Conquer Conveyancing Sector
Throughout 2018, struggling estate agents, Countrywide, waded through attempts to accrue emergency fundraising revenue, a plethora of profit warnings and reducing share value. Full-year adjusted earnings plummeted by 49.2% to £33 million and group income shrank from 2017’s £672 million to £627 million. Following significantly reduced revenue in 2018, estate agent giants, Countrywide, have announced […]
Facing The Toxic Tide
The UK has more than 21,000 historic landfills scattered across the country. 2,946 of these, according to analysis by the British Geological Survey (BGS), are located on flood plains. Many date back to 1890 and with few records kept of what went in them until EU regulations were introduced in the late 1990s, there are likely to […]
Increased Accountability Measures Required In Construction Industry
Declining quality in newly built homes has prompted an industry think-tank to call for immediate changes to ensure new homeowners are not left abandoned to deal with their extensive snagging lists. The report by the Social Market Foundation believes that home owners of new property should receive greater rights if there is a fault in […]
How Can Local Conveyancers Compete With Large Law Firms?
In the world of conveyancing, there are minnows and sharks, and according to recent data from the Land Registry, the former are falling victim to market capitalisation by the latter. While the overall picture for the conveyancing industry is positive, with demand for services at their highest levels since the UK voted to leave the […]
Property Price Increases Forcing FTBs To Use Help To Buy
Although many experts have predicted that house prices could be adversely affected by Brexit outcomes, in the past five years property prices have skyrocketed by up to 60%. A recent report carried out by property management firm, Apropos, focused their findings on the average property increases since 2013 across the UK’s major cities and towns. […]
Last Chance To Enter LFS Conveyancing Awards 2019
The deadline to register for this years awards is fast approaching on Friday 15th March with completed applications needing to be submitted by 29th March. At the 2018 awards 460 people had an amazing night with Harrowells solicitors in York coming away with the overall conveyancing firm of the year. So far LFS have received […]
CLC Welcome Referral Fee Transparency And Guidance
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) have welcomed the recent guidance to estate agents on referral fee transparency, claiming they are a ‘step in improving the homebuying process for consumers.’ Clarification on referral fees guidance was speculated during the opening talk at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers annual conference when Heather Wheeler, Minister for Housing […]
UK Construction Output Declines To 11 Month Low
UK construction activity has fallen for the first time in eleven months, according to a recent report. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI for February found that the UK’s building output for the month was 49.5, down from 50.6 in January. As 50 marks no change on the index, the most recent figures suggest that […]