Expert Analysis

• Client Complaint Data Offers Key Insights For Lawyers

  

  While the Legal Ombudsman has not yet released its latest annual report to the public, we can look at last year's data to decipher what may have caused a spike in client dissatisfaction and predict what to anticipate in an effort to improve the quality of legal services, says Qarrar Somji at Witan Solicitors.

• Disciplinary Ruling Has Lessons For Lawyers On Social Media

  

  A recent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal judgment against a solicitor for online posts deemed antisemitic and offensive highlights the serious sanctions that can stem from conduct on social media and the importance of law firms' efforts to ensure that their employees behave properly, say Liz Pearson and Andrew Pavlovic at CM Murray.

• Law Firm Considerations In Attracting And Retaining Talent

  

  As law firms move away from a solely seniority-based partner remuneration model toward a reward performance system, they need to look holistically at overall contribution, maintaining an effective hierarchy of entrepreneurial senior partners, diligent management and hardworking junior staff in order to incentivize the stars they wish to keep, says Catriona Watt at Fox & Partners.

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  PR Perspectives: Focusing On The Truth Will Gain Trust

  

  With a firm’s hard-won reputation at risk of being trashed if news breaks that the business has misled its stakeholders, it is far better for a public relations team to insist that external promotions be truthful, driving the organization to look critically at itself and make positive change, says Clare Rodway at Kysen PR.

• Why It's Helpful To Understand The Role Of The SRA

  

  With the ongoing Post Office inquiry and review of the role lawyers played in the scandal, the Solicitors Regulation Authority is currently under wider public consideration, and it is worth examining its role as a regulator, says Steve Roberts at Richard Nelson.

• Tips For Hiring Adaptable Legal Talent In Uncertain Times

  

  Amid the current period of economic and regulatory turbulence, businesses will need to consider skills that go beyond technical excellence when hiring in-house legal talent — including versatility, commercial awareness and artificial intelligence proficiency, says Jerry Temko at Major Lindsey.

• PR Perspectives: The Future For Legal Press Releases

  

  Although press releases are used less frequently now, they still have a place in the legal public relations repertoire, alongside the commentary, articles and social media aimed at getting law firms' or barristers' chambers' messages across, says Steve Rudaini at SJR Communications.

• How Pro Bono Work Can Strengthen A Law Firm

  

  Creating a sustainable pro bono program can enhance a law firm's reputation and make it attractive to prospective clients and talent in several ways, says Shams Merchant at Jackson Walker.

• Why Neurodiversity Support In The Legal Sector Is Important

  

  With recent statistics revealing that high numbers of legal professionals are reluctant to disclose their neurodivergence for fear of adverse consequences, organizations and employers should develop awareness and understanding to encourage a committed source of talent with requisite skills to make a positive contribution, says Kevin Athow, general counsel at BSH Home Appliances.

• Legal Sector Will Benefit From New Data Security Standard

  

  The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office-approved new privacy certification scheme for the legal profession will inevitably become the default for law firms, chambers and vendors to prove their U.K. General Data Protection Regulation compliance, says Orlagh Kelly at Briefed.

• PR Perspectives: Navigating UK And US Legal PR Differences

  

  Despite apparently negligible differences between U.S. and U.K. legal systems, public relations requires an understanding of regional nuances and complex legal issues, and U.K.-based PR professionals looking to gain traction in the U.S. must adapt their strategies accordingly to achieve successful cross-jurisdictional campaigns, say Ben Finnis and Elizabeth Rincon at Greentarget.

• Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

  

  Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

• Risks The Judiciary Needs To Be Aware Of When Using AI

  

  Recently published judiciary service guidance aims to temper reliance on AI by court staff in their work, and with ever-increasing and evolving technology, such tools should be used for supplementary assistance rather than as a replacement for already existing judicial research tools, says Philip Sewell at Shepherd & Wedderburn.

• Prompt Engineering Skills Are Changing The Legal Profession

  

  With a focus on higher-value work as repetitive tasks are delegated to artificial intelligence, legal roles are set to become more inspiring, and lawyers need not fear the rising demand for prompt engineers that is altering the technology-enabled legal environment, say Eric Crawley, Shah Karim and Paul O’Hagan at Epiq Legal.

• 4 Legal Privilege Lessons From Dechert Disclosure Ruling

  

  The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Al Sadeq v. Dechert LLP, finding that evidence may have been incorrectly withheld, provides welcome clarification of the scope of legal professional privilege, including the application of the iniquity exception, says Tim Knight at Travers Smith.