The Ombudsman’s Corner: June 2023

The Ombudsman's Corner

This month, I want to talk about our Technical Advice service. We are committed to being accessible to our stakeholders, so we decided to set up a dedicated email address technical.advice@legalombudsman.org.uk in November 2021 for service providers to contact us to obtain advice and guidance on a range of issues relating to complaints, complaints handling […]

Women in Wills virtual meet up: Resilience

Women in Wills

Women in Wills hosted the second episode of the Interview Series on Wednesday the 7th of June, sponsored by Arken.legal. Pippa Shepard, head of Customer Engagement at Arken.legal, interviewed Eleanor Evans from Hugh James and Michelle Baden-Daintree from Simpson Solicitors during a discussion about their experience in the legal sector whilst offering invaluable advice to […]

Stop buying estate planning leads

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Stop! buying leads (to grow your business) If you need to generate new customers on a regular basis, then you have probably explored buying in leads from services like Bark or Leadfeeder. If this is you, then you will also have experience making calls to find out that at least one of the following is true: […]

Law Commission ‘aware of concerns’ around predatory marriage

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Today’s Wills and Probate has learned that the Law Commission is aware of concerns around predatory marriage, and “will be considering [the issue]” in its upcoming supplementary consultation paper on wills, which it says is due to be published in September. Predatory marriage refers to a situation where an individual, often vulnerable due to age […]

HMCTS ponders AI solutions as probate delays soar

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New data released by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has revealed probate delays increased by almost half during the month of April. Specifically, the average timeline from submission to a grant of probate hit 15.5 weeks in April – nearly four months – having sat as 10.8 weeks the prior month. The sharpness of […]

Law Society surveys solicitors on will reform

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Private Client Solicitors are being asked by The Law Society for their opinions on the The Law Commission wills reform project via a short survey. Questions include topics such as rules on marriage revoking a will and the use of digital technology to make wills. Unique emails are being sent to those participating in the […]

Specialist contentious probate firm receives multi-million pound private equity boost

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Harrogate-headquartered IDR Law has announced a £3.25 million capital investment from experienced growth capital investors BGF. IDR Law says it is the only UK law firm to specialise solely in the resolution of contentious wills, probate, and trust disputes. As a result of IDR Law’s “unique position” in the market, as well as their IDR […]

Half of law firms expecting to grow in 2023, established annual report suggests

LexisNexis has released their latest Bellwether report which reveals that 46% of law firms are expecting to grow throughout tthe duration of this year. The report also revealed that whilst there is a desire for growth, the industry is less bullish than it was in 2021 when 66% predicted growth. 38% expect to remain stable. What’s […]