Bullying report a ‘moment of reckoning’ for the Bar
The report in to bullying and harassment within the Bar has concluded 36 recommendations to tackle what is described as a ‘culture of impunity’ by Baroness Harriet Harman KC, the report’s author. The review was commissioned in October 2024in the wake of research data from the Bar Council’s biennial survey of the profession, Barristers’ Working […]
Fishing tackle, sofas and letters from Queen Elizabeth amongst most bizarre legacies in 2024
Fishing tackle and a reclining sofa from DFS made up some of the more bizarre gifts left in Wills reveals Co-Op Legal Services. With Remember a Charity Week in full swing the Bristol-based estate planning firm have revealed a near 50% uplift in legacy giving in 2024 over 2023, with nearly £100m pledged Co-Op Legal […]
HMCTS reviewing the use of AI to ‘transform courts and tribunals’
His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is actively reviewing and adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in its effort to moderns the courts and tribunals service said Gary O’Reilly, Chief Technology Officer in a blog on the HMCTS website. The service has started to pilot AI for transcription and summarisation, support the anonymisation of judgements and documents, […]
Widening membership opportunities captures diversity of profession for estate planning body
New membership categories at BEST Foundation are designed to recognise the diversity of the profession say the estate planning training and membership body; recognising the way in which the profession has changed over the past decade. BEST say it recognises this change brings with is challenges for representative bodies and to that end has conducted […]
Government taking ‘preventative steps’ to tackle inheritance fraud
The government is ‘reviewing the preventative steps taken’ in the course of probate applications to tackle inheritance fraud highlighted by the recent BBC podcast series uncovering criminal use of the Bona Vacantia list to identify vacant and unclaimed estates, producing fraudulent wills and submitting them to be awarded grant of probate. In response to a […]
Willwriting firm launches community fund for grassroots organisations
A north-west based will writing business has launched a new community fund to support grassroots organisations and ‘give back to the communities it serves.’ Morecambe Bay Wills and Estates, which also incorporates North Wales Wills, Kendal Wills and Lancaster Wills, has pledged a share of its annual profits to create a Community Fund worth £7,500. The […]
A new safe and free legal AI tool for everyone
The high court warned lawyers that relying on fake AI-generated citations, even unknowingly, could lead them to face serious professional consequences and risk a wasted costs order. While legal professionals can face severe sanctions when using AI inappropriately, the public should not be left exposed either when they are using AI to understand and resolve […]