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02 October 2019
Issue: 7858 / Categories: Legal News , Legal services , Profession
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In-house lawyers call the shots

Poor, inflexible billing practices are losing law firms business, in-house lawyers say.

Peter Limbert, general counsel at Fulham FC confirms that ‘lack of clarity on billing’ is a barrier, while David Delman, executive vice president, Samsung Engineering, refers to ‘overly optimistic or overly pessimistic fee proposals’. Both lawyers are quoted in MD Communications White Paper, ‘Demanding answers’, published last week at the International Bar Association’s annual conference, held in Seoul, South Korea.

Other characteristics likely to lose a tender are private practice ‘arrogance’ and poor commercial sense. Moreover, in-house legal departments are starting to develop their own legal tech solutions, rather than rely on tech vendors and law firms, and often want firms to match and adopt their own systems and processes.

General counsel interviewed for the research also highlight their interest in diversity, equality and mental wellbeing―areas on which they expect firms to have strong track records.

Writing in the foreword, Stephen Denyer, former partner at Allen & Overy, says: ‘Increasingly, in-house are in the driving seat.’

Issue: 7858 / Categories: Legal News , Legal services , Profession
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—David Abbott & Claire Keat

DWF—David Abbott & Claire Keat

Senior appointments in insurance services and commercial services announced

Clyde & Co—Nick Roberts

Clyde & Co—Nick Roberts

Aviation disputes practice strengthened by London partner hire

Ellisons—Marion Knocker

Ellisons—Marion Knocker

Residential property lawyer promoted to partnership

NEWS
he abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC
Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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