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Internal affairs

28 October 2010 / Nick Jarrett-kerr
Issue: 7439 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession
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Nick Jarrett-Kerr explains why today’s lawyers need an advanced set of life & business skills

There was a time, several decades ago, when solicitors were widely regarded —in what was then a male-dominated profession—as “men of affairs”, able to advise clients holistically on a wide range of their life, business and personal issues of which legal issues formed only one element. However, the mushroom-like growth of other professionals such as accountants, financial advisers, property experts, and wealth advisers steadily eroded the lawyer’s position of influence all through the 20th century leaving solicitors in the UK as technical advisers at the tail end of transactions, and as the last port of call when all other efforts by other professionals to solve problems had failed. Regulatory protection in areas such as litigation and probate helped to preserve the standing and the market position of law firms and at the same time a growing tide of legislation gave lawyers a technical stronghold from which to operate profitably and with the fearless independence which is the hallmark of the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
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