The number of solicitors has increased, but more of them are working in-house and there are fewer law firms, official figures show. One in five practicing solicitors now work in-house, up from 15% in 2000, according to the Law Society’s annual statistics. One in five work in the City. As of 31 July 2015, there were 133,367 practising solicitors, a 2.3% rise. There were 9,403 law firms, a drop of more than 1,000 compared to five years ago. There are roughly equal numbers of men and women listed as practising solicitors.
04 May 2016
Law Society's portrait of a profession
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Bell Yard Kysen—Liz Giles
Bell Yard Kysen appoints senior legal PR and ex-government communications adviser, Liz Giles
Clarke Willmott—Lee Edwards
Clarke Willmott boosts Southampton commercial property team with addition of partner Lee Edwards
Lime Solicitors—four promotions
Lime Solicitors announces four promotions
NEWS
The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, and Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP, marked the 25th anniversary of Pro Bono Week by joining lawyers, charities, students and parliamentarians at events celebrating voluntary legal work
A polished legal defence may owe more to artificial intelligence than legal merit—and creditors risk paying the price in delay and expense
Witness evidence can be compromised by AI before a solicitor sees the draft, leaving safeguards focused on authorship incomplete
Should a conviction stand when a later ruling reveals that the law underpinning it was wrong? The answer exposes a clash between finality and justice
Possession claims are entering a new digital era, with procedural traps awaiting practitioners who assume familiar rules still govern every step
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