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NLJ this week: SIF should stay

28 May 2021
Issue: 7934 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Insurance / reinsurance
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The closure of the Solicitors indemnity Fund (SIF) should not be treated as a fait accompli, solicitor (non-practising) Andrew Stovin writes in this week’s NLJ.

He argues there is no reason for it to close at all, and questions the ethics of a decision that will deprive retired and retiring solicitors of indemnity cover.

‘The funds were raised from the profession specifically for indemnity purposes and should absolutely remain in place for that purpose,’ he writes.

SIF was a mutual indemnity fund for solicitors which closed in 2000 so solicitors could obtain cover on the open market. It will stop accepting new claims in September this year.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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