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12 January 2022
Issue: 7962 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Insurance / reinsurance
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No more flying solo?

Sole practitioners are swapping private practice for consultancy at larger firms in increasing numbers due to rising professional indemnity insurance (PII) premiums, research shows

Solicitors Regulation Authority figures show the number of sole practitioners dropped by 5% in the past six months alone. A LexisNexisreport, ‘Bellwether 2021: The good, the bad and the new’, revealed PII has risen by an average of 30% among small and medium firms in one year, with two-thirds of respondents identifying PII as among the biggest threats to their firm.

Adrian Jaggard, CEO at Taylor Rose MW, which has more than doubled its number of consultant solicitors to about 350 in the past year, said: ‘Increasing PII premiums have particularly impacted smaller firms and sole practitioners and it is having a marked impact on their appetite to keep operating independently.

‘We are seeing a lot of experienced solicitors who no longer want the responsibilities of compliance and increasing operating costs, and instead are seeking the relative security and freedom of operating as consultants.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

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