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The insider: 29 October 2021

29 October 2021 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7954 / Categories: Opinion , Profession
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Dominic Regan shares a witches’ brew of the pros & cons of remote working, hot desking & premature career planning

‘To be blunt, remote hearings can boost their earnings potential,’ said Sir Geoffrey Vos MR of lawyers when delivering a speech on 17 September this year. He is absolutely correct, and that is a good thing. Practitioners are not charging more (although see below); they are getting more things done by using their time efficiently. Barrister Zoey White helpfully told me: ‘I’ve found that I can often agree a lower brief fee as I can do more than one hearing or other work in a day.’

Not having to get up at stupid o’clock and travel for hours at serious expense is such a good outcome. I confess that, while chairing a recent online conference, I was able to empty the dishwasher.

The Lord Chief Justice, as discussed in this magazine by Stephen Gold, has directed that there be a return to live hearings save in ‘exceptional and unavoidable circumstances’.

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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
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
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
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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
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