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June 02 2021

COVID-19 and the ongoing impact on residential property transactions

Back in October 2020, we reported on the trends shown by the England and Welsh property market during and after the first national lockdown. Since then, we have experienced a second lockdown (in November 2020), and are now slowly emerging from a third. To produce this update, we have utilised the next two quarters of residential property purchase data filtered by date of completion from the Land Registry, which now shows us the full results for 2020.

Solicitors Season Review - Reflection on the latest renewals season

May 21 2021

Guidance - Risk Management - General

Solicitors Season Review - Reflection on the latest renewals season

The hardening insurance market conditions continued for the spring renewal period with rates continuing to rise. October 2020 was tough, but the conditions that practices experienced leading up to British springtime 2021 were even tougher and I suspect much harder than anyone in the broker community had predicted. Insurers’ appetites were suppressed and as we got closer to the 1st April renewal date, market conditions became progressively more challenging.

How long does it take for a mistake to be discovered?

April 30 2021

Guidance -

How long does it take for a mistake to be discovered?

The time it takes to discover a mistake, error or negligent act can vary hugely. We have seen claims which are notified almost immediately after the negligent act took place, to the other extreme where one matter (residential conveyancing) was reported 38 years after the work was carried out. Those claims discovered quickly have the potential for rectification however social engineering fraud claims, where money is wired to an imposter purporting to be the client, can be difficult to mitigate in terms of retrieving the funds, as they are often swiftly transferred to multiple accounts overseas, never to be seen again. Claims which arise years after the fee earners have left or from work no longer carried out by the firm, can be particularly difficult to defend: lack of information, attendance notes or files destroyed or lost, mean firms are left floundering to defend themselves.

Extended policy period - What you need to know

March 30 2021

Guidance - Professional Indemnity

Extended policy period - What you need to know

Due to hard market conditions and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, some practices may be facing very difficult decisions during their upcoming professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewal period. The unfortunate reality is that some firms may struggle to obtain cover and could fall into the extended indemnity period as a result.

Attacks exploiting Microsoft Exchange Server flaws - what you need to know

March 24 2021

News -

Attacks exploiting Microsoft Exchange Server flaws - what you need to know

On March 2, 2021 Microsoft reported that it has observed targeted attacks that take advantage of four zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server to gain full access to all email on the victim’s system. The attacks do not affect Exchange Online. Technical information about the attacks is available in this report by the cybersecurity firm FireEye.

The Sole Practitioners Group – SOLO Journal

March 23 2021

News - Professional Indemnity

The Sole Practitioners Group – SOLO Journal

Whilst we have been given some hope that life will be subject to fewer restrictions as the year progresses, I feel the virtual world that we have adopted will form a part of our working lives moving forward. A key struggle faced by Sole Practitioners is the inability to speak regularly with colleagues and one focus of the SPG is to provide a platform for its members to interact.

March 22 2021

Guidance - Fraud & Scams

Property Hijacking

Property hijacking has become more prevalent in the UK and the coronavirus crisis has given fraudsters more opportunity to make money, fuelling the growth of crime in the UK.

LEADING with James Ashton: Barnardo's and DLA Piper

March 18 2021

Podcast -

LEADING with James Ashton: Barnardo's and DLA Piper

Leading – the podcast proudly sponsored by Lockton – talks to leaders at the top of their game, discussing their experience, the big decisions they’ve taken, and their advice to aspiring leaders. In this episode, James Ashton is joined by Javed Khan, chief executive of Barnardo’s, one of the UK’s biggest charities, and Simon Levine, global co-CEO the UK’s largest law firm DLA Piper.

March 10 2021

News - Property/Conveyancing

Stamp Duty Land Tax - Lockton Update

For the significant number of our clients that undertake residential conveyancing, the changes to SDLT introduced in 2020 have served as a catalyst for a better than expected number of transactions completed across the English property market during the Covid-19 pandemic; “Good news for law firms” many outside commentators would be forgiven for speculating. Whilst the SDLT lever was certainly a vital instrument in 2020, as we headed in to 2021, SDLT continued to stoke debate, a number of firms were grateful for the certainty the cut-off provided, others were concerned with the “cliff-edge” impact that was likely to be experienced.

Webinar Recording I Update on AML guidance

February 18 2021

Webinar - AML

Webinar Recording I Update on AML guidance

You can find the recording to our Update on AML webinar hosted on the 16th February 2021 here.

February 08 2021

Webinar - AML

Webinar I Update on AML guidance

It’s a busy start to the year in AML, with new guidance, a new National and sectoral risk assessment firms need to make time to review their policies and procedures urgently to ensure they compliance.

February 04 2021

Guidance - Compliance

Abiding with the SRA transparency rules

December 2018 saw the SRA introduce new transparency rules for the legal profession in England and Wales. As part of this, a new requirement was introduced for all regulated practices to publish pricing and information for the following services on their websites.

January 27 2021

News - Risk Management - General

Parliament to debate SDLT extension

We wanted to make you aware of an important development; Rob Hailstone CEO and founder of the Bold Legal Group is pleased to report that MPs will be debating a possible Stamp Duty Holiday extension on Monday 1st February at 4.30 pm.