Brexit as a concept has been around for a long time. But recently, and understandably, politicians have been wielding their arguments for staying or going like battering rams on the nation's consciousness.
Most of what we hear about is the likely impact on issues such as migrant's eligibility for child benefit, holidaying abroad, and the cost of living and a string of carefully contrived barbs, delivered to the masses, are designed to move us one way or another in a ruthless ‘push me-pull me' dance on the borders of Brexit/Bremain.
But what of the impact on those in other spheres? Ones not in such high relief? Sadly, they don't seem to feature in the mass marketing of the Yes or No arguments.
Wisely, a number of commercial law firms have begun to create their own advice teams ready to advise clients on strategies for dealing with an exit from the EU. Politicians, it seems, and the opinion pieces in the media, which are currently deluging into the communal headspace, can't be trusted - they all have an agenda and it's not to prioritise commercial law clients.
Read more: EU in or out? The impact of Brexit for commercial law firms.
Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2016
The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/510) came into effect on 8 May 2016.
Key amendments to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003 are:
The legal services sector has reached a critical juncture in its history and it is only those firms which proactively embrace and chase change who will survive and thrive as we move further into the twenty first century.
Patrick Susskind, IT Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and considered by many to be the world's leading expert in legal technology, is of this view. Simply put, in his opinion, if firms are to prosper over the next decades they are going to have to find a way to achieve "more for less".
Although, at a superficial level, this might sound like a recipe for disaster for the consumers of legal services, it is actually a response to their changing needs and demands. Old-style legal firms that are reliant on staid and stultified ways of practising, whether through a commitment to old-style paperwork and file management or through inflexible adherence to "billable hours" fee structures, are increasingly anachronistic, often to the point of becoming irrelevant.
Increase of limits on tribunal compensatory awards
Increased compensation limits will apply to cases where the effective date of termination is on or after 6 April 2016. In particular, the maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal has increased to £78,962, and the maximum limit on a week’s pay £for the purposes of calculating the basic award has increased to £479. Note that the increase in the limit on a week’s pay also applies to the calculation of statutory redundancy payments.
It is becoming increasingly clear: from conveyancing to commercial law, technology is revolutionising the legal sector. But is this good news and what, precisely, does it mean for the solicitors and lawyers working across the United Kingdom, and, of course, their clients?
According to Deloitte, more than 100,000 legal sector jobs are expected to become automated over the next two decades, meaning that although clients can expect some innovation in technologically sound legal solutions – including artificial intelligence and robotics – the solicitors accustomed to providing services on a human level could be forgiven for feeling nervous about the future of their jobs.
Read more: Legal services making the most of technological innovation
