Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
Texas-based Data Engine Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Acacia Research, first sued Mountain View California-based Google in 2014, claiming that its Google Sheets spreadsheet programme infringed patents related to using notebook-style tabs to arrange and display information in three-dimensional electronic spreadsheets.
However, under the patents’ definition, Google Sheet does not count as a “three-dimensional spreadsheet”, wrote US Circuit Judge Kara Stoll for a unanimous three-judge panel. The judges also rejected Data Engine Technologies LLC’s argument for an interpretation of a “three-dimensional spreadsheet” that differed from what it raised when it was defending the patents’ validity.
Previously, the Federal Circuit had found that the patents at issue were valid in 2018. This reversed a 2016 decision to invalidate the patents at Google’s request as the claims were directed to abstract ideas.
It is this specialisation that makes you understand the dynamism in the field. You sharpen your knowledge even more with time, thus being better-positioned to give clients the best legal services. The benefits go beyond this.
Many top lawyers are practising in the field and making tremendous achievements in serving clients. Many top-class graduates from world-class law schools are entering the job markets as well. This means the level of competitiveness in the field of law will continue to rise more. Specialising in a particular field will make you be on the safe side. Take personal injury law as an example, and if you focus on accident-based lawsuits, it makes you understand what lawsuits of that nature are for there to be a success. The specialisation at the end gives you a sense of identity.
As a law firm, you will find it necessary to advertise yourself at some point. It is easy to market yourself as a competitive firm. It becomes even more effortless when you are a firm with a niche. You will not struggle in targeting your audience, which makes you achieve a high conversion rate. This means every marketing effort will materialise; hence, your circle of clients will increase more within no time. Also, it becomes simple to increase organic traffic when doing online marketing, especially when you create a specialised website. Fit in the right keywords and be sure of gradual growth. Again, consider making every information of your website footprints tracing back to you. This is where you include details on where your firm operates. If you are an Atlanta car accident lawyer, make your online users know about this. Also, have a webpage with comprehensive details about your fields of specialisation and contacts.
Clients are getting more and more informed about the aspects to consider when choosing lawyers. Most of them are aware of how beneficial it is to find specialised advocates. Therefore, there is a high chance of them coming for your assistance as a law firm majoring in a particular field. Also, within a niche, there are a fewer number of companies than you. This means that the level of competition is also within a smaller group. Therefore, if you amp your service delivery, you can be sure of attracting many clients within a short time. As a lawyer, you will not have to compete with all lawyers in the industry but rather a few in the specialised field.
After choosing your legal niche, the next thing you will find yourself in is researching more. This is to build more knowledge in making your clients get the best assistance. The learning makes you get to the roots of the lawsuits, which is an advantage to you. This is as you compare to a generalised attorney out there. With your vast knowledge, you can now be a good information source in the industry. Dedicate your time in sharing your experiences and expertise in the niche. Write blogs or articles and keep your readers well-informed by providing relevant content. They will end up waiting for more hence developing an attachment to your legal practice. Also, have a firm’s catalogue or newsletter, which is informative if you can create a chance for your clients and other public members to engage and seek clarification from you on different matters.
As a lawyer, you will always feel proud when you see your following increasing. There is no better way of doing this than specialising in a particular legal niche. Many benefits emanate from this, such as gaining more knowledge. It also makes it easy to market yourself.
Alex Hamilton-Baily, Partner in the Legal and Professional Services Practice at Odgers Berndtson, explains what you need to know before joining one of the Big Four as a lawyer.
Last year, Deloitte doubled the size of its UK legal practice with the acquisition of Kemp Little. Going from just eight UK partners to 29, the acquisition marked another step into the territory of traditional law firms by one of the Big Four. Of course, this is nothing new. For many years, the Big Four have been encroaching on the legal sector and growing their own legal offering. However, as the professional services sector and the types of services clients demand from it evolves, more and more senior lawyers view the Big Four as a viable next step in their career.
There’s no doubt that moving from a law firm to one of the major accounting and consulting firms can be an exciting and rewarding next step in a lawyer’s career. However, it’s not without its challenges and there are cultural, political, and organisational differences that a lawyer should consider before making the jump. Below are five things you should know if you’re thinking about joining one of the Big Four as a lawyer:
Many general counsels still hold the view that they need to work with specialists. That is, they want to keep their legal and accounting services separate, rather than working with a firm that has incorporated these under one umbrella. Law is often viewed as the ‘third child’ of the Big Four, who are known for accounting and consulting. Whereas with law firms, among clients there’s the perception of deep expertise because they only specialise in the legal field. There also remains a perception of conflict – despite the Big Four being masters in the art of conflict management.
This will undoubtedly depend on the client, and many consulting clients do want ‘end-to-end’ services, which includes legal services. However, any partner exiting a law firm shouldn’t automatically expect to bring all of their clients with them. Some of them just won’t want to receive legal services from an accounting and consulting firm.
While some clients will always go to a law firm for legal advice, the way some general councils buy legal services is changing. Increasingly, they don’t want to work with a single law firm for all of their legal requirements but will instead segregate their legal services depending on need and cost. A general council may have a law firm on retainer for certain transactional services but then choose a different law firm when carrying out a critical M&A deal. This has begun to provide opportunities for the Big Four, particularly at the transactional level where they can pick up a lot of mid/low value but high-volume work. The Big Four are incredibly powerful at doing what they do best – leveraging scale and cross-selling opportunities across service lines. They expect this of their partners, so if this type of business-building is in your DNA, there are few better places to do it.
The setting of the Big Four is often described as a private practice but without all the politics. The culture is far more collaborative, and it can feel somewhere between a traditional private practice and working in-house. The Big Four are also learning and development organisations and commit a lot of resources to training their people. ED&I and ESG are a big part of this commitment and the Big Four invest in these areas to an extent that most law firms can’t compete with.
The Big Four have built working environments that can be very different from most legal practices and lawyers who have become accustomed to using ‘sharp-elbows’ throughout their careers would do well to interrogate the culture before joining one of them. What’s more, in a law firm a senior partner will most likely have a lot of influence over the organisation. In one of the Big Four, they will become one of hundreds of other partners, making them a small cog in a very large machine. And while the Big Four are very different from law firms, they are also different from each other. You should investigate each individual brand and culture before considering a move.
The Big Four operate with a client-oriented services setup and offer globally integrated business solutions. The work is often international and cross-border in nature, and they pump resources into client relationship management, marketing, and business development. Because of this, the Big Four can provide a one-stop-shop when it comes to business solutions, making them attractive to many organisations. Lawyers working for one of the Big Four will have access to an unrivalled business development and marketing machine that can make it easier to win work and build their client base. This is something that even the top legal firms cannot compete with.
Part of the attraction of working in the legal sector is the prestige and recognition of becoming a partner in an established law firm, particularly a magic circle law firm. The same prestige and recognition aren’t something lawyers can expect to receive if they move over to one of the Big Four. Instead, they will join an organisation that has invested aggressively in legal technology and its legal product line. While this may not have the same 'prestige' as the traditional legal field, it certainly makes it a very interesting place to work.
Increasingly, the Big Four are winning a lot of work that has historically fallen into the laps of magic circle law firms and are even being placed onto the legal panels of FTSE 100 companies. What’s more, they’ve made some significant talent hires in recent years and as more lawyers join their ranks, perceptions around prestige and depth of expertise is likely to dwindle. Traditional law firms are a very long way from going out of business, but this is a trend that they cannot be complacent about.
Over the past decade, the legal aid system has been dramatically impacted by financial cuts. The 2013 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) saw £350 million knocked off of the £2 billion legal aid budget, resulting in vast numbers of people losing access to much-need legal support. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it has been the UK’s marginalised and vulnerable groups who have felt the impact of these cuts most heavily, as new research from Bolt Burdon Kemp confirms:
According to Bolt Burdon Kemp, 80% of British people had access to free or affordable legal help in 1949. By 2007, this figure had dropped to 27% and as further austerity measures came into play in 2013, this figure dropped further still. Unsurprisingly, the UK’s poorest citizens are amongst those hit hardest by cuts to legal aid.
The table below, compiled by Bolt Burdon Kemp, shows the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2019 rank scores across regions in England and their legal aid expenditure in 2019/20.
| Region | Sum of IMD rank | Expenditure (£’000s) |
| North East | 21,451,474 | 45,008 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 47,622,872 |
88,459
|
| East Midlands | 47,662,971 |
57,915
|
| West Midlands | 50,202,889 |
83,443
|
| South West | 59,490,696 |
66,812
|
| North West | 60,694,509 |
87,954
|
| East of England | 68,181,747 |
50,505
|
| London | 73,480,048 |
231,784
|
| South East | 110,593,358 |
40,451
|
There are several reasons as to why a specific region may have a high legal aid expenditure. Firstly, it may be that the region has a high percentage of legal aid providers, such as law firms or not-for-profit organisations. Secondly, the types of cases in the region may be more likely to fall under the reduced scope for legal aid following LASPO coming into effect in 2013. Cases still covered by legal aid include environmental law, mental health law, asylum, neonatal clinical negligence, child welfare, eviction, and judicial reviews. Thirdly, and perhaps most predominantly, a specific region is likely to have higher legal aid expenditure if it has a large percentage of financially disadvantaged people.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2019, campaigner Norma Hornby said: “Both Lady Hale, the UK’s senior judge, and Sir James Munby, the former most senior family court judge, have expressed concerns about the lack of access to justice for those involved in civil cases who cannot afford a lawyer.
The fact that such high-profile judges should highlight the impact of the 80% reduction in legal aid since 2012 correlates with Amnesty’s 2016 report which states that “cuts to legal aid have decimated access to justice for thousands of people”. Those seeking to access court processes through self-representation usually learn that this is a stressful and difficult process and many are driven into debt to fund lawyers and legal advisers.
Lady Hale’s appeal for public donations towards the Personal Support Service is very worthy but once again charity is expected to compensate for the government’s punitive austerity measures.”
It is not just the UK’s poorer citizens who have been hit hard by legal aid cuts. In 2015, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published a report that highlighted the disproportionate impact of the LASPO cuts on ethnic minority groups. The demographics below — of those who receive legal aid — reinforce this, demonstrating that the Black, Asian and minority ethnic group is featured significantly more than white groups. From 2012 onwards, the UK government’s legal aid client diversity data shows that that has remained the case for the past 8 years:
| Year | BAME | White |
| 2012-13 | 73% | 27% |
| 2013-14 | 73% | 27% |
| 2014-15 | 71% | 29% |
| 2015-16 | 72% | 28% |
| 2016-17 | 73% | 27% |
| 2017-18 | 73% | 27% |
| 2018-19 | 73% | 27% |
| 2019-20 | 72% | 28% |
Table by Bolt Burdon Kemp
Speaking to The Guardian ahead of the LASPO cuts in 2010, Emma Scott, Acting Director of Rights of Women said: “We know already that in family law women are the majority of applicants for legal aid. In 2006, 62% of all applications for legal aid were for women.
If you remove legal aid for women to sort out the finances after marriages break down, we know it's really difficult to represent yourself. We say ultimately it will increase women's poverty because they will not be able to reach satisfactory arrangements."
In 2013, the UN Committee of the Eradication of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) expressed concerns that the LASPO cuts “unduly restrict women’s access to legal aid” because they eliminate the areas of law upon which women rely on most heavily. In response to the CEDAW’s concerns, a report was published by the EHRC which in turn highlighted several worrying findings. With divorce proceedings only covered by legal aid where there had been domestic violence, the EHRC’s report revealed that victims of abuse were being forced to prove that they had in fact been abused in order to access funding for legal advice and representation. Where victims managed to successfully obtain evidence, it would expire after a two year period. At this point, the woman in question would then be asked to regather her evidence. Where legal aid was not available, victims were left to confront their abusers alone in court.
In 2016, Rights of Women successfully challenged the regulations that specified the type of evidence women were expected to produce to prove abuse. However, the burdens on women caused by legal aid cuts remain significant. Within its report, the EHRC highlighted the exclusion of employment law from civil legal aid. Research by the EHRC showed that over 10% of mothers surveyed said they left their job either because they had been dismissed, made redundant, or were made to feel as though they had no choice but to leave. Such women were barred from accessing legal aid to fight their former employers for gender discrimination.
While some believe austerity was the right policy for the United Kingdom, LASPO has left many without the access to legal support that they desperately need. Legal aid cuts have disproportionately affected those on lower incomes, BAME groups, and women as well as other minority groups. In order to protect and support Britain's most vulnerable citizens, the legal aid system requires urgent reassessment and significant reform. If not, society’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged group will be hit even harder.
On Friday, US District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr certified a class of investors who purchased shares in Lyft’s IPO. The judge rejected the company’s argument that individual inquiries were required to demonstrate whether investors were aware of the issues before buying in.
Investor Rick Keiner’s lawsuit criticises Lyft, its officers, and directors for failing to disclose what he calls a “pervasive” problem of sexual assaults by drivers as well as brake issues with its bike-share fleet. Keiner argues that Lyft omitted the information as it attempted to position itself as a more socially responsible company than rival Uber. In an attempt to convince the judge to reject class status, Lyft highlighted its interviews with some investors who said they had been aware of the company’s issues before buying in.
However, the judge said the interviews only demonstrated a general awareness of the issues and did not defeat the plaintiff’s claims.
Few professions are so steeped in history and age-old customs as the law. The legal profession itself goes back as far as ancient Greece and Rome, and even today, formal robes, and in some cases wigs, form the garb of barristers and judges in all Senior Courts of England and Wales.
A reverence for tradition – while understandable in many contexts – means that implementing reforms and embracing transformational ways of doing things rarely runs smooth. That’s not to say, however, that the courts have remained universally rooted in the past. For example, even before the onset of the pandemic, the UK’s Digital Case System – which allows case material to be accessed, prepared and presented digitally by the judge, clerk, defence, prosecution and probation – had saved more than 100 million sheets of paper since 2015.
But of course, when Covid first hit – I say ‘first’, its ability to boomerang back leaves much to be desired – law firms large and small were hardly immune to its insidious impact. While demand for accessible legal assistance is heightened in times of crisis, lawyers, just like the rest of society, had to rapidly adapt to the new normal of zoom calls and physical distancing, home working and shuttered businesses.
So how have they gotten on?
Although lawyers and IT often make for odd bedfellows, there is little doubt that the pandemic served as a catalyst for further digital transformation across the profession. The need to maintain and safeguard the administration of justice meant that the introduction of virtual courts, remote hearings and digital case management was quickly accelerated. Such initiatives, as well as government programmes such as the furlough, helped ensure that the profession managed to largely avoid sweeping closures and redundancy programmes.
For example, data from the Solicitors Regulation Authority shows that the number of regulated firms fell by 1.9% between December 2019 and December 2020. Sadly, legal aid firms have struggled the most with over 70 closing since April 2020. At the other end of the scale, however, record deal activity helped four elite London firms, known as the Magic Circle, report bumper results.
The good news is that the economy appears to be recovering strongly and contract opportunities across the public and private sectors have thankfully remained plentiful. For example, there have been over 1,500 open tenders worth more than £928 billion issued by the UK and Republic of Ireland governments within the last 12 months.
Of course, such opportunities vary in size from the smallest to the largest, but competition is fierce – if anything fiercer than before Covid and likely to remain so as the firms jostle for advantage as the economy recovers. While who you know is still important in any procurement, the process is becoming ever more digital, with more tenders moving online and industry open days and other one-to-one interactions becoming an ever more digital experience.
The sheer scale of this conversion to all things digital means that now, more than ever, businesses – including law firms – need to industrialise their business winning processes. This will enable them to reap digital dividends, such as using technology to streamline procedures and increase their own efficiency, and in the process save their precious time to do the things that cannot be streamlined – such as the human interaction that can often secure the golden nugget of information that secures the win.
An online treasure trove of information is now available, on both the market and on new opportunities that organisations would wish to bid for. Using data feeds, market trackers (like my very own Contract Finder Pro, for example) and integrating both outsourced (like bid writers and legal teams) and insourced components and services, the business winning process can become increasingly automated and slick.
Since there is never quite enough time to write a bid, those organisations that can automate the process most effectively and take advantage of the digital opportunity at hand will be more competitive than those that don’t. Their reward will be larger market shares and the promise of even more competitive advantage still to come. The future really is digital.
About the author: Sandy Boxall is the founder and Managing Director of Contract Finder Pro sandy.boxall@contractfinderpro.com
Around one million people attend hospital with some form of head trauma or brain injury every year. A substantial percentage of these people suffer ongoing symptoms after their head injury. These symptoms range from mild, short-term difficulty with memory to severe cognitive disability.
Clarke Willmott will now help the organisation provide a complete package of support to those who need it, following a tough application process and having demonstrated particular expertise and experience in brain injury litigation. The team of brain injury solicitors at Clarke Willmott specialise in dealing with the issues that arise from brain injury, including bringing claims for brain injury compensation and advising on issues relating to capacity, financial affairs and care.
Chris Thorne, head of personal injury and medical negligence at Clarke Willmott, commented: “We’re delighted to be working with the Brain Injury Group, which does fantastic work in helping families access legal, welfare and statutory funding help as well as many other services. It’s great to have this accreditation and to work with like-minded organisations across a range of professions who are experienced in dealing with acquired brain injuries to secure the best results for our clients.”
Managing director of Brain Injury Group, Sally Dunscombe, said: “Chris Thorne and the team at Clarke Willmott have an outstanding reputation for assisting people who have sustained a brain injury and we’re delighted to have them as members of Brain Injury Group.”
For most, a divorce is a harrowing experience, and the stories you will hear about most divorce cases are simply brutal. That is why you need a divorce attorney to guide you through the divorce process. However, choosing the right attorney for your divorce is much more difficult than it appears. The following are tips to help you choose the right attorney to help with your divorce.
Before you even choose an attorney, you should first understand the grounds for divorce. These are the circumstances under which the court will grant a spouse a divorce. Grounds for divorce will include issues like adultery, sexual harassment, irreconcilable differences, imprisonment, and domestic violence, among others. The grounds for divorce have to be proven before the court can grant a divorce. The legal experts are often invaluable in establishing the grounds for divorce. You should also know that there may be different grounds for divorce in other states. For example, the grounds for divorce in South Carolina might be slightly different than those in New York.
Not all divorce cases have to end up in a nasty court battle with teams of attorneys arguing on both sides. There are different divorce processes depending on the relationship between the couples. Some of the processes include mediation, litigation, and collaborative divorce. If you want to choose the right attorney for your divorce, you should first decide on the divorce process. You can then select the lawyer with the most experience in your divorce process. There will be divorce attorneys who are outstanding in court while others negotiate great out-of-court settlements. Therefore, choosing the right lawyer for divorce is dependent on the divorce process you choose.
If you want to choose the right attorney to help with your divorce, you should know what you want. Know what you want to get out of the divorce and the divorce process you want. Knowing what you want gives you a clear goal which will be your guiding light in choosing a divorce attorney, and the clearer your goal, the better. Write down what you would want to achieve from the divorce and use it to judge every lawyer you evaluate. It will help you to quickly and comprehensively eliminate every lawyer that is not right for you.
Choosing the right attorney for your divorce is much like choosing a doctor for a specific medical condition. You have to begin with research. Look into every potential attorney as well as you can before making your decision. Start with a phone call and ask them about their experience, qualifications, and judgement on your case. Most consultations are free for the first time. If you like what they have to say, go online and do more research about the lawyer’s past cases. See what past clients have to say about the lawyer. You will also have to interview the last potential lawyers. You will be confiding plenty in the lawyer, and how they treat you in person will tell you much of what you need to know.
You have heard it countless times, and it is still valid. Before you choose an attorney for your divorce, you should trust your instincts. When you are interviewing or researching them, and something feels off, please don’t ignore it. Go into it and if the feeling is not right, just walk away and choose another lawyer.
Choosing a lawyer is necessary during the divorce process, or you are in for a difficult time. If you choose the right attorney, your divorce will go smoothly. Follow the tips above, and you should find the ideal lawyer for your case.
Going through an accident at your workplace can be very traumatic and painful. You must regain your senses as soon as possible after the operation or medication in order to claim your fundamental rights. A personal injury means that another person or organisation is liable to pay for your compensation, including your mental and physical suffering. However, it can be very tricky to get your compensation claim accepted by the company or person. In addition, the company or person will do everything in their power to make your claim look fraudulent or your fault. Therefore, you need to be prepared to lodge a case for compensation. To help you, this article will guide you through all the steps that will make your claim look stronger.
Firstly, you need evidence to prove that you got injured because of something or someone. To verify your claim, you must have pictures of your injuries at the time of the accident and recall any witnesses present at the time of injury. This way, after you’ve been treated and your condition has stabilised, you can take the audio or video statements of your witnesses to help prove your claim. Further, you need to collect the reports from your doctor including a medical record that demonstrates the liability of your injuries.
Suppose you observe that you cannot convince the insurance companies with the proper evidence. In that case, you must get legal help from the most suitable lawyers. Hiring a trustworthy lawyer could save you from any problems or mismanagements in your case. However, before contracting one, you need to ensure that you get a personal injury lawyer who has excellent expertise and experience in the specific field you require. Choosing the right lawyer can save you time and money by handling the documents safely, using the correct statement and communication method with the insurance company, and getting your claim accepted in court or by settlement.
Your health should always be the top priority because once compromised, health can never be regained. Therefore, even if you are not well while obtaining your evidence, you must ensure it doesn’t add a further burden to your health. Therefore, after getting an injury, you should always get the necessary treatment done.
Once you have had your treatment and your evidence is ready, you must calculate the maximum amount you can get as compensation for your damage. This should be proportionate to the loss you have suffered due to paying for your treatment, potential salary loss, and expenses.
The insurance companies that would compensate for your personal injury may offer you a settlement less than its true worth, which you should not accept. This is especially important if your claim is strong and you have a great chance of winning your case.
From the beginning of your case, you must build your claim strategically with proper evidence. This is to ensure you get all your medical bills and other expenses back without any deductions from your salary. Even though you might suffer from bad health and traumatic mental conditions, you have to remain strong and make your compensation claim worth your injuries.
The 2021 scorecard report from Law Students for Climate Accountability gave out more failing grades to Vault Law 100 firms than it did in 2020. The group condemned 36 top law firms based on the litigation, transactions, and lobbying they handled for fossil fuel companies from 2016 and 2020. In their last report, the student group gave failing grades to 26 law firms for their fossil fuel-related work between 2015 and 2019.
In a statement, UC Davis School of Law student Michaela Anang said: "Communities most affected by climate catastrophe have made it clear that critical consciousness and action for environmental justice are imperative and past due.” Anang hopes that the report will encourage law students and professionals to “challenge the continuing complicity of the legal field, and commit ourselves to do better.”
As part of its scorecard report, Law Students for Climate Accountability invites and encourages top law firms to pledge to no longer take on any work that supports the fossil fuel industry and to phase out all current fossil fuel work by 2025. The report also asks law students to pledge not to work for poor-scoring firms if their personal and financial circumstances allow it.
