Whistleblowing plays a vital role in exposing wrongdoing, fostering transparency, and holding organisations accountable. Whistleblowing occurs when individuals within an organization bring to attention unethical or illegal practices, aiming to expose them to the...
In the digital age, fraud is showing no sign of slowing and is becoming an ever-present threat across all industries and sectors, in particular law firms that handle highly sensitive information on a daily basis. During these times, cybercriminal activity is becoming...
According to a recent study by Pro Bono Economics over half of charities (54%) have vacancies they are looking to fill. Furthermore, 83% of charities are finding it challenging to recruit as they attempt to meet increasing demand. Recruitment issues These...
The first set of provisions from the Charities Act 2022 came into force on 31st October 2022. The first set of provisions can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-set-of-changes-from-charities-act-2022-come-into-force The Charities Act 2022 gained...
In 2021, one in eight charities (12.5%) were victims of a cyber-attack according to a survey of 2,330 charities across England and Wales conducted by IFF Research. The pandemic meant that charities were forced to gravitate towards online fundraising methods to enable...
Recent data has found that one-off charitable donations have dropped due to the cost-of-living crisis. However, perhaps unsurprisingly since the start of the pandemic charities have reported a significant rise in digital donations. One-off charity donations...
Charity employees and trustees often assume that they receive an automatic VAT exemption on all goods and services that they buy/receive. This is not the case and charities should understand the few concessions in the VAT legislation that can reduce their VAT bills....
A recent survey conducted by HSBC between May – July 2022 has found that 50% of respondents plan to reduce their office space within the next three years. It is important to note that this survey was conducted before the latest economic issues developed. This is an...
What is the indemnity fund? The Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) was established in 1987 to provide compulsory professional indemnity cover to all solicitor firms in private practice in England and Wales. With the agreement of The Law Society of England and Wales, the...
Recent statistics have revealed that the legal sector has defied predictions of a slowdown. Data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed that turnover for the legal sector for July was £3.7bn, an 8.3% increase from July 2021 (£3.4bn) and a 2.2% increase...
Recent sector research has found that the biggest challenge facing in-house legal teams is managing risk whilst prioritising large volumes of work. It is important to note that this was a global survey formed of 169 legal, risk and compliance professionals. Over 20%...
Towards the end of 2021 the SRA announced that they were proposing an increase in fining powers from £2,000 to £25,000. In addition, the regulator announced the development of a new fast track system for ‘fixed penalties’ for low-level offenses. It was recently...