News

Last week, the Bar Council of India (BCI) made a notable decision to permit foreign law firms to practice within India, marking a significant shift from their previous policy that...

FTI Consulting announces that the firm’s Technology segment has entered into a partnership with NetDocuments, a trusted cloud content platform for legal professionals. This partnership will allow FTI Technology’s Corporate...

Safewill, the online platform modernising Will-writing, has launched National Free Wills Week, aiming to give away $1 million worth of Wills to everyday Australians and raise $100m for Australian charities...

Over the past few decades, outsourcing legal services has become increasingly popular in the industry. This practice involves transferring legal work from law firms or legal departments to external service...

UniCourt, a leading provider of Legal Data as a Service (LDaaS) to commercial and consumer markets, announced the availability of the UniCourt Enterprise API, enabling members of the legal ecosystem...

The legal industry is continuously changing, and globalisation has expedited this process. Technological advancements, shifting demographics, and new forms of competition will lead to substantial transformations in legal practice in...

A recent webinar on Best-in-Class Legal Reporting sponsored by In-House Connect and hosted by Anne Post, North American CEO of Xakia Technologies, and Ritesh Patel, Chief Legal Officer of Viant,...

With a global recession and further economic downturn predicted, clients are demanding financial transparency and cost certainty across their engagements with law firms as they look to alleviate their cost pressures....

Legal Practice Intelligence interviews Jane Oxley, CRO of Smokeball, to discover the latest legal industry findings from a leader in the sector. Jane unwraps what innovative firms are moving towards,...

A survey of more than 500 members of the Victorian legal profession conducted by the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) has revealed that the legal profession faced a range of...

IPRO, an industry-leading eDiscovery and data governance technology solutions company, announced the results of a survey conducted jointly with the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS) that reveals legal professionals...

Law Support, an innovative Australian software company, is set to launch Law App, its new online legal solution.  The Law App solution encompasses legal practice management, document management, customer relationship...

I recently spoke to a smart, forward-thinking lawyer about a Word plug-in that helps proofread contracts. It flags things like undefined terms. I’ve used it before and I love it....

Much of the focus of electronic discovery in recent years has centred on preserving and obtaining text messages and workplace collaboration content. And yet, there are other key sources of...

Since the beginning of the year, the world has undergone significant changes, and inconsistency is becoming increasingly common. Political unrest, pandemic-related interruptions, and rising costs have all unexpectedly pulled and...

Account Based Marketing (ABM) is a growth strategy focused on creating more personalised experiences for top current and prospective clients. ABM is an effective way to grow a law firm’s...

Fiona McLay - a litigation lawyer turned legal tech evangelist – has written an accessible technology reference guide to help so-called “technophobic” lawyers in day-to-day practice. “Tech enabled lawyer: a...

Industry leaders hit the big topics at Smokeball Spark 2023, the inaugural conference for small law firms and sole practitioners. Australian small law is already transacting in a digital world,...

NetDocuments published the 23 Legal Technology Insights for 2023 ("Report"), its annual trends report and commentary on legal tech, which — in collaboration with leaders from law firms, corporate legal...

Sheetal Deo, the Founder of Shakti Legal Solutions in Helensvale, Queensland has been named the Smokeball Community Hero for 2023, announced at Smokeball Spark. The Smokeball Community Hero Award acknowledges...

New legislation taking effect next week makes buying and selling real estate in Queensland faster and more efficient, with conveyancing transactions to be conducted electronically. Queensland is the last of the major...

Recently Wireless Solutions shared with LPI the article What is Apple Face ID and How Do Lawyers Use It Safely? Monitoring the traffic of our readership we could sense that lawyers...

Industries including the legal industry all around the world shifted to the practice of outsourcing in recent times while most of it happened during the times of the global pandemic....

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an area of computer science that involves the creation of computer systems to perform tasks that would typically require human intelligence. This includes natural language processing,...

Aderant, a leading provider of global business management software for law firms, today announced a strategic partnership with London-based legal spend analytics and matter management provider, Apperio. The partnership is...

LexisNexis® Intellectual Property Solutions, part of RELX, announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aistemos Limited, a patent classification company, which trades under the Cipher brand. ...

There is much debate regarding the The Great Resignation that we have shifted the focus to "What does the lawyer of the future look like?" Novum Learning assembled an exceptional cast of legal...

David Woolstencroft interviews Alan Fitzgerald, CTO of Practice Connections Advisory. With both having worked across the accounting and legal industries, they discuss what is happening in the sectors and point...

David Woolstencroft interviews Dan Anderson, General Manager and Vice President, SeeUnity - An Anaqua Company. Dan talks about SeeUnity providing organisations with out-of-box integration with applications for firms that need document...

David Woolstencroft interviews Natasha Blycha, Managing Director and Founding Partner and James Myint, Managing Partner of Stirling & Rose. They have been recognised as the 2021 Innovative Lawyer of the Year...

David interviews Nick Abrahams, the global co-leader of the digital transformation practice of Norton Rose Fulbright and the Co-founder of LawPath. They talk about the blockchain, NFTs, crypto and the...

Paula Teague of Sirius Law recently interviewed Peter Frankl. Issues covered: 1. Productivity in law firms 2. The billable hour 3. The winding down lawyer 4. Thriving practices that can’t...

David Woolstencroft interviews Sam McCarthy, the Co-Founder and Director of Fresh Finance Group. Sam shares finance and banking information for your consideration. Sam outlines the importance of finding the best...

David Woolstencroft interviews Daniel Yim and Erin Kanygin, the Co-Founders of Bumpd. In Australia, 18% of people face unfair dismissal for pregnancy or parenting-related issues, it may be you, a...

David Woolstencroft caught up with Garth Brown from Brown & Brown Conveyancers. Garth discusses how the pandemic has impacted the property market and how people have worked around the restrictions...

David Woolstencroft talks with Laura Keily, the Founder and Managing Director of Immediation and barrister. As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, Financial Review and other news - Australian Legal...

David Woolstencroft interviews John Duckett the Director of InPlace Solutions. John talks about the two major research on the impact of COVID and a comprehensive legal tech survey with over...

David Woolstencroft interviews Jason Elias from Elias Recruitment. They talk about the current state of the market, and interestingly there is usually a spark in the market at this time...

David Woolstencroft catches up with Steve Tyndall, the CEO and Founder of Client Sense. They talk about the importance of client management function in a law firm and how this...

David Woolstencroft and Steve Tyndall the CEO and Founder of Client Sense talk about "The Great Resignation" and some practical steps that firms can take to deal with talent leakage...

David Woolstencroft and John Ahern, Chief Executive Officer at InfoTrack, talk about legal solutions and products, and how law firms can really leverage technology to take a leadership position –...

David Woolstencroft interviews Ben Wightwick the Chief Customer Officer of Autologyx and leading authority of law firm digital transformation.  The pandemic has changed the way lawyers work, how they solve problems and communicate...

Elevate business through humanity | Elevate humanity through business. You may have previously gained access to the articles by Marika Messager, the CEO of ConsciousLeaderhip.org on LPI. Marika has provided a positive impact...

David Woolstencroft and Garth Brown from Brown and Brown Conveyancers catch up and talk about the property risk that emerges due to bushfires. It is only 2 years since Australia experienced...

David Woolstencroft catches up with Garth Brown from Brown & Brown Conveyancers.David and Garth talk about several issues around land contamination that property lawyers, conveyancers and their clients need to be...

David Woolstencroft interviews Fiona Kirkman, CEO and Co-Founder of FamilyProperty and Principal of Kirkman Family Law to gain further insight into the current state of the family law sector. Fiona...

David Woolstencroft catches up with Laura Keily, Founder and CEO of Immediation. Laura expresses her excitement with the recent announcements with Maxwell Chambers and Clio, further elevating their international market reach...

Caroline Hill, Gregor Pryor, Dan Jasnow and David Woolstencroft come together to discuss the metaverse and decentraland. So, what exactly is the metaverse? Many people have different views on the...

David Woolstencroft interviews Daniel, Linda and Erika from The Legal Forecast (TLF). They talk about how TLF emerged from conversations in a pub to a national organisation across Australia, altogether challenging...

Before Australian tech superstars Atlassian and Canva put Australia on the map, LEAP was a hugely influential international business, empowering thousands of law firms to run successful practices around the world.

Inspired by the challenges that small laws face first hand - Hunter Steele is on a mission to make life better for small law firms around the world. Follow Hunters...

David Woolstencroft interviews Stewart Rasmussen, Co-Founder of Syncly. Stewart shares his journey of launching Syncly, the no-code integration platform for the legal sector with Chris Ogram, Co-Founder and CTO of...

Recently we had the opportunity to talk with Max Patterson (Co-Founder & Executive Chair) and Paul Psaltis (Global CEO) at Settify, who are helping family law practices streamline routine processes...

David Woolstencroft interviews Roger Gregg, the Co-Founder of Lightyear. Lightyear is a cloud-based procurement and accounts payable automation solution that looks after inbound bills and relationships with suppliers across various...

David catches up with Jason Elias from Elias Recruitment to discuss how the great resignation has impacted the Australian legal industry. Just when we thought the economy was opening up...

Review the latest interview with Michael Bacina, Partner of Piper Alderman, Board Member of Blockchain Australia and Company Secretary of the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce to gain incredible insights...

David Woolstencroft interviews John van Rooyen, Global Sales Director of Fileman, discussing law firms transitioning to the “paper-light” environment.  Interestingly, before COVID-19, law firms did not prioritise digital transformation as...

Key points from Macquarie Group 1. Before Covid: strong growth in house prices – particularly Sydney and Melbourne 2. After Covid: listing numbers fell sharply but now back to average...

David Woolstencroft catches up with David Boland, the CEO of PracticeEvolve, a leading global legal practice management solution provider. David Boland discusses the legal industry, PracticeEvolve, and how they align their software to...

Immigration powerhouse Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP (BAL) kicks off another year of distinction with the National Law Journal's 2023 Legal Technology Trailblazers Award. The award recognizes "agents of change...

Designed for small law firms and sole practitioners looking to spark new ideas and ignite business transformation in 2023, Smokeball Spark, the premier legal conference, will take place in Sydney...

Emerging technologies offer immense potential to change the world for good," said Joe Ucuzoglu, Deloitte Global CEO. What we see today is a world that is changing and adjusting to...

New data has revealed more than one in ten legal firms have fallen victim to cybercrime on property-related transactions, prompting calls for businesses to make cybersecurity a top priority for...

Clio, a leading legal technology company and developer of a comprehensive legal operating system, announced plans to expand the company’s footprint in Australia.  The company has earned a market leadership...

“Our industry is traditional, risk-averse, resistant to change and slow to adopt technology.” You’d be hard-pressed to find a lawyer who hasn’t heard this time and time again. I definitely...

The recent Cyber-attacks on Optus and Medibank may have grabbed most of the headlines with respect to Cyber breaches in Australia, but it is obviously a worldwide issue, with 2022...

Galilee Solicitors announces that they have achieved ISO 27001 certification, demonstrating their commitment to protecting sensitive client information and maintaining the highest standards of information security.  ISO 27001 is internationally...

Erik Lindberg, Senior Director WestLaw Product Management, in an article titled “Looking for the right AI for legal research?” stated, "The best tools are always going to be a combination...

Promoting diversity and inclusion in company leadership positions is crucial for growth and success in any industry, including the technology and start-up sectors in Australia.  Female leaders bring a unique...

In our highly competitive knowledge economy, a critical path to success is to out-think (innovate), out-learn (continual knowledge and skill development), and out-run (become a first mover in lucrative micro-niches)...

There has been a rise in the issues revolving around the ones that have brought in new vistas and avenues in the legal industry, aka new business to law firms....

Aderant & Fireman & Company launch of Handshake ConnectX: pre-designed intranet portals for law firms. Leveraging Fireman & Company’s decades of experience, which includes building some of the legal industry’s...

Every lawyer aspires to provide the best service to their clients and every client looks at the value arbitrage for the fees paid. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI)...

Following the announcement of the do-it-yourself divorce platform, Silicon Valley-based legal tech startup, Resolution 8 Technologies, the maker of BlissDivorce® has positioned itself to shake up the traditional divorce industry...

Apperio, a leading provider of legal spend analytics and matter tracking software, announced that it has raised a $7 million growth round of venture capital funding. The company will use...

U.S. Legal Support, a leading provider of litigation support services, released the results of their recent nationwide survey of U.S. law firms, insurance carriers, and enterprise legal organisations on the...

AdvoLogix®, a leading provider of cloud-based enterprise legal management solutions for Law Firms, Legal Departments, and Government Agencies, has expanded its suite of product offerings to include the "iManage Integration...

Relativity, a global legal and compliance technology company, announces that its secure, end-to-end SaaS product RelativityOne is now available in South Africa. Deloitte and Control Risks partnered with Relativity on...

It’s hard to deny, clients today are particularly sceptical. So, one of the most difficult challenges that each of us as professionals face, is coming up with a convincing response...

Debbie Ferguson, in her recent article for World Economic Forum (WEF), stated that “[T]he most effective leaders all shared one trait: they were advocates for the people in their organizations....

The Smokeball Community Hero Award returns for a second year to acknowledge the impactful work that small law firms conduct in their communities. Honouring the legal industry members who go above and...

The legal industry is not unsusceptible to change. Modern-day technology and work ethic have left no parts of our lives untouched. Certainly, lawyers are adapting to this new aspect of...

Currently, functioning in about 24 countries worldwide, the latest statement cellular technology is the global 5th generation network or 5G net. Devised specifically to enhance the speed and responsiveness of...

KordaMentha has leveraged its restructuring experience and involvement in some of Australia’s largest and most high-profile class actions, launching its own software platform, EnterClaim, to streamline the management of class...

The benefits of leaders voluntarily initiating their own performance evaluation can be enormous. There is an empirical correlation between the strength of a leader and their willingness to ask for candid...

Research from BigHand shines a light on the increasing cost pressure law firms face in an unprecedented financial climate. Law firms are experiencing economic changes and geopolitical instability that are...

Research conducted by the Legal Iconoclasts EXPO finds the more profitable firms have a different approach to pricing: Only 48% of Law firms expect profitability to increase by at least...

Findings from the Smokeball State of Small Law Australia Survey 2022 Small law firms across Australia still rely heavily on referrals (84 per cent) and word of mouth (82 per...

Continuing from the successful launch earlier this year, the Women of the Australian Legal Technology Association (WALTA) are launching the global publication of the WALTA Playbook! In this playbook, WALTA...

In recent times, machines have put back human beings to handle predictable tasks. Chores like toll tax collection, consumer query resolution, and even kitchen floor cleaning is now fulfilled by...

Imperva Threat Research released new data that shows cyberattacks in Australia have grown significantly in both frequency and severity in 2022, at a rate that outpaces the global average. Cyberattacks...

What if people belonging to the Legal diaspora could lay their hands-on data statistics that offer valuable insight into some of the major challenges faced by the legal industry with...

At least ten Central West law firms have committed to providing free legal help to victims of the region’s floods, on various issues related to the disaster. President of the...

Fact: Lawyers who proactively reach out to prospective clients to engage them in sales discussions, get new engagements only about eight per cent of the time. Put another way, ninety-two...

With much anticipation and delight in attending the NetDocuments conference at Gilbert + Tobin’s offices in Sydney, the scene was set to Inspire the legal industry with the latest NetDocuments...

Laying the groundwork for a career change into legal innovation: 3 things you can do while still hitting your billables. The legal innovation ecosystem continues to go from strength to...

Immediation response to new ABA opinion: 'Reply all' in electronic communications can imply consent, new ABA ethics opinion says Last week, the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Ethics...

The only thing standing between you and your ideal prospect is the lawyer currently doing the work. Many of the new engagements that you pursue are matters that an incumbent...

InfoTrack has been officially named one of Australia's Best Workplaces for Women in 2022 by Great Place to Work, the global authority on workplace culture. The inaugural list highlights organisations...

Smokeball has been named on the 2022 Australia's Best Workplaces™ for Women List that identifies organisations across the country committed to fostering equity in the workplace ensuring their women employees...

Moonlighters have existed since the very emergence and evolvement of commercialisation and work culture. In the wake of the lethal pandemic (COVID-19), necessary adoption of flexible workplace practices by corporates...

In-house lawyers say spending on legal services in Venture Capital and Private Equity has grown this year and is likely to grow next year too. Survey finds pressure to control...

InfoTrack Reveals Q3 2022 Property Results for QLD. Over the past few years, the sunshine state has experienced a property boom, with an influx of potential buyers migrating into Queensland....

Over the past two decades, I have had the privilege, through my research, interviews, and hands-on consulting to peek behind the veil surrounding the challenges of becoming a NEW Firm...

A lawyer’s progression from associate to partner is no cakewalk but a journey fraught with bumps, peaks and valleys. One graduates law school magna cum laude; gets hired by a...

Most professionals use a generic sales approach for every sales situation. The sales strategy can generally be described as one in which you position yourself as the ‘best choice’ legal...

AF Legal Group Ltd (ASX:AFL) announces that it has executed a share sale deed to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of GTC Legal Group Holdings Pty Ltd, the...

Unlike almost every other profession, the legal industry is the only one owned and regulated by its practitioners i.e., lawyers, themselves. However, a few manage to go public and list...

In our September 2022 article titled, “Unstoppable Legal Industry Amid Sanctions (Part 1)”, we showcased the announcements of leading global law firms regarding boycotting and leaving Russian territory. Everyone knows...

Research says that individuals only retain about 10% of what they are taught in-classroom training. In fact, it's estimated that half of classroom learning is lost within the first 24...

The Second Annual Smokeball State of Small Law Australia Survey released. The COVID impact of working from home has certainly become the ‘new normal’ for the Australian small law sector...

InfoTrack has been named as the winner of four prestigious awards in the 2022 Australian Business Awards (ABA) for; Business Innovation, Mobile Innovation, Product Innovation and Employer of Choice. InfoTrack...

Legal Practice Intelligence has introduced Legal Practice Careers (LPC), a legal industry job board that will showcase the legal profession's career opportunities across the globe.  We welcome Hall & Wilcox as the very...

Legal practice management company Smokeball has made the podium in high-profile employee engagement listings announced this month. The company is placed number three out of the top 20 companies with...

The legal industry job market remains buoyant as reflected in Elias' Legal Jobs Index Report Q4. Please find a summary of the report below.  54% of HR leaders expect the headcount will continue...

With the advent of web 3.0, metaverse and other platforms, blockchain tech has skyrocketed. Big companies have started crypto transactions for goods and services. New cryptocurrencies are constantly forming, and law...

David Woolstencroft catches up with Jason Elias from Elias Recruitment. They discuss the key skills that are in demand right now as the way we practice law is evolving at...

Apperio, a provider of legal spend analytics and matter tracking software, announced the availability of a new feature to streamline the process of reviewing and approving law firm invoices to...

Fortunately, there has been more acknowledgement and higher respect towards legal support personnel that manage essential day-to-day tasks to keep law firms and businesses running. People are becoming more aware of the...

As workplace ideologies evolve, it is now imperative for legal operations professionals to evolve as well. According to the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium’s (CLOC) 2021 State of the Industry Report,...

Financial services regulatory and compliance teams are facing work overload, stress and anxiety as they grapple with onerous new compliance and reporting rules, a ground-breaking new report has found.  With...

Elias Recruitment has released the Legal Jobs Index Report for the latest quarter, which has been summarised for you below. The legal jobs market is still buoyant, signified by the...

As a General Counsel, I’ve sat in some good, bad and painful sales pitches. Regardless, it’s never bothered me having salespeople reach out to me and try to win my...

Large corporates spend billions of dollars developing more sustainable and path-breaking technology to improve processes. Unlike other industries where the emphasis is laid on technological development and innovation, the legal industry is...

We are delighted to present the on-demand New Law CLE's free CPD webinars, to you!  Due to the amount of positive feedback we have received from our subscribers that have accessed the...

As we are opening up again and returning back to the norm, this means it is time for lawyers and other professionals to brush-up their networking skills.  Building a professional network is crucial in the...

Elevate business through humanity | Elevate humanity through business As we welcome in 2022 and as many of us have returned to the fold, we have shared links to leadership articles...

"The Great Resignation" has received a lot of press.  There is no doubt that this phenomenon has hit the US, in particular.  According to PricewaterhouseCoopers US Pulse survey in August...

Are you looking for new, exciting career opportunities at some of the most progressive law firms in Australia? Novum Global and Legal Practice Intelligence have created a list of the top law firms all across Australia...

Legal technology company Lawcadia and technology partner FYB announce a deep integration with Micro Focus Content Manager (formerly TRIM) in response to high demand by Government legal teams for streamlined, connected solutions...

General Counsel who are proactively seeking to reduce costs and increase their team’s efficiency now have an industry-first practical toolkit to help them. LegalVision developed a General Counsel Toolkit, which...

I am writing this just coming out of 107 days of lockdown in Sydney so how the potential new outbreak affects business confidence is an unknown. Most lawyers I am...

Xakia Technologies Pty Ltd today announced its entry into the Japanese legal technology market with the launch of Xakia, its dedicated In-House Legal Hub, in the Legal Department at JERA...

Legal technology company Lawcadia and legal operations consultancy LEx360 partner to reduce waste, risk, complexity, and uncertainty for corporate counsel. The modern legal department remains a function plagued by inefficient,...

By Jodie Baker of Xakia, “Doing more with less” has long been a core competency of Legal Departments, but recent trends suggest the status quo may soon be unsustainable.  Indeed, according...

So you’ve made it through to the interview stage you are in the 5% - 10% of candidates … Over the last 18 months, the employment process has changed more,...

When borders finally open up, will travel starved lawyers reconsider their career choices? With international travel a possibility in 2022, how will law firms retain and attract lawyers that want...

This is the second article of a series of career pieces, contributed by Jason Elias, CEO of Elias Recruitment. The first article "Careers: Is a change on the horizon?" can...

Considerations for the professional Before you take the leap, take a moment to ask yourself the following questions: Am I being challenged in my current role? Am I still learning?...

Associate level employee job advertisements have jumped by 44% in the June 2021 quarter compared to the previous March 2021 quarter. This is according to research conducted by specialist legal...