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Smokeball Launches Community Hero Awards in the UK to Celebrate Legal Professionals Making a Difference new annual awards programme recognises solicitors and legal professionals across the UK for their outstanding contributions to their communities London, UK – Tuesday 1 September 2026 – Smokeball, a leading provider of legal practice management software, today announced the launch of the Smokeball UK Community Hero Awards, a new annual initiative celebrating legal professionals who go above and beyond to make a positive impact in their communities. The awards recognise individuals across the UK legal profession who dedicate their time, expertise and pass...

Financial Services - a business as usual topic by Tracey Calvert

Whilst we wait for the SRA’s long overdue announcement about the launch date for the new Standards and Regulations, it’s important not to lose sight of the business as usual topics on the compliance agenda. Financial services anyone?   It would be timely to review your understanding of this topic and, in particular, the changes triggered most by the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) which prompted changes to the SRA Handbook in October 2018. Perhaps the most important question that you should be asking yourself focuses on whether you know what you can do in circumstances where your law firm is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (the...

Home working for the self-employed by sponsor PKF Francis Clark

Working from home may be an attractive option for some. Here we consider the tax implications of homeworking arrangements for the self-employed.   Your status is important   The tax rules differ considerably depending on whether you are self-employed, as a sole trader or partner, or whether you are an employee, even if that is as an employee of your own company. One way or the other though, if you want to maximise the tax position, it is essential to keep good records. If not, HMRC may seek to rectify the tax position several years down the line. This can lead to unexpected bills including several years’ worth of tax, interest and penalties. The below lo...

A busy start to 2019! news from DASLS office

I recently had the pleasure of convening the inaugural meeting of the DASLS Environmental Sustainability Working Group (it’s a bit of a mouthful so let’s call it the ESWG). My thanks to those that have helped get this idea off the ground.    We are all aware of the imperative to reduce our carbon footprint and conduct our lives and businesses in a more environmentally friendly way. Not only is this good for the planet but it is good for business as well. Increasingly staff and clients expect law firms to adopt responsible environmentally aware working practices and there are operational savings to be made.   The ESWG want to make a difference that wil...

Smokeball Launches Hero Awards in the UK

Smokeball Launches Community Hero Awards in the UK to Celebrate Legal Professionals Making a Difference new annual awards programme recognises solicitors and legal professionals across the UK for their outstanding contributions to their communities London, UK – Tuesday 1 September 2026 – Smokeball, a leading provider of legal practice management software, today announced the launch of the Smokeball UK Community Hero Awards, a new annual initiative celebrating legal professionals who go above and beyond to make a positive impact in their communities. The awards recognise individuals across the UK legal profession who dedicate their time, expertise and pass...

How to create a mentally healthy legal workplace by Elizabeth Rimmer, CEO, LawCare

At LawCare, the charity offering emotional support to legal professionals, we have listened to thousands of people tell us about the stress, anxiety and depression they are experiencing, which is often caused or exacerbated by a difficult working environment.   Lack of support or supervision, an overly critical manager, being undermined after a career break, an unreasonably heavy workload, long hours and sleep deprivation are all very common issues.   Firms need to do their best to create a healthy and happy place to work, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because there is a strong proven business case for it. Happy employees lead to grea...