Roger Bickerstaff

Introducing Mishcon de Reya's latest guide, providing a concise overview of the key competition law principles under UK law relevant to start-ups and growing companies. Download your copy for practical guidance to help new businesses operate legally and ethically while fostering innovation and growth, from Gwen Ballin-Reeler and Chanelle Cattin: https://lnkd.in/gZQay-35

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We're pleased to share that we have purchased an enterprise-wide licence for Legora, a collaborative AI platform that will support the strengths of our people and technology across both the business and practice of law.   Following an extensive pilot, this investment supports our people to focus on what they do best - practising law at the highest level - while providing intelligent support for complex work, with Legora's capabilities aligning well with how we serve our clients and operate our business.   Our commitment extends beyond technology adoption to embedding digital fluency across the firm. Read more about our partnership with Legora: https://lnkd.in/ehB5kfA8 #LegalTech #LegalInnovation #AIinLaw #Legora

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How successful is Lawfront? Reading through The Legal 500 UK 2026 rankings, I found myself asking: what impact have we had on the market for regional legal services in England? The answer surprised me. The Data Across our six member firms—Brachers, Farleys, Fisher Jones Greenwood, Nelsons, Slater Heelis, and Trethowans—we've secured 81 Legal 500 rankings in regional England (excluding London). Based on my reading, that's greater breadth than any legal services business in England for regional law! For context: - 14 Tier 1 rankings - 29 Tier 2 rankings - 53% of all rankings in the top two tiers Coverage spans South East (35 rankings), North West (20), East Midlands (19), and South West (14) What Legal 500 Rankings Don't Tell You Here's what matters as much as the numbers: these rankings reflect six firms that still operate as Brachers, Farleys, Fisher Jones Greenwood, Nelsons, Slater Heelis, and Trethowans. Local partnerships intact. Regional identities preserved. Client relationships maintained. What changed: shared technology infrastructure (Project Drive, Katchr, ShareDo), operational standards, knowledge management, and the ability to recruit at platform scale rather than as individual 150-200 lawyer regional firms. Rankings measure recognition. They don't measure client satisfaction, profitability, lawyer retention, or operational efficiency. They're one signal among many. A Challenge to the Market I'm genuinely curious: has anyone achieved higher combined Legal 500 recognition in regional England outside London? If you're operating a similar model and you've scored higher, I'd like to know about it. What Constitutes Success? This is the real question. Is success measured by: - Total rankings breadth? - Tier 1 concentration? - Revenue growth? - Lawyer satisfaction scores? - Client retention rates? - Something else entirely? I'd argue it's all of these. For Lawfront, success means proving that regional firms can perform at national level without sacrificing local identity or client relationships. The Legal 500 results suggest we're moving in the right direction. Your Perspective? If you're operating in regional legal services—as a firm leader, managing partner, or platform operator—what metrics matter most to you? And if you've achieved stronger Legal 500 performance than our 81 combined rankings in regional England, I'm genuinely interested in hearing about it. The market needs more transparency on what works, not just who ranks where. https://lnkd.in/emzNXEp9

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UK Information Commissioner's Office publishes and debunks 9 popular myths about "cookies and similar technologies" Myth 1: The rules only apply to personal data The rules cover any information stored or accessed on a device, not just personal data. Myth 2: The ICO has changed what ‘strictly necessary’ means ‘Strictly necessary’ still means only what is essential to provide the service the user requests, not what is just useful for the business. Myth 3: ‘Strictly necessary’ should be judged from the service’s perspective What is ‘strictly necessary’ is decided from the user’s point of view, not the service provider’s. Myth 4: The ICO is too focused on online advertising Online advertising is a major area for tracking, but the ICO’s focus is on protecting people’s privacy and giving them control. Myth 5: The ICO hasn’t completed an impact assessment The ICO has done an impact assessment and will publish the final version after consultation feedback. (initial version is here: https://lnkd.in/ecW9yehv) Myth 6: We can rely on legitimate interests for non-exempt purposes If consent is required under the law, you cannot use legitimate interests as a reason instead. Legitimate interests may be appropriate in cases where PECR doesn’t require you to get someone’s consent. But you must still go through the three-part test. Myth 7: We can use legitimate interests to process data we obtained on the basis of consent You cannot switch from consent to legitimate interests for processing data collected with consent. Myth 8: PECR is only about cookies and the ICO is expanding the definition The rules apply to all technologies that store or access information on devices, not just cookies. Myth 9: The ICO wants online services to stop using storage and access technologies for advertising The ICO wants these technologies used in a way that is fair, transparent, and gives people real choice and control. Pic by ChatGPT https://lnkd.in/eYKtDKkb

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Delighted to be at Procurement Act Live in London today, sharing thoughts on how the Procurement Act 2023 opens a new chapter for AI and technology contracting in the UK public sector. My session explored how we can use the new Competitive Flexible Procedure to buy technology not just efficiently, but intelligently, blending innovation, ethical safeguards with assurance. Some of the themes I touched on: * New ways to use the flexibility’s in the PA23 when procuring technology and AI solutions. * Moving from compliance-led procurement to outcome-driven collaboration. * Using data challenges, discovery sprints and AI sandboxes to test real capability before award. *Embedding ethical, explainable and auditable AI principles from day one. * Building new contractual terms that monitor bias, drift and opacity in the solution. *Strengthening governance and transparency to maintain trust and avoid lock-in. Procurement is no longer just about process, it’s about shaping the conditions for responsible innovation. If you’re at the event, come say hello, always keen to exchange ideas on how we turn policy freedom into smarter, safer delivery. #ProcurementLive #ProcurementAct2023 #AIProcurement #PublicSectorInnovation

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LexisNexis report: Over 60% of UK lawyers now ‘use GenAI’, but law firm culture slows progress Sixty-one percent of lawyers say they are now using generative AI in their work, according to a new report out today (2 September) from LexisNexis, but two-thirds say slow organisational cultures risk undermining progress. Despite headline adoption clearly escalating, it is important to note that 11% of lawyers said they are using GenAI heavily for day-to-day work and that number drops to 7% at large and medium-sized firms. There are some interesting and wide-ranging findings in here, take a look. I haven't reported on how lawyers would use the time they save from using GenAI (more work or work/life balance) because I'm not clear on whether a significant amount of time is yet being freed up. #legaltech #legalservices #generativeai https://lnkd.in/e4dR3N7C

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