- NO-FRILLS INSURANCE FOR SMALLER FIRMS

Leading solicitors' professional indemnity insurer The St Paul has launched what it claims is the first totally on-line policy for solicitors' indemnity insurance, offering a potential 10% off the standard price.

The new policy is only available on-line to one-to-four-partner firms with gross fees under 500,000 a year and no paid claims since September 2000.

It is restricted to provide cover in accordance with the Law Society's minimum terms, with no added extras, while the maximum limit of indemnity available is 2 million.

Product manager Jonathan Davies said market research had revealed demand among smaller firms for a no-frills product at a cheaper price.

- FIRMS RAMP UP WEB ACTIVITY

Recent on-line developments include revamped Web sites for London and Manchester firm Leigh Day & Co and Colchester's Fisher Jones Greenwood, which owns the Web address www.lawcentre.co.uk.

Meanwhile, north-west firm Mace & Jones has launched a series of 14 on-line legal guides to help company owners, while Berryman Shacklock in Nottingham has gone live with best practice guidelines to companies coming to terms with new compulsory disciplinary and grievance procedures due next April.LINKS: www.leighday.co.uk; www.maceandjones.com; www.berrymanshacklock.co.uk

- AIMING HIGH BRINGS IN ROBUST RESULTS

Legal software supplier AIM Group Holdings has announced a robust 9% growth in turnover to 8.6 million and gross profit of 7.3 million in the year of 30 April 2003.

Operating profit dropped to 948,000, down from 1.1 million last year, which the company said was caused by non-recurring expenditure on restructuring the group's management team.

Meanwhile, Pilgrim Systems said last month that it is back in the black after posting two years of losses.

The company recorded a loss of 850,000 in the year to September 2002, but is back in profit for the first nine months of this financial year.