By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning & Get SAFE “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.”— Abraham Lincoln Perhaps that was true in the 19th century.But in 2025, with AI, open knowledge, and solidarity between citizen investigators, that saying is being rewritten. ⚖️ A David vs Goliath Battle … Continue reading Litigant in Person: How to Survive and Succeed When the System Leaves You on Your Own
Tag: technology
⚖️ Why We Still Need Claims Management Companies: Protecting the Public in a Captured System
By Steve Conley, Founder – Academy of Life Planning The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a new multi-agency crackdown on “misleading” advertising by claims management companies (CMCs) and certain law firms handling motor-finance cases. The initiative, coordinated with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), is … Continue reading ⚖️ Why We Still Need Claims Management Companies: Protecting the Public in a Captured System
📰 From Headlines to Justice: How Citizen Investigators Can Use AI to Track Their Cases
“Information is power — but only if you can keep hold of it.” One of the biggest frustrations for victims of financial exploitation is that stories flare up in the news and then… nothing. Months go by. Updates are hidden behind paywalls or buried in regulatory filings. By the time the next development surfaces, it’s … Continue reading 📰 From Headlines to Justice: How Citizen Investigators Can Use AI to Track Their Cases
FCA Opens Door to Adviser Charging for Targeted Support – But Who Will Pay?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has on Friday published its latest consultation paper (CP25/26), opening the door for adviser firms to charge consumers for “targeted support”. This new category of regulated activity is pitched as a middle ground between full financial advice and generic guidance, aimed at helping millions of people who may not be … Continue reading FCA Opens Door to Adviser Charging for Targeted Support – But Who Will Pay?
The Future of AI: Lessons for Financial Planners
Every few generations, technology rewrites the rules of society. The steam engine drove the Industrial Revolution. The internet transformed communication, commerce, and culture. Now, AI is reshaping entire industries, including financial services and insurance. For planners in the Academy, the message is clear: AI isn’t optional. It’s existential. The firms and advisers who embrace it … Continue reading The Future of AI: Lessons for Financial Planners
From Policy to Practice: Lessons on Empowerment for Planners
When governments test education reforms, we often find lessons that resonate far beyond schools and universities. One such lesson comes from the economics of human capital research [Essays on the economics of human capital accumulation By Lucio Rizzica]: raising aspirations alone is not enough. The UK’s Widening Participation initiative in the 1990s, for example, encouraged teenagers … Continue reading From Policy to Practice: Lessons on Empowerment for Planners
🤖💬 AI & Client Data: What You Need to Know (Q&A)
By Steve Conley | Financial Life Coach | Academy of Life Planning As more tools like ChatGPT, Fathom, and other AI assistants become integrated into financial and legacy planning, clients are asking an important question: “Where does my data go—and is it safe?” In this short Q&A, I’ll walk you through exactly how client data … Continue reading 🤖💬 AI & Client Data: What You Need to Know (Q&A)
Why Now? Why It Makes No Sense to Delay Learning New Skills
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is today.” As life planners, we are in the business of preparing people for the future. But there’s a danger: while we focus on helping our clients prepare, we sometimes forget to apply the same wisdom to ourselves. The study on … Continue reading Why Now? Why It Makes No Sense to Delay Learning New Skills
When Goliathon Meets the System: Can AI Be Trusted in the Fight for Justice?
Every tool humanity has ever invented has been double-edged.The printing press empowered ordinary people to read scripture and radical pamphlets — but it was also used to spread propaganda.The internet gave rise to grassroots organising — but also mass surveillance. And now, in our generation, the tool in question is AI. The Concern: Whose AI … Continue reading When Goliathon Meets the System: Can AI Be Trusted in the Fight for Justice?
So You’ve Found Something Rotten at Work: A Whistleblower’s First Steps
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.” Discovering malpractice inside your workplace is a jolt. One moment you’re doing your job; the next, you realise harm is being caused — to customers, to colleagues, or to the public. Your conscience won’t let you ignore it, but … Continue reading So You’ve Found Something Rotten at Work: A Whistleblower’s First Steps
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