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Dramatic climbdown from Grayling as portal extension is delayed

Tonks: proper consideration was sacrificed

In a dramatic climbdown, the Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling has agreed that extension of the RTA portal to higher-value motor and employer’s and public claims will now not happen in April 2013.

The decision, which emerged late on Friday, follows the judicial review process begun last month by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS).

MASS said Mr Grayling had acknowledged it would be unlawful to implement the extension of portal because the full evaluation of the existing portal that was promised when this change was announced has not been carried out.

An announcement of the timetable for carrying out the evaluation and a new implementation date is to be made in the New Year. It is not yet clear what this means for the controversial consultation that proposes slashing portal fees by 60%.

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Legal Futures Blog

Where are all the consumer ABSs?

Cracking the non-PI consumer legal market could be the biggest prize yet. So why, asks Simon Goldhill of Legal Futures Associate Simon Goldhill Consultancy, is everyone looking the other way?
Law is big business. According to the latest government figures, the UK market generates over £26bn per annum. Recent analyses suggest that just under half of that comes from the business and commercial sector. Of the rest, £3.5bn relates to personal injury (PI) and £1.5bn to crime. That means that the non-PI consumer legal market in the UK is worth around £8bn per annum. This is equivalent to the entire 2012 turnover of the UK’s creative, arts and entertainment services industry.

May 21st, 2013

Dramatic climbdown from Grayling as portal extension is delayed