The essential guide to conduct, compliance and competence, and the Legal Services Act
Legal Executives
Goodbye Fellows, hello Chartered Legal Executives
The Institute of Legal Executives was formally presented with its Royal Charter yesterday, transforming Fellows of the Institute into Chartered Legal Executives. The charter protects the title of ILEX members for the first time.
News in brief: SRA renewals delay, referral fee “ignorance”, and much more
Our regular round-up of news you need to know includes the appeal court quashing an ILEX disciplinary ruling, delays for solicitors renewing practising certificates, a survey of young drivers on referral fees, a survey finding support for outsourcing and much more besides.
Education and training review “may not report until 2013″, Potter admits
The legal education and training review, commissioned by the three main frontline legal regulators in November 2010, may not produce its final report until some point in 2013, it has emerged. Meanwhile, the academic body contracted to provide research has shut down, but the work will continue.
QASA set for April as regulators prepare for judges not doing their bit
The controversial Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) will now go live in April 2012, it emerged last week. We can also reveal that contingency plans have been drawn up for the judiciary not playing its expected role in QASA.
Queen grants ILEX historic Royal Charter
The Queen has granted the Institute of Legal Executives a Royal Charter, meaning that in future Fellows of ILEX will have a protected title – ‘chartered legal executive’. It will also change its name to the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.
Controversial advocacy scheme now faces delay, regulators admit
The launch of the controversial quality assurance scheme for criminal advocates is likely to be delayed, the Joint Advocacy Group has announced. “Some adjustments” to the scheme are likely “to ensure that there are not unintended consequences”.
QASA under pressure with sudden move to pilot scheme and barristers up in arms
The controversial Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates may now be subject to a full pilot, it has emerged, at the same time as criminal barristers are up in arms at Legal Services Commission plans to use the scheme to end payments for QCs, which they say threatens its whole future.
ILEX is first to receive LSB clean bill of health on regulatory independence
The Institute of Legal Executives is the first approved regulator to receive a clean bill of health for its internal governance arrangements for 2011. The Legal Services Board is currently reviewing the regulatory independence certificates submitted by each approved regulator where there is also a linked representative body. There is no news yet on either the Law Society or Bar Council’s certificates.
Barristers and solicitors continue battle over role of judges in advocacy assessments
The Bar has launched a last-ditch bid to focus the criminal advocates’ quality assurance scheme on judicial evaluation and steer it away from the alternative assessment centre route favoured by solicitors. Despite lobbying from solicitor groups, the SRA has confirmed its support for the scheme.
A single regulator for all lawyers post-ABS is “logical and plausible”, says LSB report
A single regulator for all legal services is “logical and plausible”, but not inevitable, a report for the Legal Services Board has concluded. Former Ministry of Justice official Nick Smedley argued that the existence of multiple regulators “focused on the differences of individual practitioners” is unlikely to be relevant in a post-alternative business structures market.
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Associate News
Demystifying the banking process – what your bank looks for in your firm
QualitySolicitors Keith Park implements Peppermint Portal
David Thorpe joins fast-growing technology innovator Peppermint Technology
DAS appoints head of marketing
Take client interaction to the next level with the Peppermint Platform
LexisNexis Visualfiles Helps Essex Legal Services deliver savings for the Public Law Partnership
Roadshow highlights potential perils of new COLP/COFA roles
