Latest news
Veyo: 1,880 firms express interest
The claim last week by conveyancing portal Veyo that “just under a half of conveyancing firms in England and Wales have now registered” with it means simply that they have provided basic contact details to keep up-to-date with developments, Legal Futures has established.
BSB mulls replacing prescriptive cab-rank rule with guiding principle
The Bar Standards Board has finally published a consultation on changes to the standard contractual terms and the cab-rank rule – almost eight months later than it had originally promised.
First legal executives granted historic independent practice rights
A member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives who specialises in conveyancing has become the first to receive independent practice rights. A probate specialist and a legal executive who runs his own immigration firm were also granted independent rights.
University of Law granted ABS licence
The University of Law has become the first academic institution to be granted an alternative business structure licence by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. ULaw said the licence will allow it to expand its legal advice clinic at the Bloomsbury branch in London.
Keeping it simple: QS-owner Simplify Group buys Simplify the Law
The Simplify Group – the legal services group that owns QualitySolicitors – has added online business Evident Legal to its portfolio. Evident began life in 2011 as a law firm franchise called Simplify the Law, before reinventing itself in late 2012 as an online document business.
LSB refuses to be drawn into legal aid debate and turns spotlight on profession instead
The Legal Services Board has emphatically rejected calls to join the protests against legal aid cuts, and suggested instead that the profession needs to work harder to provide access to legal services.
Struck off and now disbarred: lawyer who defrauded the Law Society
A former solicitor and non-practising barrister who was convicted of a string of offences – including assaulting two police officers and defrauding the Law Society of £23,000 while a member of its council – has been disbarred two months after she was struck off the roll of solicitors.
LSB: regulators better on diversity but barristers still coy about backgrounds
More than 80% of barristers have declined to disclose information about their socio-economic backgrounds when asked to do so by their professional regulator, it has emerged.
Exclusive: Miscarriages of justice charity seeks law firm status
A criminal appeals charity run by lawyers has applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority to be a regulated legal practice, and could become the first charity to become a traditional law firm in its own right.
A multi-disciplinary vision of the future for lawyers and how they will help code legal apps
One possible occupation for future lawyers will be as a computer programmer, writing code for apps or working alongside an independent legal technology provider, according to the vision of a leading futurologist.
Blog
Awaab’s Law phase 2: New hazards council tenants can now claim for
The conversation on housing disrepair is moving beyond damp and mould alone. With the rollout of phase 2 of Awaab’s Law, the scope of issues covered is expanding significantly,
Beyond PCP: Can regulators and lawyers work better together next time?
Nearly a decade after the Financial Conduct Authority began investigating the car finance industry, the story of the PCP commission scandal is still unfinished.
Accountability has to live within governance, not with one person
The assumption has long been that a COLP or COFA is personally exposed to the consequences of anti-money laundering breaches.
