Latest news
Big CMCs face £40,000 hit as government names day for new complaints regime
The Legal Ombudsman is set to start receiving complaints about claims management complaints from 28 January 2015 – some two and a half years after the switch from the Claims Management Regulator was first mooted by the government.
Bar Standards Board left with £100,000 bill after QASA costs ruling
The Bar Standards Board is facing a bill for over £100,000 after the Court of Appeal ruled that there was no need for it to be separately represented at the hearing of a judicial review against the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates.
Mass confusion over PII cover as SRA warns 1,863 firms that they are entering shut-down
Many of the 1,863 law firms e-mailed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority last Thursday that their apparent lack of professional indemnity insurance meant they would have to move into a period of shut-down had cover after all, it emerged.
Kennedys becomes second largest law firm to convert to ABS status
City firm Kennedys has become the second largest law firm to become an alternative business structure (ABS) after being awarded a licence by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The firm said the licence will allow greater opportunities for growth.
SRA closes three South East law firms in two days
The Solicitors Regulation Authority closed three law firms in London and Essex in just two days last week, giving suspected dishonesty as a reason for each separate intervention.
“Do not dismiss ABSs,” Lord Judge tells criminal law barristers
Lord Judge, the former Lord Chief Justice, has warned criminal law barristers that the “old-fashioned chambers structures must be reconsidered” and they must not dismiss alternative business structures “out of hand”.
Barrister entrepreneur launches drafting service for lawyers
Barrister entrepreneur William Rees has launched an online drafting service aimed at mainly at solicitors in small firms. The business provides “customised templates”, which aim to be more tailored to lawyers’ requirements and individual cases than traditional precedents.
BSB to “consider future” of Bar Professional Training Course
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) launched its ‘future Bar training’ programme this morning, which includes “considering the future of the Bar Professional Training Course” (BPTC).
Law firms and chambers told to up their game on diversity or face “nuclear” option of quotas
Law firms and chambers need to accelerate the increase in workforce diversity if they are to ward off the “nuclear” option of quotas being imposed, the Black Solicitors Network (BSN) has warned.
LSB must “knock heads together” to lower burden of proof in disciplinary proceedings
The Legal Services Board must “knock heads together” to replace the criminal burden of proof in disciplinary proceedings involving solicitors and barristers with the civil standard, the chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.
Blog
Mazur: a symptom not a cause?
If Mazur is a symptom, what does it mean for the underlying health of our civil justice system: the ‘finest legal system in the world’?
Cross-generation collaboration: the key to in-house legal tech adoption
In-house legal function leaders will increasingly have to evolve their thinking on how to manage multigenerational teams containing differing levels of technological expertise.
AI and law firm risk – the view of professional indemnity insurers
In considering law firm applications for cover, many insurers will expect to see evidence of how firms are adapting to AI and preparing for the future.
