Latest news
National Accident Helpline moves into conveyancing
National Accident Helpline has today unveiled its move into the conveyancing market by spending £4.3m to buy a lead generation business specialising in the sector that owns the website of failed alternative business structure In-Deed.
LSB to call on regulators to make law firms and chambers “accountable” over diversity
Regulators need to do more with the diversity data they now collect in order to drive improvements in recruitment and particularly progression and retention within the profession, the Legal Services Board will shortly say.
SRA apologies for training contract numbers “confusion”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has apologised for releasing information that made it appear as if there had been a massive rise in training places last year – when in fact the number has stayed static.
Business Growth Fund to consider more law firm investments
The growth capital fund which became the first external investor in a high street law firm last week has said it will consider investing in other legal practices.
Slater & Gordon heats up TV advertising battle as Quindell share price rollercoaster continues
The TV advertising battle between legal brands stepped up this week with Slater & Gordon launching a new campaign with the message ‘Your case is our cause’. Meanwhile, the share price of Quindell plc, part of which S&G is in talks to buy, continues to fluctuate.
Watson-based app heralds ordinary speech legal searches
Would-be lawyers have designed an app that they claim is the first “artificially intelligent attorney”, able to conduct legal searches in answer to natural language queries, based on IBM’s cognitive computer, Watson.
It’s time for state-backed online dispute resolution, says Susskind-led CJC group
It is time for a “radical and fundamental change” in the way the courts deal with low-value claims, a major report argues today, calling for the introduction of state-backed online dispute resolution across England and Wales in 2017.
Separate business rule reform will “unlock” competition and innovation in legal market
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has given “qualified support” to plans by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to rewrite the separate business rule. The panel said the existing rule had “fallen into disrepute”.
Nobody gets what they want as BSB “subverting the rules” case heads back to Visitors
Appeal judges have decided that a disciplinary case in which they found a Bar Standards Board official responsible for “subverting the rules” on disclosure should return to the Visitors to the Inns of Court.
High street first as multi-office firm takes £5m investment and targets legal aid growth
McMillan Williams, which has 20 offices in London and the south of England, has become the first high street law firm to take external investment after securing a £5m private equity deal.
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.
