Latest news
Legal Services Board calls in Mayson
Leading market commentator Professor Stephen Mayson is to begin working with the Legal Services Board, it has been announced. He is to work with the oversight regulator on its 2015-2018 strategic plan and planned project on the cost of regulation.
Exclusive: Stobart Barristers reaches the end of the road
Stobart Barristers – the most controversial new business of the Legal Services Act era to date – will no longer provide legal advice to the public, Legal Futures can reveal.
Don’t exploit clients’ lack of knowledge about wills, SRA tells solicitors
Solicitors must not exploit clients’ lack of knowledge about wills for their own advantage, the SRA has warned. In a newly issued guidance note, the regulator said clients should not be led to believe that appointing a solicitor as executor was “essential or indeed the norm”.
Yorkshire Building Society “will not reconsider” ban on unrated insurers
Yorkshire Building Society has said it has “no present intention” of reconsidering a ban it has decided to impose on firms with unrated indemnity insurers, even though the Solicitors Regulation Authority last week decided against one.
Law Society set to recruit “harassment advisers” to protect staff from bullies
The Law Society’s ruling council will today consider whether a network of “harassment advisers” should be set up to crack down on bullying at Chancery Lane.
Comparison sites sign up to consumer panel’s good practice standards
Two comparison websites have become the latest to sign up to the groundbreaking good practice standards pioneered by the Legal Services Consumer Panel.
CMCs to pay up to £40,000 each to benefit from Legal Ombudsman
Claims management companies will have to pay a separate ‘Lord Chancellor’s complaints fee’ of up to £40,000 on top of their annual regulation fee with the shift in complaints handling from the Ministry of Justice to the Legal Ombudsman.
LSB to put heat under approved regulators over how they spend practising fees
The Legal Services Board is to tell the approved regulators that they must consult those they regulate about setting the level of practising fees beyond what is needed simply for regulation, it has emerged.
Withers bids to lure entrepreneurs with fixed-fee start-up kit and host of extras
Leading private client firm Withers has launched a programme including start-up legal advice and magazine subscriptions aimed at helping entrepreneurs grow and protect their businesses.
QASA set for further delay as barristers win permission to appeal
The introduction of the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) is likely to be delayed yet again after four barristers won permission to appeal against the dismissal of their judicial review application by the High Court in January.
Blog
Amplifying reach through employee-driven thought leadership
Nine in 10 executives believe thought leadership is critical to building authority, yet only a quarter feel they have implemented a robust strategy.
Divorce escrow: asset sales before final settlement
When significant matrimonial assets are sold before a final financial order is agreed, holding the proceeds safely and neutrally can present real practical challenges.
AML lacks clarity – and standards are suffering
If firms are buckling under the pressure of AML regulations, subject to ever-increasing fines, then something is clearly not working as it should be.
