Latest news
Pitt: regulators will work together on alternatives to client accounts
Frontline regulators are to collaborate on identifying business models that will avoid lawyers holding client money, it has emerged. The regulators will also come up with joint proposals to amend the Legal Services Act, for top level discussion early next year.
LSB attacks “arbitrary nature” of separate business rule
The Legal Services Board has attacked the “arbitrary nature” of the separate business rule used by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and said the list of what is permitted and what is not is “confusing”.
Cartwright King launches first “in-house chambers”
National firm Cartwright King has opened what it describes as the first “in-house chambers”, made up of 20 advocates, including five barristers. All the solicitors in the chambers are higher court advocates.
Law firms “increasingly worried” by threat of ABSs and non-solicitor competitors
Competition from alternative business structures and non-solicitor organisations is of increasing concern to law firms, Law Society research has revealed. At the same time, compliance with Solicitors Regulation Authority rules remains the main problem identified by solicitors.
SRA to give law firms online tool to compare how diverse they are
Law firms will be able to check the diversity data of similar practices from next month, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said. This will give them confidence to improve their own diversity, the head of its equality committee said.
Kenny goes from regulating lawyers to defending doctors and dentists
Chris Kenny, outgoing chief executive of the Legal Services Board, is to join the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, it has emerged. The union is a fund of over half a billion pounds being managed for the benefit of 40,000 members throughout the UK.
Knowledge more important than price for law firms choosing IT suppliers
Specialist knowledge and expertise are more important than price or consistency of delivery for law firms choosing an IT supplier, research has found.
East London ABS the first to specialise in Islamic finance
A British PhD student, a Polish accountant and a Brazilian lawyer have come together to form a unique alternative business structure, the first to specialise in Islamic finance.
BLP launches Streamline “process improvement” service
City law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner has launched Streamline, a “process improvement service” designed to cope with the legal challenges of big construction projects and complex or high-volume commercial litigation.
Former barrister and judge wins disbarment appeal
Rabi Sukul, a former barrister accused of drafting false grounds of appeal for a young criminal client, has won the right to a fresh disciplinary tribunal hearing on whether or not he should have been disbarred.
Blog
Reorientation in the AI era must begin with the client
Much of the discussion about AI in the legal industry focuses on technology: which tools to adopt and which tasks might get automated. But this misses the deeper story.
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.
