Latest news
Criminal barristers vote 2:1 to accept government legal aid deal
Criminal law barristers yesterday voted two to one in favour of calling off their industrial action and accept the deal offered by the government. However, fewer than half of the Criminal Bar Association’s 4,000 members voted.
Regulators pledge data for comparison sites, as panel goes undercover to investigate web advice
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has conducted a ‘mystery shopping’ exercise to assess consumers’ experience of online self-help tools for a divorce. Meanwhile, work by the panel to open up data held by regulators to be used by legal comparison websites took a major step forward.
AIM-listed financial services business agrees £15m deal to buy Simpson Millar
An AIM-listed consumer financial services business is to acquire national law firm Simpson Millar – which had last year looked like being bought by Slater & Gordon – for £15m.
SRA’s approach to licensing ABSs “damaging competition, consumers and access to justice”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s approach to licensing non-traditional businesses as alternative business structures is “impacting competition, access to justice and negatively affecting consumers”, the Legal Services Board has claimed.
Virtual firm offers to “insulate” capital for partners
A virtual firm launched yesterday which hopes to attract 50 corporate and commercial lawyers billing a total of £15m a year by 2019. Carbon Law Partners aspires to the success of virtual law firms such as Keystone Law and Setfords.
QS steals march on “shortsighted” law firms by offering fixed-fee small claims service
QualitySolicitors has teamed up with a mediation provider to offer a fixed-fee legal solution for the type of small claims disputes that it said most “shortsighted” law firms will not touch. It said law firms were missing out on potential clients of the future.
ABS brings together conveyancing with estate agency and financial advice
A solicitor has merged her law practice with the family estate agency and finance business in an alternative business structure that is thought to be the first in Cumbria.
Leading civil liberties firm receives Times apology over Magdalene launderies claim
Leading civil liberties practice Hodge Jones & Allen has received a full apology and damages from The Times newspaper over an article which accused the firm of misleading victims of the Magdalene laundries in Ireland.
Call for QC reaccreditation as QASA challenge staggers on
The possibility of introducing re-accreditation for QCs, meaning that silk would no longer be a permanent appointment, and a power to strip them of the rank in the event of misconduct, was floated last week.
Lawyers and consumers at odds over control of appointments to the SRA
The Law Society found itself at loggerheads with the Legal Services Consumer Panel last week after the pair placed themselves on opposite sides of the debate over who should run the process of choosing the chairman and board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Blog
Small steps, big impact: how SME law firms are making legal tech work
For SME law firms, the priority is turning the potential of tech into measurable impact: success is driven not just by the technology, but by how firms approach planning and implementation.
Why housing disrepair claims against councils have leapt by nearly 400%
Housing disrepair claims against councils have surged dramatically in recent years, with some areas reporting increases approaching a staggering 400%.
Client accounts: Opportunity, obligation and the risks in between
The profitability gap between well-run firms and the rest is not primarily a function of size, location or practice area – it is a function of financial management.
