Latest news
MPs endorse Green as next chair of Office for Legal Complaints
Former policeman Steve Green today cleared the final hurdle to his appointment as the new chair of the Office for Legal Complaints – the body that oversees the Legal Ombudsman – after he was endorsed by MPs on the justice select committee.
HighStreetLawyer ditches consumer business to focus on building online collaboration
The “balloon has burst” on networks of law firms grouping together to share marketing, while the appetite among solicitors for collaboration with their peers is growing, the founder of a small firm legal network said this week.
Exclusive: Law Society puts paralegal accreditation scheme on hold
The Law Society has delayed the launch of its paralegal accreditation scheme, Legal Futures has learned. The scheme – aimed at non-qualified staff working in organisations regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority – was scheduled to go live in autumn 2013.
Partnership tax reforms “will impede law firm investment”
Reformed HMRC rules dealing with the taxation of partnerships will obstruct “innocent” firms trying to invest in their businesses and force them to modify their profit-sharing arrangements, according to a leading firm of accountants.
SRA still trying to work out how many firms don’t have insurance
A “substantial” number of law firms have failed to tell the Solicitors Regulation Authority whether or not they have professional indemnity insurance, the regulator admitted today. The SRA would not reveal how many had not declared their insurance position.
Here come the accountants and legal executives…
Competition in the law is to increase further after the Legal Services Board backed accountants to handle reserved probate work and set up alternative business structures, as well as chartered legal executives to set up their own conveyancing and probate practices.
… as LSB chair accuses Law Society and Bar of wanting to stifle competition
The Law Society and Bar Council’s call for the government to return large swathes of regulation to them is self-serving and aims to restrict competition, the chairman of the Legal Services Board has claimed.
MPs probe OLC chair-in-waiting, as CMC complaints impasse finally broken
The Legal Ombudsman should swap the telephone for the internet as the main way it deals with the public and in doing so reflect the market it serves, according to the man likely to become chair of its oversight body, the Office for Legal Complaints.
Crime firms’ “bad treatment” of clients will only get worse with cuts, study predicts
The academic who earlier this year angered criminal defence practitioners when he revealed research suggesting the firms he shadowed had mistreated their clients, has warned that the legal aid cuts planned by the Ministry of Justice will only make things worse.
In-Deed brand acquisition aimed at building up online property panel
The In-Deed conveyancing brand has been acquired by the owner of an online property panel – the final step in the dissolution of the country’s first alternative business structure (ABS) failure.
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.
