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Alternative business structures in the personal injury market will do little to improve injured people’s access to justice but will benefit larger law firms at the expense of smaller ones, a new survey has found. Firms were split over whether their business models can survive the Jackson reforms.

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has rejected Law Society calls for a ban on referral fees in conveyancing, although it is proposing to increase the disclosure requirements on firms. It found “little evidence of significant detriment” to consumers.

Law firms are not maximising the potential in either their clients or their staff, according to new benchmarking research seen by Legal Futures. Firms reported very different results from cross-selling, for example,

Fewer than half of solicitors in Scotland use the three main social media platforms for professional purposes, according to new research. The most popular social network tool was LinkedIn, with 24% of the solicitors polled using it on a daily or weekly basis.

A new national marketing network of solicitors specialising in personal injury claims will be launched in the New Year with funding to spend more than £3m a year on advertising as firms come to terms with the upcoming ban on referral fees. Meanwhile new ABS Thompsons hinted at possible alliances with trade unions.

The legal process outsourcing industry is currently worth $2.4bn worldwide and is set to expand into higher value, more complex work, according to research conducted by the London School of Economics.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has received “too many” compliance officer nominations where the individuals concerned have failed to disclose serious disciplinary issues that make them unsuitable for the role, as it warns that hundreds of firms will start 2013 without officers in place.

Connect2Law – the largest network of law firms in England and Wales – is planning to raise its profile and make itself the “UK’s leading response for law firms” to the post-Legal Services Act market. As a sign of intent it has recruited David Jabbari as its new chief executive.

Not-for-profit (NFP) advice agencies should be allowed to charge for providing legal services soon, the Legal Services Board said yesterday, while also announcing a delay in the creation of an alternative business structure licensing scheme until at least April 2015 because no regulator is ready to provide it.

There are widespread failures among law firms to comply with a host of key regulatory requirements, from their websites to the Bribery Act, new research seen exclusively by Legal Futures has shown. The figures indicate that there is simply too much for small firms to comply with, according to its author.