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The cost of practising as a solicitor is set to rise at a rate of more than four times inflation, if the Law Society’s council approves figures that will be put before it later this week. The collection of £116.8m in fees from the profession is up £13.2m on this year.

The Law Society last week finally launched its Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQS) last week with a warning to the profession that it needs to act to halt the fall in its market share. But the likes of the Co-op, AA and Saga will be able to apply for it too.

Almost a third of personal injury law firms in the north-west have seen fee income drop due to the introduction of LASPO reforms on 1 April, new research has found. More than 70% said that the regulatory and structural changes have had a negative impact on their businesses.

American opposition to alternative business structures is about protecting lawyers, not clients, Professor Richard Susskind has suggested. And he predicted that within a decade or so, “most advanced jurisdictions, and many emerging jurisdictions as well, will have liberalised in the manner of England

Lawyers’ lack of transparency over cost – rather than the actual cost of their services – is the major barrier to consumers seeking legal advice and the primary cause of a breakdown in trust between them, Legal Services Board research has found.

A solicitor has won an interim injunction to stop his former younger lover from going public with details of their relationship, it has emerged. However, Mr Justice Tugendhat has warned that he will keep under review the need for the parties to stay anonymous.

Competition from alternative business structures (ABSs) has increased pressure on law firms to the point that 2,500 are at risk of financial failure in the coming year, according to business recovery specialists.

Alex Mills, who was last week fired from The Apprentice, has told Legal Futures that his fledgling brand Dynamo Legal has a six-month window to capitalise on the publicity his stint on the BBC show has generated.

There may be fewer criminal law firms as a result of legal aid reform but not fewer solicitors, the Lord Chancellor claimed today. Questioned by the justice select committee, Chris Grayling also expressed disappointment at what he said was the Bar’s failure to engage with the process.

The shareholders of online conveyancing business In-Deed – the first listed company to buy a law firm – have approved the plan to dispose of the practice and the rest of its business. Nonetheless, the failure of In-Deed paves the way for “further necessary disruption in the conveyancing market”, it has been claimed.