Latest news
BSB sets course for barrister partnerships in 2013 and ABSs in 2014
Barristers are likely to be allowed to form partnerships next year and before they can create alternative business structures, the Bar Standards Board said last week. Meanwhile, it dropped a proposal to force barristers to withdraw from cases where a client refuses to reveal previous convictions to the court.
Smith: put online NHS Direct for law at heart of radically reformed legal aid system
An online NHS Direct for law, supported by 30 law centre-type operations in key areas around the country, should form the basis of a radical new approach to publicly funded legal services, according to a leading legal thinker.
Streamlined and quicker ABS licensing process on the way
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to “streamline” the alternative business structure (ABS) application process, its chief executive has revealed after its approach and the time it takes were criticised at a high-profile event yesterday.
Southampton firm scoops Law Society innovation award for online business club
A Southampton law firm that has set up a business club for entrepreneurs last night won the Law Society award for excellence in innovation. The society’s annual Excellence Awards also saw recognition for QualitySolicitors.
SRA warns firms and solicitors: co-operate or else
The Solicitors Regulation Authority sent out a strong message yesterday that firms which fail to co-operate with it will face tough action. It also emerged that the SRA is set to share details of the risks it considers law firms face with their COLPs and COFAs.
Exclusive: first look at QualitySolicitors’ attack ads on ‘faceless’ legal advice
QualitySolicitors this week launches its public attack on ‘faceless’ legal advice provided by new entrants to the legal market and national law firms, with a series of posters across 1,000 billboard and poster sites.
New ABSs target high net-worth individuals and Yorkshire high street
A Mayfair-based private client firm that has close links to a wealth manager and a personal injury practice that is diversifying into other areas of law have become the first new alternative business structures in nearly a month.
Susskind lays out blueprint for education and training reform
The Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) should recruit a high-powered team of young lawyers to vet its proposals and provide fresh insights into the future of the legal marketplace, Professor Richard Susskind has urged.
The legal lot of the asylum seeker: complex system, hard-to-find lawyers and “sloppy” advice
Vulnerable asylum seekers are at risk of “serious detriment” from a complex asylum process and potentially “sloppy” work by immigration advisers, according to the Legal Services Consumer Panel.
High Court throws out racial discrimination challenge to SDT ruling
The High Court has thrown out a solicitor’s challenge to the decision to suspend him, which he argued was tainted by racial discrimination. Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said that “no scintilla of discrimination of any kind is detectible”.
Blog
The SRA needs to admit it got it wrong about SLAPPs
The High Court judgment in Ashley Hurst v SRA in January raises serious questions about the regulator’s approach to allegations of SLAPP-like behaviour.
Why menopause support belongs on every law firm’s agenda
Progression in the law slows significantly as women approach senior leadership. Most will be at the height of their careers around the average age menopause symptoms begin.
Law firms need to go beyond document checks
At the root of every failed compliance review is a familiar phrase: a calm assertion of “but we did a document check”.
