Latest news

Our latest round-up of news you need to know includes the SRA launching an investigation into the conduct of solicitors after the Hillsborough disaster, the latest ABS licences, PC renewal details, and a bid to ensure high standards of complaints handling among conveyancers.

Mahy: something that somebody should have thought of before
Using ex-City lawyer parents looking to return to practice is a way for in-house lawyers and law firms to onshore services that many people are saying should be offshored, a former FTSE 100 general counsel said this week.

QualitySolicitors has today unveiled an exclusive partnership with online legal services provider LegalZoom – the most recognised legal brand in the US – ahead of an advertising campaign that will by openly hostile to supermarkets, banks and others offering legal services.

Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) has today launched its much-touted family law operation in London, offering services on a fixed fee as standard. CLS, which was one of the first three alternative business structures, has so far recruited 22 fee-earners.

A new commercial law firm in Harrogate has launched with a fixed-fee product to support clients in conducting their own litigation. In the latest bid to challenge the traditional hourly billing model, Towers Legal is also offering a fixed-fee ‘virtual’ in-house lawyer service.

A solicitor has successfully challenged a demand to stump up nearly £150,000 in unpaid assigned risks pool premiums. He was able to show that the ARP’s manager had not established that he was personally liable for the debt of the LLP in question.

HMRC claimed yesterday that a “significant minority” of lawyers in London are underpaying on tax as it launched a specialist taskforce aimed at rooting them out. However, the announcement met with polarised reactions suggesting that it is either likely to lead to criminal actions or is doomed.

Regulators of the legal profession will have to gather and publish evidence of where lawyers are falling down on quality – including information on disciplinary action – following a wide-ranging review by the Legal Services Board.

The Law Society yesterday usurped the Solicitors Regulation Authority plans to announce details of this year’s practising certificate renewal exercise. The 2011 renewal exercise was dogged by delays and IT problems.

Lenders’ panel selection decisions, rather than alternative business structures (ABSs), are the main cloud hanging over the conveyancing industry, according to new research. Only a fifth are planning or considering becoming an ABS.