Latest news
LSB gives green light to groundbreaking Bar student aptitude test
The Legal Services Board has approved Bar Standards Board proposals to introduce an aptitude test for prospective Bar students. The test aims to weed out the bottom 10% of candidates.
Regulators “failing consumers” by not cracking down on bad pricing practices
Frontline legal regulators have failed to involve consumers when designing their policies and must in future target resources on improving “bad pricing practices”, according to the Legal Services Consumer Panel.
Hope for small firms as another A-rated insurer enters professional indemnity market
Axis Specialty plc has become the second new A-rated insurer to enter the professional indemnity market for small law firms in a week. The news comes in the wake of AmTrust Europe Ltd setting out its stall for sole practitioners.
Exclusive: personal liability risk discouraging people from becoming COLPs and COFAs
Wariness among individuals of becoming compliance officers – especially because of the risk of personal liability – has led to some firms nominating persons who lack the most relevant expertise, research seen exclusively by Legal Futures has found.
First start-up ABS hits the Bar early
Red Bar Law has become the first start-up alternative business structure, offering clients early access to barristers and costs savings of at least 30%. It is the brainchild of a solicitor and business consultant.
ABSs help put 2,000 law firms at risk of financial failure in next year, says research
Alternative business structures and tax liabilities mean that over 2,000 law firms are at risk of failure in the next 12 months, according to the Association of Business Recovery Professionals, better known as R3.
Barristers “must adopt corporate approach” to survive
A corporate approach to working, with joint strategies and common vision, can enable elements of the Bar to continue to operate as an independent referral profession, with the Bar Council’s proposed new Bar Business Standard a good start, it has been claimed.
Innovative Scottish corporate law business outlines English ambitions
An innovative Scottish legal services business that works on fixed fees and offers clients an outsourced in-house legal function is looking to replicate its model south of Hadrian’s Wall. Vialex is also eyeing up becoming an ABS.
Government u-turn on scrapping criminal sanctions for breaches of money laundering regulations
The government has changed its mind over scrapping more than two dozen money laundering offences that can penalise lawyers for minor rule breaches, but has emphasised that minor failures should not lead to prosecution.
Norwich firm eyes first football ABS
The prospect of the first football-related alternative business structure moved closer to reality this week after a Norwich law firm set up a football agency. Leathes Prior has also launched an innovative litigation risk analysis tool.
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”.
