Latest news
"Simply being a solicitor is not enough" in ABS world, says Law Society chief
Simply being a solicitor “is not enough” in the new legal market, but by raising standards further through accreditation schemes and using their brand recognition, solicitors can preserve a dominant market share, the Law Society’s chief executive has insisted.
Non-solicitors to hold sway on SRA board
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will have a lay majority for the first time from January 2013 – the last frontline legal regulator to comply with internal governance rules that require it. Meanwhile, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers has named an adviser to the Clementi review as its new CEO.
Gap between number of Bar students and pupillages grows wider
The number of students seeking to become barristers is rising sharply but pupillages are falling, with an Oxbridge education appearing to be of growing importance, according to Bar figures.
Exclusive: SRA chairman says too many solicitors are "simply not good enough"
There are too many solicitors in England and Wales “who are simply not good enough”, the chairman of the Solicitors Regulation Authority claimed yesterday. He told the 500 firms yet to nominate COLPs that “enough is enough” – they face having their right to practise withdrawn.
InjuryLawyers4u confident over referral fee ban as it opens up panel for first time in eight years
InjuryLawyers4u, arguably the UK’s leading solicitors’ marketing consortium, is opening up its panel for the first time in more than eight years. There are currently 43 firms on the panel, collectively spending millions on advertising the service.
Citizens Advice trains guns on CMCs – and their regulator for not prosecuting any
Rogue claims management companies have been slicing off more than a third of the cash awarded in settlement of payment protection insurance mis-selling claims, according to a report by Citizens Advice. The charity also attacked the regulator for not pursuing unauthorised CMCs in the courts.
MPs pile pressure on government to crack down further on claims management companies
MPs from across the political divide last week lined up to urge the Ministry of Justice to go further to control the activities of rogue claims management companies than it has proposed to do. MPs concentrated much of their fury on the use of unsolicited text messages.
MoJ slaps away Bar Council call to scrap Legal Services Board
The Ministry of Justice has thrown cold water on the Bar Council’s call to abolish the Legal Services Board (LSB). On Saturday, Bar Council chairman Michael Todd QC said the new Lord Chancellor, Chris Grayling, was sympathetic to concerns that the legal profession is over-regulated.
Estate agent-owned conveyancing businesses become latest ABSs
Two south-east conveyancing businesses owned by estate agents have become the newest alternative business structure (ABS), meaning that more than 50 licences have now been issued by the two ABS regulators.
Bar Council to press "sympathetic" Grayling to scrap LSB
The new Lord Chancellor has said he is “sympathetic” with the notion that the legal profession is over-regulated, the chairman of the Bar Council has claimed as he stepped up his call for the Legal Services Board to be scrapped.
Blog
When AI becomes a line on the client’s bill
On 23 June, Legora changed how it charges. The platform announced that its most capable product was moving away from a flat per-seat licence fee to consumption-based pricing
Which legal AI will still matter in 12 months?
Four years ago, when senior partners asked me which legal AI they should buy, I would have walked them through a vendor comparison. Now I tell them the question is wrong.
Supreme Court redraws line between member and employee in LLPs
For anyone advising professional services firms on LLP structuring, and of course for those in LLPs themselves, last week’s Supreme Court ruling is an essential read.
