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The introduction of self-regulation for third-party litigation funding may not be sustainable in the long term, a team of leading academics has warned. They also highlighted the risks that contingency fees pose.

News round-up takes in an important court victory for the Legal Services Commission on legal aid payments, a major survey showing that City lawyer salaries are very much on the up and partners borrowing more to pay tax bills.

The Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority have been granted leave to intervene in a High Court case on whether professional indemnity insurers should be able to effectively cap cover by aggregating claims against a firm – with a bill of £50m at stake.

The dispute over Leigh Day & Co’s £105m costs bill in the Trafigura litigation has settled before it could reach the Supreme Court, it has emerged, leaving costs specialists frustrated that the question of the date from which interest on costs runs remains unresolved.

Our latest news round-up reports on the SDT’s sanction on Andrew Crossley for letters sent to alleged file-sharers, the question of forcing out older partners reaching the Supeme Court, the SRA warning solicitors who take on PPI cases, and the latest on practising certificate renewals.

Law firms and other legal providers that offer consumers fixed fees “are likely to have a clear competitive advantage” over those that bill by the hour, new research has shown. It also forecasts that the legal market will grow this year, mainly thanks to larger law firms, with smaller ones struggling.

The Jackson reforms are “excessive and over-zealous” in their impact on personal injury work, failing to achieve their core objective of promoting access to justice at proportionate cost, an academic study has concluded. Dr Claire McIvor said the judge’s recommendations “blatantly prioritise the interests of defendants”.

National law firm Irwin Mitchell has named the former vice-chairman UK of PricewaterhouseCoopers its chairman-designate as it continues preparations to become an alternative business structure.

The requirement for compliance officers in law firms to consent to their appointment will be a “powerful tool” to ensure they are listened to, it was predicted last week. Firms were also told that they are likely to need a “compliance plan” as evidence of their approach to outcomes-focused regulation.

The fallout from the financial crisis as well as growing threats from the legal process outsourcing industry is making it even more difficult for legal practices to juggle client expectations and fee income, says Peter Collins. Many are looking to manage their own resources more effectively.