Latest news
LSB rebuffs US and European concerns as IMF bids to make bailout countries reform legal professions
The Legal Services Board has stepped into the controversy around the International Monetary Fund’s push to make countries receiving financial bailouts reform their legal professions as part of the deal.
Google-backed US online legal service to open up UK lawyer panel next month
Rocket Lawyer, the Google-backed US online legal document service, is on track to launch in the UK later this year, with lawyers set to be offered the chance to join its panel from next month, Legal Futures can reveal.
Government county court reforms assailed from all sides
The government’s plans to reform the county courts have attracted criticism from both claimant and defendant lawyers as well as costs specialists – albeit for different reasons, with the lack of detail a particular bugbear.
Solicitors “sitting on sizeable tax rebates”
Conveyancers will soon be responsible for making commercial clients aware of capital allowances reports and should be careful not to be caught out or risk a negligence action, a tax expert has warned.
Government lays out cautious approach to extending fixed-fee system across personal injury
The government is to take an unexpectedly cautious approach to extending the road traffic accident portal regime and has ditched the idea of mandatory pre-action directions, it announced today.
APIL to float last-ditch Jackson compromise
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers will next week launch a final attempt to challenge the Jackson reforms by setting out a new negotiating position that drops outright opposition to the changes. However, defendant lawyers rebuffed any suggestion of compromise.
News round-up: SRA caution over HSBC undertaking, slowdown in law firm closures, and much more
Our latest news round-up cover the SRA’s view of HSBC’s conveyancing undertaking, a fall in the number of firms closing ahead of PII renewal, a warning over merger failures, the Co-op seeking legal apprentices, and key appointments at Irwin Mitchell, the Law Society and CIPA.
Government to unveil county court shake-up with doubling of small claims limit
The government is expected to announce on Thursday that the small claims limit will be doubled to £10,000, although the limit for personal injury cases will remain at £1,000, Legal Futures has learned. Extension of the RTA portal should also be part of the package.
Private equity keen on investing in the law, say both new Parabis owner and Irwin Mitchell
Private equity firms are showing “considerable interest” in volume legal practices, the man behind Duke Street’s acquisition of the Parabis Group has said. The head of strategic projects at Irwin Mitchell claimed that most PE firms are considering investing in the law.
Government warned over Jackson delay
The delay in implementing the Jackson reforms should not be used as an opportunity to let opponents water them down, the government has been warned by a coalition of lawyers, insurers and corporates.
Blog
Does the Lloyd review mark the end of the Legal Services Act?
The Legal Services Board often generates eye-rolls and irritation from the leaders of the frontline regulators it oversees and of the representative bodies attached to them.
A familiar story?
There is no doubt that the rising cost of clinical negligence claims deserves attention. However, the system’s true cost driver is often not the claim itself.
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
