Latest news
Lawyers strike back? EU proposals could allow them to complain about clients
The government has been urged to oppose European proposals that could allow lawyers to make complaints about their clients. The Legal Services Consumer Panel has otherwise welcomed the EU proposals which could provide redress against unregulated providers.
A4e sets sights on offering spread of "affordable" legal services to individuals and businesses
Leading welfare-to-work business A4e is planning to offer both consumers and businesses a broad range of legal services at a “more affordable” cost than currently seen in the market, it has confirmed.
Quindell adds major accident management business to law firm acquisition
Quindell Portfolio plc – the company which on Tuesday announced its intention to buy Liverpool law firm Silverbeck Rymer – has continued its acquisition spree by taking a 29.9% stake in a major accident management business which will feed work to the firm.
Black lawyers reignite SRA race discrimination row
Around 15 claims of race discrimination against the Solicitors Regulation Authority will be launched shortly, arguing that it treats black and minority ethnic solicitors less favourably than white counterparts, the Society of Black Lawyers has claimed.
Common training and even regulation of solicitors and barristers on the cards, says Law Society chief
The time is coming when the distinction between solicitors and barristers will be “more a matter of tribal culture than function”, the Law Society president has predicted, with common education, training and even potentially regulation on the agenda.
Micro-managing LSB "risks independence of profession"
The Legal Services Board’s “unduly detailed approach to oversight” risks undermining professional independence, the Law Society president has claimed. John Wotton also argued that alternative business structures have “no magic bullet in competitive terms”.
AIM-listed company to buy Liverpool law firm in ABS first
Liverpool law firm Silverbeck Rymer is set to become the first legal practice acquired by a listed company, it was announced this morning. AIM-listed Quindell Portfolio plc is to spend £19.3m on the leading personal injury firm.
LSB issues Bar Standards Board with warning notice over cab-rank rule changes
The long-running saga over standard contractual terms between barristers and solicitors has hit another hurdle after the Legal Services Board issued a statutory warning notice that it is considering whether to reject changes to the cab-rank rule that would underpin them.
Re-shaping your firm – and how to pay for it
Chris Marston, head of professional practices at Lloyds TSB Commercial, takes a look at how solicitors’ firms can compete against external capital.
Brighton firm to license name and back-office support to "entrepreneurial" solicitors
An award-winning Brighton business law firm is to license out its brand and back-office support to solicitors who want to set up their own practices. The aim is to have at least 10 Acumen Business Law licensees in the south-east at the end of the first year.
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
