Latest news
Index to measure success of legal reforms
A ‘Consumer Welfare Index’ that will measure the effectiveness of the legal services reforms is to be developed by the Legal Services Consumer Panel, it announced today (30 March). The panel will also look to help price comparison websites operate properly in the legal market.
Green light for barristers to join LDPs, but LSB says bar still has a way to go
The Legal Services Board has approved plans to allow barristers to become partners in legal disciplinary practices but warned that the changes “go only part of the way towards opening up the market in the interests of consumers”.
New advocacy scheme goes live on 1 April
The new scheme for solicitors to acquire rights of audience will finally go live on 1 April after the Ministry of Justice gave the SRA the go-ahead. Qualification will be through an assessment based on competence standards, with no experience exemption any more.
Legal Ombudsman heads towards opening
The Legal Ombudsman – the operating name of the Office for Legal Complaints – has officially opened its new home in central Birmingham and announced its first wave of recruitment for more than 300 workers.
SRA reaches out over new regulatory regime
The SRA has launched what it describes as its biggest-ever consultation exercise as it seeks to engage the profession over the introduction of outcomes-focused regulation and alternative business structures.
Strong results for Co-op Legal Services
Profits at Co-operative Legal Services more than doubled last year, preliminary figures have shown. Sales from the legal arm grew 45%, to £20 million, with operating profits up £2.1 million to £3.8 million.
Conveyancers not diversifying despite growing competition
High street conveyancers are not comfortable about diversifying into other areas of practice, research has found. Some 60% were wary of moving into fields such as litigation and probate.
Consumer champion chairs new CLC board
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has unveiled consumer champion Anna Bradley as its new chairwoman. Ms Bradley currently chairs Ofcom’s independent consumer panel.
Report: globalisation set to step up
This decade will see the emergence of a new wave of global law firms, driven by the accelerated worldwide legal needs of the largest companies, new research has predicted. It suggest an increasing role for outsourcing as clients become more sophisticated.
ILEX considers legal version of Hippocratic Oath
The Institute of Legal Executives is considering whether to become the first legal body to require newly qualified members to take a ‘lawyer’s oath’ equivalent to the Hippocratic Oath doctors take on qualification.
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
