Latest news
‘Double jeopardy’ warning over FCA money laundering switch
The Financial Conduct Authority taking over the supervision of anti-money laundering activity risks delay and double jeopardy, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has warned.
Exodus of conveyancers “will make transaction times even longer”
Transaction times will get “longer and longer” regardless of “how many new houses you build” because of the number of conveyancers leaving the market, MPs were told this week.
Ministry of Justice unveils plan to plunder client account interest
The Ministry of Justice has today unveiled plans for an Interest on Lawyers’ Client Account scheme, which would claim 75% of the interest on pooled client accounts to boost its budget.
SRA to pay solicitor £160k over “fatally flawed” prosecution
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has been ordered to pay a solicitor nearly £160,000 in costs after its prosecution of her was ruled “fatally flawed”.
Advertising watchdog targets motor CMCs in latest crackdown
The Advertising Standards Authority has banned misleading adverts aimed at victims of car accidents as part of a new crackdown on claims management companies.
MPs: MoJ risks becoming ‘Ministry of Justice (for Certain People)’
The Ministry of Justice should consider changing its name to “the Ministry of Justice (for Certain People)” if it does not take sustainability of legal aid more seriously, MPs have said.
“High trust” legal aid model could cut bureaucracy
A Dutch-style “high trust” model for legal aid could “significantly reduce bureaucracy” for law firms and make it more “economic” for them to do publicly funded work, MPs were told yesterday.
Two more acquisitions for leading PE-backed group
Two of the law firms owned by Lawfront, the largest buy-and-build group backed by private equity, have made their own acquisitions, in our first M&A round-up of the year.
Junior solicitor avoids strike-off after deleting part of handover note
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has decided against striking off a junior solicitor who deleted part of a colleague’s handover note to cover up his failure to do what it said.
Call to tackle low-cost conveyancing as part of home-buying reform
Stronger regulation of the “high-volume, low-value conveyancing sector”, as well as a review of fee structures, is needed as part of home-buying reform, the government has been told.
Blog
Fixed recoverable costs: Sacrificing justice for predictability?
The extended fixed recoverable costs regime is failing to achieve its stated objectives. Instead of promoting fairness and efficiency, the rules are creating anomalies that undermine justice.
Expectations keep rising, so prioritise client experience
Law firms are facing growing pressure to place greater focus on client experience or risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive legal market.
Want sustainable growth? Look to operational excellence
Many firms are being forced to reassess where growth will come from. Increasingly, the answer lies in operational excellence: creating capacity from existing teams.
