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The current framework of legal regulation is “inconsistent”, the Ministry of Justice accepted today, but said it could not commit to the formal review sought by the Competition and Markets Authority and others. It also said it would not take forward the plan to completely separate legal regulators from representative bodies.

The Ministry of Justice has rejected the idea of diversity targets for the judiciary and magistracy in its response to the Lammy review of the treatment of black and minority ethnic people in the criminal justice system. It said it would investigate giving accused people a choice of duty solicitor and early access to a barrister, subject to a “cost-benefit analysis”.

The Court of Appeal has rejected the arguments of a convicted VAT fraudster that her former solicitors pressured her to drop an appeal that included a claim that they represented her badly and helped land her in jail.

‘Silver splitters’ are finding their way to a pioneering online divorce service, which uses divorce coaches instead of lawyers as part of its goal of making the process as painless and low-cost as possible. Amicable App, launched in January this year, has recently raised £473,000 from a range of angel investors.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has again reached a highly unusual majority decision in the Leigh Day case, this time on the costs of the case. Two members of the tribunal decided that there should be no order for costs, but the third member argued that Leigh Day should be awarded 40% of its costs of the proceedings.

The Link App, the communications application for law firms and their clients created by former The Apprentice candidate Lauren Riley, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £300,000 as it continues to establish itself. Sir Nigel Knowles has taken over as chairman of the company.

There is still some bad practice among personal injury firms – particularly around their relationships with work introducers and other third parties – but overall it is a positive picture of good practice and compliance, the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s has found. It also suggested that the low level of reported fraud was because defendant firms chose to opt for a discontinuance rather than press the issue.

Legal regulation is “more than ripe for total overhaul”, a former chair of the Bar Standards Board has told the House of Lords. Speaking in a debate on better regulation, Baroness Deech argued that by the time the Legal Services Act 2007 came into force, it was all already out of date because of the financial crash.

The rise in the number of litigants-in-person in the family courts since the 2013 legal aid reforms has topped a poll of the causes of discontent among family law practitioners for the fifth year running, it has emerged.

The High Court has struck out a negligence claim brought against a barrister peer for breaching an extended civil restraint order – only to then permit the claimant to issue a further claim form. Max Couper is seeking to sue both Lord Thomas of Gresford – the Liberal Democrats’ shadow attorney general – and Irwin Mitchell.