Consumer panel
Lawyers will be seen in future as “small part of diverse legal ecosystem”
Regulated lawyers should be viewed in the future as “a small part of an increasingly diverse ecosystem”, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said in a report being launched at today’s Legal Futures Annual Conference.
LSB must “knock heads together” to lower burden of proof in disciplinary proceedings
The Legal Services Board must “knock heads together” to replace the criminal burden of proof in disciplinary proceedings involving solicitors and barristers with the civil standard, the chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.
Deech calls for full independence for legal regulators
The legal regulators should have full independence, and ‘approved regulator’ role of the Bar Council, Law Society and other professional bodies should be abolished, the chair of the Bar Standards Board argued yesterday.
Consumer panel calls into question barristers’ £500,000 indemnity limit
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has called into question the existing minimum indemnity cover limit of £500,000 for barristers and called for more research before the limit was extended to firms regulated by the Bar Standards Board.
SRA set to open up solicitor register to comparison websites
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has committed to opening up its register of solicitors to comparison websites, while the Legal Ombudsman has today made its decisions available in a downloadable format.
Consumer panel hits back over SRA ‘double standards’ claim
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has hit back at criticism by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) that it opposes a minimum indemnity insurance limit of £500,000 for solicitors, while supporting it for accountants.
SRA attacked from all sides on indemnity reforms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s proposed indemnity insurance reforms have been attacked from all sides by the legal services consumer panel, the Law Society and the insurance industry itself.
Increasing number of clients “can’t be bothered to complain” about their lawyer
Public awareness of the Legal Ombudsman is continuing to fall, while the number of dissatisfied clients who do not bother to complain is increasing, a survey has found.
Clients charged fixed fees in almost half of all transactions, survey finds
Clients are paying law firms fixed fees in almost half of all transactions, while unbundling is becoming a significant feature of the market place, a survey for the Legal Services Consumer Panel has found.
Comparison sites sign up to consumer panel’s good practice standards
Two comparison websites have become the latest to sign up to the groundbreaking good practice standards pioneered by the Legal Services Consumer Panel.
Blog
The SRA and privileged material – this is not the end
All disclosure to the SRA must now exclude privileged material, which will not only hamper investigations but also cause additional work for firms providing disclosure.
Legal Ombudsman fee reforms risk widening the justice gap
Charging firms simply because a complaint moves through the process weakens the present connection between fees and fault. It could also encourage firms to settle for commercial reasons.
Why upfront information could transform home buying
The success of upfront property information will depend on more than simply making the information available.
Reports
Associates
