Legal Services Board
Bar Council faces probe over “undermining” independent regulation of barristers
The Legal Services Board has launched a formal investigation into whether the Bar Council interfered with the independent regulation of barristers over controversial changes made to the cab-rank rule by the Bar Standards Board.
Growing amount of legal work can be “de-lawyered”, says LSB director
A growing amount of legal work could be “de-lawyered” and provided by organisations that offer a wide range of legal and non-legal services, the strategy director of the Legal Services Board has suggested.
LSB warns Bar regulator that it has big hurdles to jump to regulate ABSs
The Bar Standards Board will be unable to regulate alternative business structures effectively until it learns more about users of barristers’ services and undergoes “significant cultural change”, according to the Legal Services Board.
Massive unmet legal need among small businesses, landmark research finds
Legal problems are costing small businesses in England and Wales £100bn a year, with fears over the cost of legal advice meaning they are far more likely to go it alone than seek help, authoritative new research from the Legal Services Board has found.
Government under fire for will-writing decision as few express faith in voluntary regulation
Criticism of the government’s decision not to regulate will-writing continued yesterday – although the two bodies representing the will-writing community appeared at odd over the prospects of self-regulation succeeding.
Government says ‘no’ to will-writing regulation
The government has today rejected the Legal Services Board’s (LSB) recommendation that will-writing become a reserved legal activity. There had been near-unanimous support from legal and consumer groups for the move.
LSB director questions independence of frontline regulators from the lawyers they oversee
The influence of lawyers and professional bodies on their frontline regulators is the biggest risk to independent regulation in the law, the strategy director of the Legal Services Board has claimed. Crispin Passmore said a combination of factors led him to “worry how independent regulation actually is”.
Flood stokes cab-rank rule argument
The row over Legal Services Board-commissioned research that recommended removal of the cab-rank rule stepped up a further notch yesterday after one of the academics who conducted it hit back at the critiques published by the Bar Council and Bar Standards Board.
Bringing all legal advice into regulatory net may resolve consumer confusion, says LSB chief
The status quo over reserved and unreserved legal activities is unsustainable and the answer may be for all legal advice to be regulated, the chief executive of the Legal Services Board has suggested.
New duty to support growth should not allow regulators to block “risky business models”
A proposed statutory duty on frontline regulators to consider economic growth must not be used to probe the business plans of new entrants to the market or block “risky business models”, the Legal Services Board has cautioned.
Blog
Listening, learning and leading The Solicitor’s Charity with care
As I prepare to hand over the mantle of chair of The Solicitor’s Charity next month, it doesn’t feel like an end. Instead, it feels like a wonderful journey.
Is competition in the legal sector stifling innovation?
As the legal sector’s competitive landscape continues to evolve, Nobel laureates remind us that innovation is not inevitable,and that competition may not always be an incentive to innovate.
What high-performing consumer claims firms get right
Recurring concerns about parts of the volume claims sector show that the gap between well-run firms and those struggling to manage volume effectively is widening.
