Legal Services Board
Government targets legal services regulation in ‘Red Tape Challenge’
The government is planning to slash unnecessary red tape around the regulation of legal services, it has emerged. The Red Tape Challenge – a government-wide initiative to cut the 21,000 regulations currently in force in the UK – will spotlight legal services in June.
LSB rebuffs US and European concerns as IMF bids to make bailout countries reform legal professions
The Legal Services Board has stepped into the controversy around the International Monetary Fund’s push to make countries receiving financial bailouts reform their legal professions as part of the deal.
Micro-managing LSB "risks independence of profession"
The Legal Services Board’s “unduly detailed approach to oversight” risks undermining professional independence, the Law Society president has claimed. John Wotton also argued that alternative business structures have “no magic bullet in competitive terms”.
LSB issues Bar Standards Board with warning notice over cab-rank rule changes
The long-running saga over standard contractual terms between barristers and solicitors has hit another hurdle after the Legal Services Board issued a statutory warning notice that it is considering whether to reject changes to the cab-rank rule that would underpin them.
LSB, Bar Council and big law firms sign up to Clegg’s ‘Business Compact’ on social mobility
The Legal Services Board, Bar Council and 10 top law firms have signed the government’s ‘Business Compact’ on social mobility to end the “who you know, not what you know” culture, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced.
Government kicks off review of LSB and Legal Ombudsman's roles
The government review of the “continuing need for the functions and the form” of the Legal Services Board and Office for Legal Complaints began yesterday with a call for evidence. It will take up to six months to complete.
Consumers don't need to use a lawyer to write their will, banks tell LSB
It is not necessary to use a legally qualified professional to prepare a will, the British Bankers Association has insisted. It said a bank’s in-house unit “produces just as satisfactory a service as a firm of solicitors regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority”.
LSB puts Law Society on report after SRA complains about independence threat
The Legal Services Board has activated statutory powers that require the Law Society to provide monthly reports on whether it is complying with rules that are meant to ensure the independence of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Legal Services Board in first group of quangos subject to new government review process
The Legal Services Board is in the first tranche of quangos subject to a new triennial review process, Cabinet Office minister Frances Maude announced last week. It will review whether the board’s functions are required and other tests of continuing relevance.
Legal Services Board levy set to fall as it reins in costs
The Legal Services Board is planning to reduce its levy on the legal profession by 9% next year, it announced yesterday while outlining its plans for 2012/13 and wider strategic objectives for the next three years.
Blog
On good authority? GenAI and the reputational risks to law firms
As GenAI’s influence grows, so do the risks which are already playing out in courtrooms across England and Wales, where some early adopters are setting precedents they would rather not.
Why this is the year for law firms to embrace generative AI
After more than a year of pilots, proofs of value and early experimentation, firms are increasingly embedding AI into day-to-day workflows.
Client account interest is not spare change
The proposed Interest on Lawyers’ Client Accounts scheme is being framed as a sensible, international, “tried and tested” way for the profession to help fund a justice system under strain.
