Market monitor
Former presidential adviser joins ABS with eye on Brexit benefits
A unique alternative business structure that combines legal and political advice has unveiled a former economic adviser to President GW Bush as its latest high-profile hire.
Huge growth in alternative legal services provider market
The alternative legal services provider market has expanded rapidly in recent years, with those operated by law firms the smallest but fastest-growing part, a report has found.
Top 100 firms have “trust issues” because of online failures
Many of the top 100 law firms have online trust issues because they do not comply with an SRA rule requiring them to display the regulator’s badge prominently and fail to engage with reviews.
Law firms sign up to social mobility and Black interns initiatives
City law firms are partnering with the Social Mobility Pledge to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, with firms and chambers also signing up to the #10000BlackInterns programme.
Legal and financial services group expands with law firm acquisition
Fast-growing wealth management and legal services firm Progeny has continued its expansion by acquiring conveyancing firm Watson Law, with three financial planning firms next on its agenda.
Tax barrister aims to make virtual chambers “biggest of its kind”
A barrister specialising in civil and criminal tax disputes has set up a virtual chambers with the aim of making it the biggest of its kind by the end of next year.
Time to consider regulating lawtech firms, report says
The time has come for the Ministry of Justice to consider whether lawtech companies, along with other unregulated legal services providers, should be regulated, ACSO has said.
Brexit deal has made world “much more clunky” for lawyers
The Brexit agreement, greeted by lawyers with “sighs of relief”, had led to a “much more clunky world” for legal services, with important issues like privilege unresolved, the Law Society president has said.
Whiplash progress at last as protocol is all but approved
There is finally movement on the rule changes required to make the whiplash reforms happen, with the new pre-action protocol all but approved last month, it has emerged.
Consultancy firm aimed at high street work targets national growth
A consultants-led law firm based in Yorkshire has unveiled plans for national expansion after seeing its caseload double in 2020 with the post-lockdown conveyancing boom.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
