Legal Services Act

Large law firms should consider becoming “general contractors” to manage their clients’ disaggregated legal needs amidst growing demand from in-house lawyers to use alternative legal services providers – with the Big Four accountants a threat “that cannot be overstated” – a new report has suggested.

A solicitor who lied to clients and ignored a High Court costs ruling has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and ordered to pay costs of nearly £100,000. His ABS was the first to be closed by the SRA on the grounds of a manager’s suspected dishonesty.

Lawyers must be prepared to give their clients advice rather than a range of options, the managing director of a fast-growing wealth management and legal services firm has said. The Progeny Group has doubled in size in the past year to 70 staff, including 15 lawyers, and aims to grow just as quickly this year.

Lawyers who attract a sufficient number of positive client reviews are able to charge higher fees, the head of an online lawyer-matching service has claimed. He also said that having a single “odd-ball review” among a dozen good reviews could increase a lawyer’s standing.

City law firm Fieldfisher has created an ‘alternative legal solutions’ platform that offers financial services clients “customisable and process-efficient services, all of which go beyond the traditional law firm offering” – and at a lower cost.

The Legal Ombudsman has investigated almost 5,000 complaints about claims management companies in the two years since its jurisdiction was expanded to cover them. But it has been warned to expect a major influx of more complaints if the government’s personal injury reforms come to pass.

A legal business which employs paralegals to handle straightforward work directly for clients while managing qualified lawyers on the advisory aspects of their case, has been launched by a serial legal services entrepreneur. He describes it as the UK’s first “para-law firm”.

Pioneering alternative business structure Triton Global has been acquired by national law firm DWF in a pre-pack administration deal that saves all 215 jobs. Triton is a multi-disciplinary insurance business combining legal advice, claims administration and loss adjusting that became one of the first ABSs to introduce employee ownership.

A financial health analysis of law firms based on annual accounts has predicted that at least 500 firms are heading for collapse in the next three years, with law firms at greater financial risk than businesses as a whole – but the profession was warned that the toll could be higher still.

The Law Society’s governance troubles – with the resignation of chief executive Catherine Dixon earlier this month – are proof that it is “unsuitable” for any role in the regulation of the profession, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has told the Legal Services Board.