Legal Services Act

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has opened a second front in its campaign for full separation from the Law Society by appealing to the Treasury to intervene over the issue of money laundering. The Ministry of Justice is expected to reveal its plans on separation after the EU referendum.

The Legal Services Board has announced a change in its practising certificate fee rules, which will put the spotlight on spending by professional bodies such as the Law Society and Bar Council. Both professional bodies opposed the change.

Two separate alternative business structures specialising in commercial contracts went live today – each offering clients a non-traditional alternative to corporate law firms. Wavelength.law makes sophisticated use of new technology, while Ember Contract Solutions is part of a management consultancy.

The Legal Services Board has said that “further discussion and evidence” is needed before it is prepared to back proposals to force law firms to publish average prices. The LSB was responding to a report by the Legal Services Consumer Panel.

Fairpoint Group, the AIM-listed company that has become a predominantly legal business, unveiled its fourth acquisition in two years yesterday after snapping up south Manchester firm Abney Garsden, best known for acting for victims of child abuse.

Alternative business structure Metamorph Law has taken the first step in its plan to consolidate dozens of law firms by acquiring north-west firm Linder Myers in a pre-pack deal. Assure Law, the business consultancy that in 2014 saved Linder Myers from administration and installed its chief executive as the firm’s CEO, is also a minority shareholder in Metamorph.

The Council of Licensed Conveyancers has announced its intention to apply to the Legal Services Board to approve the introduction of a solicitor-style open market indemnity scheme. The move has triggered warnings that law firms may switch regulator from the Solicitors Regulation Authority to the CLC for the wrong reasons.

Only three in ten people who have a legal issue seek advice, and of them just over half go to a lawyer, the biggest ever survey of individuals’ legal needs has found. The poll of 8,192 people also found that assuming that services would be too expensive was the most common reason for not using solicitors.

Law Society spending on non-regulatory ‘permitted purposes’, such as law reform and practice support, surged by £6.3m in the four years between 2010 and 2014, research by the Legal Services Board has revealed. The research was part of the LSB’s investigation into the cost of legal services regulation.

Alternative business structures are three times more likely than regular firms to offer “novel online solutions for clients wishing to access their services”, according to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers as we round up ABS news from up and down the country.