Legal Services Act
LSB: Bar regulator “put interests of profession ahead of the public”
The Bar Standards Board places “a disproportionate weight on the impact of its work on the profession” and pays insufficient regard to the impact on the public, the Legal Services Board said today.
Lawyers should have to take competence tests “every 10 years”
Lawyers should have to take online tests every 10 years to prove that they remain competent in their specialist fields, the chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel said yesterday.
Divorce firm looks to shake up field with fixed fee for whole process
A freelance solicitor has teamed up with a former KPMG partner to launch a divorce business that guarantees its fixed-fee quote for the whole process, including ancillary relief.
In-house lawyers will have to deliver more for less, survey finds
Almost two-thirds of in-house legal departments are predicting increased workloads, despite most anticipating no increase in staff numbers and almost half expecting budget cuts.
Lawyer pair behind Anexo set to pocket another £61m
The two lawyers behind Anexo Group PLC will pocket at least £61m from selling their remaining stakes in the business if a proposed takeover goes through, having made £46m earlier this year.
Media law firm’s 200-person IP protection spin-off is sold
An online brand protection provider spun out of leading media law firm Wiggin has been sold to a company which helps brands manage their intellectual property globally.
LSB praises “impressive progress” made by smallest regulator
The Legal Services Board has commended the “impressive progress” made by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board – the smallest of the legal regulators – in meeting its performance framework.
High Court rejects client’s bid to judicially review Legal Ombudsman decision
The High Court has rejected a client’s application for permission to judicially review a £9,600 award made in his favour by the Legal Ombudsman that he claimed was insufficient.
Top firms “need to get clients paying faster” to prepare for next crisis
The top 50 law firms had nearly £6bn of unpaid client invoices on their balance sheets last year and would be better prepared for another crisis like Covid if they reduced this, an analysis has argued.
Law firm mergers “not a time for consensus”
Mergers of law firms are “not a time for consensus because decisions must be made” and the fact partners may have to cede control “must be debated and not hidden”, a report has warned.
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.
