Legal Services Act

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The world’s largest law firm, Dentons, has launched a standalone advisory firm backed by private equity with the aim of building a vast multidisciplinary offering across the globe.