Legal Services Act

The possibility of introducing re-accreditation for QCs, meaning that silk would no longer be a permanent appointment, and a power to strip them of the rank in the event of misconduct, was floated last week.

The Law Society found itself at loggerheads with the Legal Services Consumer Panel last week after the pair placed themselves on opposite sides of the debate over who should run the process of choosing the chairman and board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Alternative business structure Quindell plc is spending nearly £150m a year in upfront case acquisition costs, it has emerged. The AIM-listed group is also developing a “collaboration protocol” with insurers that will lead to the pre-payment of legal costs.

A pioneering alternative business structure (ABS) has become one of the first legal practices to introduce employee ownership, while also developing a new form of billing that will see it agree a profit margin with clients, Legal Futures can reveal.

A FTSE-250 wealth management company is to launch an alternative business structure (ABS), it has emerged. The ABS is owned by Rathbone Brothers plc, a venerable City institution whose origins date back to 1742.

The major quality marks used in the profession are becoming more credible, but many still have “a long way to go” before consumers can use them with confidence, a new assessment has concluded.

“Radical changes” to the authorisation and supervision of alternative business structures are on the cards after the Solicitors Regulation Authority expressed concern that the number of applications from multi-disciplinary practices has been “in the tens rather than hundreds”.

A blue-chip wealth management company has set up an alternative business structure (ABS) to add legal to its mix of services, and is also eyeing up potential acquisitions to boost its client base.

The Legal Ombudsman has revised its target costs for resolving complaints downwards for the next financial year, which if achieved would be almost 20% lower than a year ago.

The involvement of big brands like BT and KPMG is evidence that alternative business structures have the resources and expertise to encroach on the work done by larger law firms, a top banker has predicted.