Legal Services Act
Call for QC reaccreditation as QASA challenge staggers on
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.
Lawyers and consumers at odds over control of appointments to the SRA
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.
Quindell spending £150m a year on upfront case acquisition
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.
Groundbreaking ABS embraces employee ownership and new approach to charging
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.
FTSE-250 wealth manager awarded ABS licence
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 quality of quality marks: getting better but still a long way to go
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.
SRA unveils plans to encourage multi-disciplinary ABSs
“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”.
Multi-disciplinary ABS eyes law firm acquisitions
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.
LeO bids to slash cost per case and ring-fence CMC complaints
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.
ABSs “have potential to challenge leading law firms”
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.
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Mentoring the next generation of litigation leaders
As a female lawyer, from the North, with a state school education, I understand the value of sharing perspectives, experiences and contacts.
The cost of systemic failure and childbirth injuries
Recent reports show that the NHS has paid almost £3.5bn in medical claims around childbirth injuries over the past six years.
Mazur: when regulators make simple things complicated
What the last six months have shown is that supervision cannot be treated as a background compliance obligation quietly managed somewhere in a firm’s operational processes.
