Legal Services Act
Earnings up sharply at leading conveyancing ABS
Countrywide plc has reported a “promising first half trading performance” for its conveyancing division, with income up 4% and earnings 12%. Countrywide Property Lawyers is an alternative business structure regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
SRA “loosening shackles” of separate business rule
There are signs of the Solicitors Regulation Authority relaxing its strict interpretation of a key rule which may be “dampening” innovation and new entrants to the market, according to the Legal Services Board.
Legal Services Board mulls formal probe into SRA’s handling of ABS applications
The Legal Services Board is weighing up whether to launch a formal investigation into the way the Solicitors Regulation Authority is handling alternative business structure applications, Legal Futures can reveal.
IT-driven and partners who manage full-time: is new ABS the model PI firm of the future?
Liverpool-based SGI Legal has set its sights on reshaping the way personal injury law firms operate having received its alternative business structure licence from the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
LSB: concern over behaviour at top of Bar Council and BSB sparked independence probe
The Legal Services Board’s initial probe into the independent regulation of barristers uncovered “a number of concerns about the Bar Council’s and the Bar Standards Board’s behaviour at both junior and senior executive as well as board level”, it has emerged.
Lawyers urged to adapt when advising clients with learning disabilities
Lawyers needs to improve their interpersonal skills, be patient, respectful and remove jargon to provide disabled clients with a better legal service, research has claimed. More also needs to be done to advertise legal services to people with learning disabilities.
Ebay’s former online dispute resolution team targets UK after $5m cash injection
An online dispute resolution business that spun out of eBay is heading to the UK after receiving a $5m cash injection from venture capitalists. Modria is setting up its European operation in the UK, where it will be headed by solicitor Graham Ross.
MPs attack insurers over referral fees and ABSs
MPs have attacked insurance companies for not being more transparent over the referral fees they receive from a range of sources. The transport select committee said “the motor insurance sector remains as opaque as ever”.
LeO bids to open doors to clients of unregulated legal services providers
The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has today begun a debate over whether its remit should be widened to capture complaints against the 130,000 unregulated providers who deliver legal services. It has also raised the prospect of becoming the complaints body for a wide range of professionals.
PE-fuelled Knights on the acquisition trail after snapping up Chester office
Knights Solicitors – the Staffordshire law firm backed by former Dragon James Caan – has pledged to make further acquisitions after buying the Chester office of Hill Dickinson.
Blog
The AI question law firms should answer before a client asks it
Most law firms we speak to are already using AI, whether or not they have approved it, because fee-earners are doing it anyway. The tool people settle on is often Claude.
From chat to Cowork: preparing your law firm for agentic AI
AI is evolving quickly. For law firms still working out how to get consistent value from the tools they already have, the conversation has moved on again to agentic AI.
Why good governance matters when managing Law Society forms
Everyday legal transactions rely on Law Society forms. But they are often treated as static templates rather than what they really are: living documents that change over time.
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