Legal Services Act

There is “sufficient consistency of evidence and concern” about the standard of criminal advocacy to warrant the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA), the Legal Services Board concluded today.

Alternative business structures may be bad for traditional law firms, but they will have a positive impact on clients, a snapshot survey of small firms has found. This is despite the belief that new entrants will not provide the same quality or ethical standards as traditional practices.

Well-known legal expenses insurer ULR Additions has won approval to set up an alternative business structure. However, the license from the Solicitors Regulation Authority restricts the work LEI Legal Services Ltd can undertake.

The Legal Services Board fears a successful legal challenge should it accept the compromise aimed at resolving the impasse over moving the handling of complaints about claims management companies to the Legal Ombudsman, Legal Futures has learned.

The future of the cab-rank rule is still up for debate despite approval of the new Bar Standards Board code of conduct, which includes it, the Legal Services Board has warned. The BSB is also set to raise the issue of a cab-rank rule for solicitors, it has emerged.

The Legal Ombudsman has put around 10% of its staff at risk of redundancy as it undertakes a restructuring brought about by receiving fewer complaints than expected. It has been exacerbated by difficulties in transferring over the handling of complaints about CMCs.

A new ‘find a lawyer’ service just launched in America has designs on coming to the UK next year, Legal Futures can reveal. The long-term goal of LawVisors is to be a “legal ecosystem” for lawyers and clients alike.

The Jackson reforms, legal aid changes and stagnant corporate work drove a record year in law firm mergers during 2012, according to new research. Strategic mergers could help convince creditors that solicitors remain a good credit risk, it also suggested.

The managing partner of private equity-backed Knights Solicitors has reinforced his short-term plans after investor James Caan revealed ambitions to gatecrash the UK’s top 20 law firms. Mr Cann outlined long-term acquisition goals to send the £10m turnover Staffordshire firm soaring.

The venture capitalists already invested in the UK’s first alternative business structure have added one of the country’s largest probate and estate administration providers to their portfolio, Legal Futures can reveal.