Legal Services Act
SRA unveils its first three ABSs
Co-operative Legal Services and high street firms John Welch and Stammers, and Lawbridge Solicitors Ltd have today become the first alternative business structures licensed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Abbey Protection unveils three-pronged ABS plan for SME market
Well-known legal expenses insurer Abbey Protection is to launch a three-pronged attack on the SME market once its application to become an alternative business structure has been approved, it has revealed.
Pioneering web-based probate service goes live as two investigations into online legal advice begin
A groundbreaking online probate service has gone live, allowing people to handle straightforward cases themselves for £349. In the coming months it will also be sold to law firms as a white-label product. Meanwhile, the Law Society has begun investigating online legal services.
Legal Ombudsman: let us accept complaints from prospective clients and third parties
Prospective clients and third parties will be able to make complaints about lawyers, if plans unveiled by the Legal Ombudsman today go ahead. The one-year time limit for making complaints to LeO will also be extended, as will the level of compensation it can award.
QASA finally agreed after Bar Standards Board gives in over plea-only advocates
The Bar Standards Board has given way on the final outstanding issue on the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates and it is now to begin in the summer. Plea-only advocates, who had been at the centre of a major disagreement, will not have to undergo judicial assessment.
Revealed: groundbreaking barristers’ chambers launches as SRA-regulated partnership
Six criminal law barristers have set up a chambers structured as a partnership and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Artesian Law is already looking to expand due to the number of instructions it has received.
New York lawyers told they cannot run the Big Apple operation of an ABS with external investors
New York lawyers are banned from running the Big Apple office of a UK alternative business structure with non-lawyer owners, the New York State Bar’s committee on professional ethics announced yesterday.
Third of conveyancing firms “considering ABS conversion”
More than a third of conveyancing firms are considering becoming an alternative business structure, new research has found. The survey also revealed predictions of large-scale closures of traditional law firms as a result of new competition.
Bar Council attacks “overconfident” Legal Services Board for “super-regulator” ambitions
The Bar Council has attacked the Legal Services Board’s “overconfidence” and criticised its apparent desire to become a “super-regulator” rather than an oversight body. It said the LSB’s plans has ambitions to be involved in areas of activity where it should not be.
Innovative legal business opens Belfast “delivery centre” with £1.6m of public money
Innovative legal business Axiom has become the latest to open an operation in Belfast, with £1.6m of government support. Unlike at other law firm operations in the city, the 100 lawyers and paralegals will be the primary client-facing fee-earners for global companies.
Blog
The SRA needs to admit it got it wrong about SLAPPs
The High Court judgment in Ashley Hurst v SRA in January raises serious questions about the regulator’s approach to allegations of SLAPP-like behaviour.
Why menopause support belongs on every law firm’s agenda
Progression in the law slows significantly as women approach senior leadership. Most will be at the height of their careers around the average age menopause symptoms begin.
Law firms need to go beyond document checks
At the root of every failed compliance review is a familiar phrase: a calm assertion of “but we did a document check”.
