Legal Services Act

Big brand entrants to the legal market will have a “huge advantage” because of their vast client databases, the Chief Legal Ombudsman has warned. Adam Sampson said new entrants have an acute awareness how to utilise their existing clientele.

At least seven major brands will be launching high-profile campaigns to enter the UK legal services market in the next year, it has been revealed. Meanwhile, an investor is to assist a claims management company acquire several law firms.

A solicitor has launched a groundbreaking website that provides people charged with motoring offences a free online diagnosis of their case, backed up by the option of instructing a barrister to represent them at the hearing at the click of a button, Legal Futures can reveal.

Going it alone in the new legal world “is simply a drawn-out closing down”, a leading law firm consultant has warned – while another has told law firms not to overlook “the power of the solicitor brand” when rushing to align themselves with national brands.

The legal market has “enormous scope for consolidation and this is as opportune a moment as there will be to invest” in it, a new report has claimed. Espirito Santo Investment Bank said 2012 will see the “acceleration” of merger activity.

Another new franchise will start targeting law firms next week under the brand ‘Simplify the Law’, Legal Futures can reveal. Its first major milestone is to create a national network of law firms with a combined turnover of £200m.

The ban on referral fees will not be a criminal offence and is to be enforced by the legal profession’s regulators instead, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly announced yesterday. Work is also underway to cut the £1,200 payable to solicitors under the RTA portal.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel is standing by its recommendation to retain referral fees, saying it has seen no new evidence of consumer detriment to back a ban. Meanwhile, the Bar Council says its legal advice shows referral fees fall foul of the Bribery Act.

The Legal Ombudsman service is planning for more complaints because of concerns that the legal aid cuts will drive down standards among solicitors, its chief executive has revealed. He said: “It might be prudent to plan for more complaints about lawyers and legal services rather than less.”

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has launched a new strategy aimed at ensuring the interests of consumers “sit at the heart of the legal services marketplace”. It is also working on a project to determine whether the legal profession is meeting the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing.