Legal Services Act
Legal Pioneers: Whale Rock – the business that cannot wait to become an MDP
The latest instalment of our Legal Pioneers series looks at the Whale Rock Professional Services Group, which has legal, accountancy and company secretarial arms. Clients already enjoy the benefits of the one-stop shop, writes Dan Bindman, but becoming an MDP will help considerably.
Bar Council fails governance test again while Law Society goes to the wire
The Bar Council is once again not compliant with the rules on ensuring the independence of its regulatory arm, the Legal Services Board has decided – while the Law Society’s compliance remains unresolved. But the Bar Council has been given one more year to get its house in order.
QS generating 100,000 leads a month, but many enquiry services fail, says report
QualitySolicitors is generating nearly 100,000 leads per month for its member firms, pioneering research into find-a-solicitor type services has revealed, while around a fifth of such businesses have disappeared since 2010.
Mayson: LSA to encourage “transfer market” for non-lawyer chief executives
A “transfer market” of law firm chief executives should emerge in the post-Legal Services Act world, Professor Stephen Mayson has predicted, especially if lenders and investors insist on appointing their own choice of management team as a condition of their financial support.
First law firm franchise opens for business
The first law firm franchise formally opens for business today under the face2face solicitors brand. The plan eventually is to have 600 franchises across England and Wales as part of a national legal brand. More are set to open by Christmas.
Insurers offered ‘white label’ ABS to revolutionise motor claims process
A leading law firm and an accident management company have joined forces to offer insurance companies and brokers a ‘white label’ alternative business structure combining legal and non-legal operations to revolutionise motor claims processes.
LSB: City firms can overcome worries about international reaction to ABSs
City firms’ concerns over the international rejection of alternative business structures can be overcome quite easily, a Legal Services Board study has concluded – but they are not interested in ABSs anyway, confirming the findings of a host of other surveys and reports.
Law Society: low public awareness of QualitySolicitors supports ad campaign
Recognition of the QualitySolicitors brand is registering low among consumers, Law Society research has found, which it says justifies the efforts with its new advertising campaign to ensure the network does not appropriate the word ‘quality’.
Susskind: five years until legal market reaches “endgame”
The relationship between large law firms and general counsel is likely to evolve in three phases, with the “endgame” around five years away, Professor Richard Susskind has predicted. He also expects the large accountancy firms to return to the arena.
LexisNexis enters online legal document market
Legal publishing giant LexisNexis has become the latest entrant to the automated document assembly market with the launch of LexisSmart. It will next month be linked up to the company’s LawyerLocator referral service so that customers can seek a lawyer review of documents.
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”.
