News

City firm Hogan Lovells and 39 Essex Street chambers have retained their roles as general legal advisers to the Legal Services Board. The pair, as well as five specialist providers, have been reappointed following an internal review on their existing terms and rates until 31 March 2012.

The Public Law Project has issued the first formal challenge to the government’s plans for reforming the costs of civil litigation. In a letter before action sent to justice secretary Ken Clarke, the charity’s solicitors, Leigh Day & Co, protest the lack of costs protection for those bringing judicial review proceedings.

Manchester firm Pannone is to target big businesses with a white label legal services offering, it announced today. From next week it is pulling all of its white label services into a standalone and separately branded division – Affinity Solutions – to partner with organisations with a large customer base.

Advocates seeking accreditation under the quality assurance for advocates (QAA) scheme will be allowed to opt for an assessment centre route rather than judges’ evaluations alone, under new proposals being debated today.

More than three-quarters of law firms have changed their plans to reflect the coming of alternative business structures, but firms seeking to attract investors will have to develop credible growth strategies. Neil Kinsella, managing partner of Russell Jones & Walker, said his firm had already begun to draw up a list of potential law firm acquisitions.

City law firm Taylor Wessing has launched a division offering pioneering technology to handle data mining, contract management and due diligence as a “value-added” alternative to legal process outsourcing.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has announced the first research into continuing professional development in the legal profession for a quarter of a century. As first reported by Legal Futures in February, it has appointed Professor Andrew Boon of Westminster University to conduct the research.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority could “mystery shop” conveyancing firms to check whether their costs information and publicity about charges are misleading, it has revealed. At the same time, the Legal Services Board announced that it is to consider a major review of conveyancing.

Irwin Mitchell today became the first major law firm to announce its intention to seek external investment. The Sheffield-headquartered national practice has appointed Espirito Santo Investment Bank as its financial adviser to review the options.

The Supreme Court is set to rule on the limits of legal professional privilege, it has emerged. The court has granted Prudential permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgment last October, which unanimously confirmed that privilege only applies to solicitors and barristers.