News

David Edmonds was today reappointed as chairman of Legal Services Board for a second three-year term. Mr Edmonds, who is paid £63,000 a year for a minimum of 70 days’ work, will now be in post until 30 April 2014.

Law firms face a reduction in work as a result of the latest reforms to civil litigation, government documents have predicted. Impact assessments accompanying yesterday’s consultation on reform of the county courts say they will lead to “reduced levels of legal services business”.

Lord Justice Jackson’s blueprint to reform the cost of civil litigation is to be implemented almost in full, Lord Chancellor Ken Clarke announced today, with the government predicting that law firms will adapt to retain their profitability, and that it may encourage new players into the market.

The Lord Chief Justice has spoken out against licensed conveyancers being granted rights to conduct litigation and advocacy. Lord Judge said they are areas of work which lie outside the proper sphere of activity of a licensed conveyancer and he could see no strong public interest in giving them those rights.

Personal injury lawyers will today get a stronger vision of the future of their practices when the Ministry of Justice unveils the way forward on its reform of civil litigation costs. Lord Chancellor Ken Clarke will make a statement today outlining its response to the green paper consultation. Check back on Legal Futures after 3.30pm.

The government intends to abolish more than 24 regulatory offences under the money laundering regulations, the Treasury has revealed. It is also working with some of the largest City law firms and other major services providers to launch a “log of professional readiness” that will help school leavers and undergraduates prepare to apply for jobs in the City.

Government plans to extend the electronic claims portal to cover all fast-track personal injury claims cannot be achieved by the deadline of next April, the man likely to be charged with doing it has told Legal Futures.

In the first of a regular series of articles from the Institute of Legal Finance and Management (formerly the Institute of Legal Cashiers and Administrators), Lisa Dixon outlines the strategies law firms should be adopting to ensure they manage their debts properly

The Solicitor Sole Practitioners Group has backed away from its threat to call a special general meeting and postal vote of the profession to gauge support for alternative business structures (ABSs). Meanwhile, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has refuted suggestions that it shifted position on how it will regulate ABSs ahead of this week’s Law Society vote.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has identified its first vexatious complainant, it emerged last night – but it is a lawyer, not a member of the public. It has also appointed former Financial Services Ombudsman Walter Merricks to adjudicate on complaints over LeO’s own service.