News

The Law Society is considering introducing an aptitude test for entry onto the legal practice course that will reduce student numbers, Legal Futures can reveal. Other initiatives being examined are a “warts and all” guide to qualification as a solicitor and incentives for firms to provide training contracts.

Legal publisher LexisNexis has launched the latest legal think tank under the chairmanship of leading legal journalist Joshua Rozenberg. Halsbury’s Law Exchange aims to generate research and debate over a range of key legal issues, including legal services reform.

The top law firms are looking to bulk up their business development capacity as they face a major reduction in their fees, a survey has claimed. With partners in the top 10 firms seeing their average billable fees fall by £875,000 last year, recruitment consultancy Ambition says firms have responded by hiring marketing staff.

The Institute of Legal Cashiers and Administrators is to change its name to the Institute of Legal Finance and Management as it steps up its bid to become a regulatory body and have a member of staff in every legal practice qualified in legal accounting.

West Midlands law firm Forum Law is planning to give legal advice over the Internet after buying Capita Assistance’s legal helpline business. Called Legal Assistance Direct (LAD), the service already had contracts to provide legal advice to over five million client customers of various institutions. It currently receives around 35-40,000 calls a year.

The controversial prospect of publishing law firms’ complaints records will be put firmly back on the agenda with a consultation by the Legal Ombudsman, Legal Futures can report.

Law firms preparing to become alternative business structures should not enter into binding contractual agreements with prospective external owners, the Solicitors Regulation Authority is likely to warn this week.

Almost half of the law firms in the assigned risks pool (ARP) still owe premiums running to millions of pounds, although the ARP enforcement strategy has encouraged some to pay up, it has emerged.

The Legal Services Board is pushing ahead with plans to require law firms and chambers to publish comprehensive diversity and class information about their staff from next year, Legal Futures has learned.

There is a lot to cram into this week’s round-up of other regulation and Legal Services Act stories on the web. First of all, we should direct you to Legal Futures Editor Neil Rose’s Guardian blog that just being part of the high street network should not be enough to protect law firms – access to justice cannot be judged purely by quantity.