News

Plans to allow students to claim exemptions from the legal practice course (LPC) for the first time have been unveiled by the Solicitors Regulation Authority – although it will be for the LPC provider to decide whether to accept them.

The Legal Services Board wants law firms to go public with the gender and ethnic make-up of their staff – as well as possibly their social background – as a way of encouraging them to build a diverse workforce, it has emerged.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority today announced a major crackdown on law firms in the assigned risks pool, with firms unable to exit the pool at the end of their term or to pay their premiums likely to be closed down.

Two of the legal profession’s regulators are to begin recruitment exercises following senior resignations, Legal Futures can reveal. Mandie Lavin is stepping down as director of the Bar Standards Board, while Nick Smedley has resigned from the board of ILEX Professional Standards.

This week’s Question of Ethics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority looks at what you should do if your document storage facility has been badly damaged by fire.

The general regulatory chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal is set to hear appeals against decisions made over alternative business structures, it has emerged. The Legal Services Board believes appeals would be better with a single body than multiple bodies.

Solicitors’ insurers are not entitled to obtain confidential and privileged documents from the Law Society on files where no claim has been made against their insured, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

When the profession ditched the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF), a compelling reason for the move was that many good firms were paying for the failures of the few. Now, a decade later, solicitors are back in exactly the same position. Only, the ‘few’ could become substantially more over the next few months.

Patricia Wheatley Burt of Trafalgar looks at the demands on managing partners and how to avoid placing law firm leaders too much at the whim of the partnership.

Accountant Nigel Reynolds explains why law firms need to bring back fixed fees in a bid to secure future success in business.