News
Law Society unveils paralegal study
The Law Society has announced plans for a preliminary scoping study into whether the Law Society should develop or endorse qualifications for paralegals.
LSB sets out plans for levying its £25m running costs for 2010/11 on profession
The Legal Services Board has set out its plans to recoup its running costs, and those of the Office for Legal Complaints, based on a per capita basis and of complaints against each part of the legal profession.
Costs draftsmen set up regulatory subsidiary
The Association of Law Costs Draftsmen has created a regulatory subsidiary and unveiled plans to streamline its membership as it shapes up as the smallest of the approved regulators.
Legal training system failing law students
The government’s decision last week to scrap training grants for would-be legal aid lawyers was as inevitable as it was sad, and was all the more pointed for coming the day after the Association of Graduate Recruiters named law firms as the highest-paying graduate employers.
More than a third of barristers keen to join new business structures, BSB survey finds
More than a third of barristers are likely to join a new business structure in the next five years, research has shown, and this number is likely to increase as understanding of the opportunities under the Legal Services Act improves.
Pressure grows on SRA to find alternatives to “sledgehammer” of intervention
Pressure is growing on the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to find alternatives to marching in and shutting down law firms in trouble, Legal Futures has discovered. A blueprint to reduce the number of interventions – which cost around £100,000 a time – has been put forward.
Interesting times
This week’s Question of Ethics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority looks at the obligation on solicitors to obtain the best rate of interest held in a separate designated client account.
The ‘S’ word
Law firms may not like to use the word ‘sales’ but that is exactly what they do, says Mike Jones, who was dubbed the world’s first law firm sales director when working in the City. Here he explains why law firms need to manage their sales performance better than they do.
Law Society budget to fall 13% to £124m
The Law Society is set to collect nearly £124 million from solicitors in the next year, a 13% fall on last year due to a major reduction in compensation fund contributions, it announced this week.
Solicitors pay out £5m to miners, with many more millions to come
More than £5 million has been paid by solicitors to former miners, with much more to come, it emerged today. Nearly 100,000 people have made or will make complaints about deductions wrongly made from the damages received by miners from government compensation schemes.
Blog
Our vision for 2026: A shared approach to AML
We want to see law firms start taking AML compliance as seriously as it deserves. This means treating it not as a tick-box exercise or a procedural necessity, but as a serious part of company culture.
Why later-life divorce requires a distinct professional framework
Later-life divorce, often described as ‘silver splitter’ or ‘grey divorce’ cases, is no longer a marginal feature of family law practice. It challenges long-standing assumptions about how divorce work is done.
Listening, learning and leading The Solicitor’s Charity with care
As I prepare to hand over the mantle of chair of The Solicitor’s Charity next month, it doesn’t feel like an end. Instead, it feels like a wonderful journey.
