Client care

The clock on a possible ban on referral fees from lawyers to estate agents has started running after new guidance on disclosure was published by National Trading Standards.

Solicitors at smaller firms believe that clients’ focus on price is compromising their work and even their ability to uphold the law, a survey has suggested.

New rules requiring estate agents to be transparent about referral fees received from conveyancers will have a year to prove themselves or a ban will be back on the table, the housing minister has said.

An artificial intelligence-backed platform designed to elicit key information from new law firm clients and put them at their ease has launched in the UK, initially targeted at family law practices.

Law firms are still underperforming when dealing with potential clients on the telephone rather than face-to-face, a mystery shopping survey has found.

Responding to online reviews is more important than ever, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has told law firms. It also urged solicitors not to be afraid of negative reviews.

The High Court has found there was an oral agreement between a solicitor and the son-in-law of a client that the latter would cover his fees, which in the end totalled £330,000.

Consumers are happier with the service they receive from lawyers than any other time this decade, according to new research.

Two law firms have been facing multiple claims worth nearly £6m from disgruntled investors who lost money on hotels and student accommodation that were never built.

An agreement between solicitors, surveyors and estate agents in Northern Ireland to improve the conveyancing process could be a template for England and Wales.