Other lawyers

Accountants could start offering reserved probate services to the public as soon as next autumn, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales said yesterday as it submitted its application to become a regulator of probate services and alternative business structures.

Regulators should explore alternatives to conveyancers holding client money in a bid to tackle the risks of fraud, the Legal Services Board has recommended. However, it found regulators are working hard at the issue and that it need not intervene any further.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has told the regulators it oversees that now is the time for them to prove they can deliver what is expected of them, warning that it will put their promises “to the test”. The LSB said its focus in 2013/14 will be on the performance of the regulators.

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has rejected Law Society calls for a ban on referral fees in conveyancing, although it is proposing to increase the disclosure requirements on firms. It found “little evidence of significant detriment” to consumers.

There are widespread failures among law firms to comply with a host of key regulatory requirements, from their websites to the Bribery Act, new research seen exclusively by Legal Futures has shown. The figures indicate that there is simply too much for small firms to comply with, according to its author.

The government is not currently planning to set an upper limit on payments that are exempt from the referral fee ban as “consideration for services”, it has announced. The news came as the Claims Management Regulator issued preliminary guidance on how it will approach the ban.

Thousands of law firms are set to contribute £1.4m to the Legal Ombudsman after the government confirmed that they will no longer be eligible for two ‘free’ complaints every year. Meanwhile, LeO has not ruled out entertaining complaints by third parties, such as against the opposing party’s lawyer.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority will have a lay majority for the first time from January 2013 – the last frontline legal regulator to comply with internal governance rules that require it. Meanwhile, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers has named an adviser to the Clementi review as its new CEO.

Two south-east conveyancing businesses owned by estate agents have become the newest alternative business structure (ABS), meaning that more than 50 licences have now been issued by the two ABS regulators.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is under pressure to extend its April 2013 deadline for legal disciplinary partnerships with non-lawyer partners to become alternative business structures, after the Legal Services Board said it was “unlikely” to insist on it before 2014.