Other lawyers

Our regular round-up includes strong backing for intellectual property ABSs, Eddie Ryan leaving Co-operative Legal Services, a new digital copyright licence for law firms, an “unacceptable” lack of transparency over PII commissions, and a warning that law firms are being targeted by online espionage.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has launched a bid to regulate non-lawyer immigration advisers. However, at the same time the body that oversees them – the Office for the Immigration Services Commissioner – is seeking to take over the regulation of specialist lawyers.

Law firms are to have an extra year before they must publish staff diversity data, after the Legal Services Board approved Solicitors Regulation Authority plans for a delay. But it was unhappy with the Bar Standards Board’s proposal to exempt chambers of fewer than 10 people.

The Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) will apply this year to become an alternative business structure licensing authority, it has emerged, joining the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Council for Licensed Conveyancers.

Twelve regulators and professional bodies from the legal, accountancy, financial and property sectors have finally signed a formal agreement aimed at co-ordinating the oversight of multi-disciplinary practices.

Four bodies have already put themselves forward to regulate will-writers following the Legal Services Board’s proposal that will-writing become a reserved legal activity, with all making their intentions clear at this week’s Legal Futures conference.

The UK is on the cusp of a “litigation revolution” involving boutique alternative business structures offering externally-funded contingency fee deals, according to the chairman of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, speaking at yesterday’s Legal Futures conference.

The Legal Services Board is to examine whether ‘general legal advice’ given to consumers should be regulated, it announced today, but has rejected the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s call for all solicitor-type services to be reserved.

The Legal Services Board should have its budget slashed so as to rein in its ambitions to move beyond a supervisory role, the Law Society has claimed. However, the SRA, CILEx and Council for Licensed Conveyancers have been more measured in their criticism.

The Legal Services Board yesterday rejected a bid to allow licensed conveyancers to conduct litigation and advocacy, after more than a year of consideration. It had run into fierce opposition from the Lord Chief Justice and the Law Society.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel has called upon the ongoing Legal Education and Training Review to propose a revalidation scheme for lawyers. At the same event, delegates were told that judicial evaluation in the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates is flawed.

Regulators should empower consumers to drive improvements in the quality of legal services, while professional indemnity insurers could hand over firm-specific claims data to help target poorly performing practices, the Legal Services Board has suggested.

Our latest news round-up reports on an apology over the sudden change in the Legal Ombudsman’s address, which affects all lawyers, a unique agreement between a law firm and a barrister, a crucial ruling on interest on costs, and the exit of the CLC’s chief executive.

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has waded into the row over HSBC’s 43-strong conveyancing panel, expressing concern that “the limited size panel risks inadvertently restricting consumer choice and distorting competition in the conveyancing market”.

Our round-up of other significant news stories includes a law firm using its new PI advertising campaign to highlight its opposition to the Jackson reforms, and the Law Society/SRA moving into swish new Birmingham offices.