Legal Services Board

The Law Society of Ireland has instigated judicial review proceedings against the Legal Services Board and Solicitors Regulation Authority over the introduction of the new regime for overseas lawyers who want to requalify as solicitors in England and Wales, it has emerged. The proceedings have, however, been stayed pending urgent discussions between the society and the SRA.

The Legal Services Board has delayed its plan to conduct “root and branch” reviews of approved regulators like the Law Society and Bar Council, replacing it with a query about their use of risk management information.

Common advocacy standards for criminal law specialist barristers, solicitors and legal executives should be in place by July 2011, it has been announced. Judges will play a major role in assessing top advocates and in the ‘traffic light’ system that will identify poorly performing advocates.

The Legal Services Board is to fast-track a decision on whether to regulate will-writers, it has emerged, with its consumer panel launching a formal investigation as a first step.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has ruled out reinstating the ban on referral fees and instead is proposing enhanced transparency, with different rules for different types of legal work, Legal Futures can exclusively reveal after obtaining LSB papers under the Freedom of Information Act.

Solicitors facing disciplinary proceedings after 1 October will no longer be able to call on their indemnity insurance to pay their defence costs, after the Legal Services Board approved changes to the indemnity rules. The decision comes despite strong opposition from the Law Society.

The Legal Services Board is on a collision course with the Law Society and Bar Council after demanding that both introduce lay majorities on the boards of their regulatory arms sooner than planned, Legal Futures can reveal.

The role of the QC mark and various accreditation schemes, including Law Society panels, in helping the public identify quality legal services is to be tested, it has emerged, with the Legal Services Consumer Panel expressing scepticism over their value to consumers.

Why do people become lawyers? In my case, as I suspect for many others, it was largely because my parents thought it a good idea. Some may have watched too much LA Law or read too much Rumpole. Quite a few lawyers I know couldn’t think of anything better to do.

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 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.

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.

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.

The heads of both the Legal Services Board (LSB) and Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) are in the list of those working at quangos who earn more than £150,000, which was released by the Cabinet Office today.

Consumers do not realise that many of the problems they face are ‘legal’ and so do not consider approaching a lawyer for help, new research has revealed.