Legal Services Act
SRA seeks charitable status in Law Society split
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is applying for charitable status as part of becoming a distinct legal entity within the Law Society Group, it has emerged.
Legal Ombudsman hires new leadership team
The Legal Ombudsman has brought in an experienced public services ombudsman and a senior civil servant to lead its management through the next phase of reform.
LSB “forced” accountants to withdraw from legal services regulation
It was “fundamentally wrong” for Legal Services Board rules to force the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants to withdraw from legal services, another accountancy body has argued.
Remote hearing success means no backlog in some family courts
The family court system has adapted so well to remote working that some courts do not have a backlog of cases, the president of the Family Division said yesterday.
New hub to aid Black founders with scaling up businesses
Two entrepreneurial Black lawyers are co-founding a network to “encourage, support and develop” scalable, high-growth professional services businesses founded and run by Black people.
Legal Ombudsman urges CMA to extend reach to unregulated firms
The Office for Legal Complaints, the governing body of the Legal Ombudsman, has renewed its call for it to be allowed to extend its reach to unregulated legal services providers.
Exclusive: High street consolidator buys three more firms
Echelon Law, an alternative business structure which specialises in buying small high street law firms with succession problems, is set to acquire three more, Legal Futures can report.
Pandemic the “right time” to launch law firm
The founder of a niche commercial law firm which advises start-ups has said this summer was the “right time” to launch the business, despite Covid-19.
Law Society “must show it listens to solicitors” about cost of practising
The Law Society and SRA need to do more to show that they take on board what solicitors have to say about the cost of practising, the Legal Services Board has warned.
Obelisk adds paralegals and junior lawyers to freelance pool
Flexible resourcing pioneer Obelisk Support has launched a new paralegal service for law firms and in-house teams, with plans to add 500 full-time paralegals and junior lawyers to its talent pool.
Man who “probably” contacted Legal Futures pretending to be judge jailed for harassing him
A man found in contempt of court for repeatedly breaching injunctions imposed to stop him harassing a circuit judge has been jailed for 16 months.
Big firms “quietly” working to reclaim ground from alternative providers
The world’s largest law firms have been “quietly mobilising” to recapture revenue lost to alternative legal service providers by creating their own in-house versions, according to new research.
Rocket Lawyer imports English model back to US
Online legal business Rocket Lawyer is importing the model it has developed in England and Wales back to the US as its home country begins inching towards opening up to non-traditional offerings.
Employee ownership move like “rocket fuel”, says firm
A niche law firm which advises on employee share ownership and executive pay has become the latest to convert to an employee ownership trust.
LeO warns over emerging trend of holiday sickness complaints
The Legal Ombudsman has warned law firms against making holiday sickness claims without “verifying the version of events” obtained by claims management companies as complaints rise.
Blog
It’s time for law firms to ask tougher questions
For years, many law firms have treated ID verification as a box-ticking exercise. Run a liveness check, match a face to a document and move on. But that is no longer good enough.
Business fatigue to AI will risk job security
Whilst we know professional learning has always been part of career paths, to hire, retain and keep talent, AI needs to be embedded as a core part of this training.
On good authority? GenAI and the reputational risks to law firms
As GenAI’s influence grows, so do the risks which are already playing out in courtrooms across England and Wales, where some early adopters are setting precedents they would rather not.
