67% of solicitors tell Law Society PC fee is not value for money
Two-thirds of solicitors do not consider the practising certificate fee value for money, with many expressing concern at the level being charged given the impact of Covid-19.
Barristers step in to support beleaguered Bar students
Barristers have offered to support the dozens of Bar students who have so far reported major problems with taking their exams, including having to urinate into bottles and buckets at their desks.
What price solidarity among legal aid lawyers?
Solidarity – or not – between legal aid lawyers is under the spotlight this week, with solicitors from 200 law firms coming together to force a change to immigration fees, but criminal firms falling out.
SRA shuts down 16-office law firm consolidator
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has today shut down a 16-office law firm consolidator with 180 staff across the country. It is highly unusual for the regulator to intervene in such a large practice.
Bar students hit by technical failures in first online test
A “small number” of Bar students were affected by technical issues that prevented them from completing their first online exam, the BSB said yesterday amid a stream of complaints.
Dentons to add non-legal services amid global growth
The chairman of the world’s largest law firm, Dentons, has outlined a future of continued expansion, merging with both law firms and in time non-legal businesses around the world, including the UK.
LeO: Simplest complaints could take over a year to conclude
The Legal Ombudsman has warned that if its poor performance over the last few months continues, it could take more than a year to process even the simplest complaints.
Former partner faces £230,000 director’s loan account claim
A former equity partner in a two-partner North-East law firm faces a claim to repay his overdrawn director’s loan account of nearly £230,000 as the fall-out from its acrimonious split continues.
Consumers “more likely to both shop around and complain”
Consumers of legal services are more likely to shop around and to make a formal complaint if they do not get what they want than in previous years, new research has found.
MPs urge action on lawyers who facilitate “aggressive tax avoidance”
The lawyers and others who devise and market ineffective tax avoidance schemes are often breaking the law and a few legislative tweaks will make it easier to prosecute them, MPs have claimed.
