Cry freedom: SRA wants to become separate legal entity from Law Society
Legal regulators have urged the Legal Services Board to use its review of the internal governance rules to give them greater independence from their representative bodies. The Solicitors Regulation Authority said the rewrite of the rules should allow it to become a “separate legal entity” from the Law Society.
Asons boss set for tribunal on charges including illegal referral fees and inflated costs
The principal solicitor of controversial Bolton personal injury firm Asons is to appear before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over multiple allegations, including the payment of illegal referral fees and false costs claims, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed.
City partner who lied about presence of client when signing papers is struck off
A partner at a City law firm who said a client had signed documents in his presence when she was actually abroad has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. It said the solicitor had been “pushed into a corner”, taking over a conveyancing matter where completion was fixed and there was “pressure to meet the date”.
Justice by video set to become a reality
Justice by video is to become a reality after the government announced that it is to pilot video hearings for tax appeals.
The head of HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) said video hearings could offer lawyers “significant opportunities”.
Small businesses shy away from “pricey” solicitors when facing legal problems, major survey find
Only 11% of small businesses consider solicitors to be good value for money, and most choose not to use them when faced by a legal problem, seeing them as a last resort, according to major new research. It also found that the annual cost of small businesses’ legal problems to the UK economy to be roughly £40bn.
ABS update: Clifford Chance buys would-be ABS, private client firm enters regulation, PE-backed firms expand
The plan by Carillion Advice Services to become an alternative business structure looks to be at an end after the business was bought by magic circle firm Clifford Chance. We also report on two private equity backed ABSs that have used their financial muscle to expand, and a private client firm that has decided to enter regulation with the CLC.
Conveyancers see workloads fall for first time since 2011
Conveyancers saw their first annual drop in workload since 2011 last year, with volumes down 12% to under a million transactions, according to new research. It also found that the number of conveyancing firms has dropped by 28% over the past decade.
SRA receives 300 complaints in two years about PI firms paying referral fees or cold-calling
The Solicitors Regulation Authority received nearly 300 reports of personal injury (PI) law firms either paying illegal referral fees or being involved in cold-calling, it has revealed. This is in the context of there being only 768 ‘specialist’ law firms, which the Solicitors Regulation Authority defines as generating at least half their turnover from PI work.
State-school educated lawyers more likely to go into criminal law than corporate
State-school education solicitors are far more likely to operate in criminal law than corporate, new figures published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority have shown. It also said that one-third of partners were women, although it was 29% for firms of 50 or more partners – both figures showing progress in recent years.
Carry on dining: Bar Council defends role of Inns in education and training
Making membership of the Inns of Court optional for barristers would disadvantage those with the least “social capital”, the Bar Council has warned. It strongly defended the role of the Inns, the minimum 12-month period for pupillages, and compulsory Inns of Court dinners for students.
