Lord Keen: Greater involvement by CMCs “beneficial” for personal injury market
Justice minister Lord Keen said today that if the government’s personal injury reforms lead to greater involvement by “good” claims management companies, it could be “beneficial” for the market. He told MPs on the justice select committee this morning that the market was “extremely adaptable and flexible”.
ABS update: Gordon Dadds acquires first law firm post-float, Co-op launches divorce platform, will writers go under
Gordon Dadds Group has made its first law firm acquisition since listing on AIM last summer, buying a specialist technology and corporate practice for up to £3.4m. In other ABS news, Co-operative Legal Services has launched an online platform for uncontested divorces with solicitor support, while a will-writing ABS has gone into liquidation.
“Business as usual” on legal aid helplines following Carillion collapse
The Ministry of Justice has said it was “business as usual” on the housing and debt legal aid phone lines operated by Carillion Advice Services yesterday, following the collapse of the parent company. However, a law firm that markets a partnership with the paralegal business declined to talk about the implications.
Former cabinet minister lashes City law firm over alleged role in South African corruption scandal
Former Labour cabinet minister Peter Hain has launched a blistering attack on leading UK/US law firm Hogan Lovells over what he said was its role in the Gupta family scandal in South Africa. The veteran anti-apartheid campaigner said he has asked the Solicitors Regulation Authority to withdraw Hogan Lovells’ authorisation and discipline “leading partners”.
“Formidable” – the Big Four accountants are a huge competitive risk to law firms, says report
A new report has spelt out the “formidable” competition the Big Four accountants could become in the legal market, given that the three largest of them alone turnover more than the biggest 100 law firms in the world combined. It was published in the wake of Deloitte becoming the last member of the Big Four to apply for an ABS licence.
Lessons from the failure of an innovative law firm – “It’s harder than it looks”
The pioneering owner of an innovative law firm that was “ahead of its time” but failed has taken the highly unusual step of laying out the reasons why it did not work, and warned that “innovation is much more difficult and fraught with fiscal peril than most imagine”.
Exclusive: Solicitors choose “practical and proportionate” BSB regulation in ABS first
Solicitors setting up an alternative business structure this month in Marlborough, Wiltshire, have chosen to be regulated by the Bar Standards Board. It is understood to be the first time a BSB-regulated ABS has been created without barrister involvement.
Another large firm to face Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal
Howard Kennedy has become the latest large London practice to face action from the Solicitors Regulation Authority after four solicitors and the firm itself were referred to a disciplinary tribunal over alleged accounts rules breaches.
LawCare urges culture change after case of ‘dishonest’ solicitor showed compassion by SDT
The charity LawCare has called on the profession to reconsider its culture in the wake of the case this week of a solicitor who avoided being struck-off for dishonesty offences because of the pressure she was put under at work and her mental ill-health. It said the case of Sovani James depicted “a scenario that we are very familiar with”.
Law Society to introduce training quality committee in wake of setbacks
The Law Society is to launch a new ‘quality and standards in education’ committee, after a year in which its training arrangements have come under sustained pressure. It is also investigating whether to reintroduce student membership and has issued guidance on when law firms should tell trainees whether they have a job post admission.
