Bar Council and Inns: Cut training cost by allowing students to learn the law how they want
A model of training barristers that would split the Bar professional training course into two – allowing students to learn procedure and evidence however they want before undergoing compulsory skills training – has been put forward by the Bar Council and Council of the Inns of Court as an alternative to the regulator’s plans for training reform.
NAH to spend £1.7m on restructuring PI operation in response to whiplash reforms
National Accident Helpline is to invest £1.7m over the next year so as to accelerate changes to its operating model that will enable it to respond to the government’s proposed personal injury reforms. NAH’s profits will be hit in the short term and its share price took a significant hit as a result.
SRA tells MPs: Regulatory reform needed to mitigate impact of Brexit
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has spelt out to MPs the many risks of Brexit to the legal market – to clients, solicitors, law firms, foreign lawyers, the UK as a legal centre and the cause of liberalisation generally. The regulator said this strengthened the case for regulatory reform.
Early test for will-writing firm that opted into SRA regulation to help protect clients
A man who tried to get a vulnerable client to loan him money – shortly after the will-writing firm he worked for became an alternative business structure – has been banned from working in the profession after it reported him to its new regulator.
Thompsons calls in equality commission in bid to widen fight against whiplash reforms
Campaigning claimant law firm Thompsons has sought to open up a new front in the fight over the government’s proposed whiplash reforms by asking the Equality and Human Rights Commission to consider whether those from ethnic minorities will lose out when the insurance industry passes on any savings.
SDT strikes off solicitor who lied about guarantees on loans clients made to him
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor who borrowed £125,000 from longstanding clients to bail out his failing business and failed to mention that his wife had a prior charge over the firm’s assets. He also did not insist they take independent legal advice.
Slater & Gordon’s legal action over Quindell deal “has merit”, independent barrister decides
Slater & Gordon has overcome the first hurdle in its bid to recover some of the money it paid for Quindell’s professional services division last year, after an independent barrister said its claim had merit. The Australian-listed firm began legal action in September.
Consumer panel: We don’t need to be separated from the Legal Services Board
There are “clear benefits” in the Legal Services Consumer Panel remaining part of the Legal Services Board, the panel’s chair has argued. Elisabeth Davies said the status quo allowed the LSB and the approved regulators to “access consumer insight on tap”.
Accountancy and legal ABS adds architects to the mix
A multi-disciplinary alternative business structure is offering property clients the chance to be advised by a solicitor, accountant and architect at the same time. In addition to the deal with H&C Architects, Z Group is also continuing to expand its core areas with acquisitions.
ABS “engenders more entrepreneurialism” among conveyancers
Alternative business structures are far more likely to invest in their businesses than non-ABSs, research in the licensed conveyancer community has suggested. The survey provided an unprecedented snapshot of how this part of the legal market operates, including what it charges.
