Fresh blow to Slater & Gordon as major Quindell contract comes to premature end
The agreement between Slater & Gordon’s professional services division (PSD) and the country’s biggest high street insurance broker has come to an end just months after it signed a multi-year renewal.
‘List of defaulting solicitors’ to be ditched but cab-rank rule set to survive
The Bar Standards Board is to dispense with its ‘list of defaulting solicitors’ and replace it with a new rule allowing barristers to refuse work under the cab-rank rule where there is an “unacceptable risk” that they will not get paid.
Law firm loses FoI bid to learn names of complainants
A law firm which demanded the details of people who had contacted the Solicitors Regulation Authority to allege misconduct has been firmly rebuffed by the Law Society’s freedom of information commissioner.
Bar lifts the lid on shocking sexism faced by female barristers
A Bar Council report on the working lives of women barristers has revealed more clearly than ever the shocking sexism that some of them have faced during their careers, particularly while pupils. Women also complained of being forced to specialise in family and sex crime cases.
LSB approves relaxation of separate business rule
The Legal Services Board has approved radical reforms of the separate business rule for solicitors, while noting that the changes “carry some risks to consumers”. Information on the difference between regulated and unregulated services is to be tested with consumers before the change comes into force.
Law Society to target big business in new “solicitor brand” campaign
The Law Society’s membership board has approved plans for a long-term campaign to boost the ‘solicitor brand’, which will include bigger businesses and in-house lawyers as buyers of legal services. It is due to be launched next year.
Accountancy and legal ABS aims to be one-stop shop for SMEs
A former high-flying banker, who worked at Lehman Brothers before the crash, has told Legal Futures how he developed a plan to set up a pioneering alternative business structure while travelling in Vietnam. Zahid Hussein said he wants Z Group to be an integrated one-stop shop for SMEs.
Barnett “very surprised” by striking-off and considering appeal
Richard Barnett, former chair of the Law Society’s land law and conveyancing committee, has told Legal Futures that he is “very surprised” at the decision by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) earlier this week that he should be struck off.
Gender balance among practising barristers “unlikely ever to be achieved”, Bar Council report warns
An equal gender balance among practising barristers is “unlikely ever to be achieved” if current trends continue, a Bar Council report has warned. However, there was better news on BAME representation, which is due to hit 20%.
SRA: Cyber criminals stalking legal profession
The legal profession is one of the sectors of the economy most frequently the subjects of data breaches and increasingly the target of scams and attacks cyber criminals, according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
