Thousands of 'right to buy' negligence cases piling up against conveyancers
Law firms are facing thousands of claims for professional negligence over their involvement in ‘right to buy’ work, it has emerged. Last week the judiciary issued a new right-to-buy practice direction to deal with the potential deluge of cases.
Latest SRA move to slash red tape could boost number of training contracts
Much of the red tape around the training of solicitors would be swept away if proposals before the Solicitors Regulation Authority are adopted, including abandoning a ceiling on the number of trainees firms are allowed to take on.
SRA shows muscle with referral fee ban investigations
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has launched “forensic investigations” into 10 law firms that may have breached the personal injury referral fee ban, in a move that will be seen as a warning to the profession. Meanwhile, 141 firms without indemnity insurance are heading for closure.
BSB closes “anomaly” that would have forced barristers to accept VHCC fee cut
The Bar Standards Board has moved to close a “regulatory anomaly” that would have temporarily seen barristers forced to accept the controversial new legal aid rates set by the government for very high-cost cases (VHCCs).
LSB: Bar Council interfered with independence of BSB over cab-rank rule changes
The Bar Council has accepted that breached the independence of the Bar Standards Board by interfering in controversial changes to the cab-rank rule, it emerged today. The Legal Services Board has however agreed to an informal resolution, having considered a censure.
LeO ‘cost per complaint’ too high, benchmarking survey finds
The Legal Ombudsman compares well with similar schemes on case resolution speeds, client satisfaction and perceptions of fairness, but many complainants reject its findings and its cost per complaint is high, according to a study.
Ex-MP launches virtual chambers ahead of legal aid “meltdown”
A former Conservative MP and practising barrister has said he is certain the planned headline criminal legal aid fee cuts will go ahead unaltered, and will this week launch a ‘virtual chambers’ in anticipation.
ABS update: MDP gains licence, employee ownership move, NewLaw’s latest JV, Co-op “restructuring”
A multi-discipinary financial services group has obtained an ABS licence to complete its broad-based professional advice offering by bringing legal services in-house. Meanwhile, a specialist fertility law practice is considering using its licence to introduce employee ownership,
LSB’s lay chair plan “aims to bring regulators into line”, says Bar Council
The Legal Services Board wants to impose lay chairs on the frontline regulators so that they will “do more of what [it] wants”, the Bar Council has claimed. The Bar Standards Board and Law Society have also come out strongly against the proposal.
Local councils make ABS bid as bulwark against outsourcing, while Kent pauses its ABS plan
HB Public Law, the merged legal teams of the London boroughs of Barnet and Harrow, is to seek an alternative business structure as a defence against outsourcing. Meanwhile, Kent Legal Services, the first council legal team to express ABS ambitions, has its plans on hold.
