Barristers vow to boycott QASA despite High Court defeat
Monday’s failed judicial review of the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) has done little to quell the mutiny among criminal law barristers, even though the Bar Standards Board has called on them to “respect the court’s decision”.
Firm angry over inclusion on SRA indemnity list as solicitors predict PI firms will dominate next one
There have been some angry reactions to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s publication last Friday of the names of 136 law firms which did not secure professional indemnity insurance by 29 December.
Leading volume conveyancing firm goes into administration
Leading volume conveyancer Barnetts has today been broken into four after going into administration. However, no jobs are being lost at the Southport-based firm, whose senior partner, Richard Barnett, described the move as a “fantastic opportunity” for the firm.
Mid-sized firms have much more appetite for external investment than MDPs, survey finds
One in five mid-sized law firms expects to seek external investment to fund expansion within an alternative business structure, according to a major benchmarking survey. However, very few see a merger with non-lawyer professionals in their future.
SRA set for unrated insurer u-turn
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to perform a u-turn on allowing unrated insurers to offer solicitors cover after discovering that they do not always have the same protections as rated insurers.
Top insurer Markel wins approval to buy ABS – and its listed owner
The first acquisition of a listed company that in turn owns an alternative business structure went through last week after leading insurer Markel won court approval for the scheme of arrangement to buy Abbey Protection Group plc.
Government opens new front in criminal legal aid fight by bulking up Public Defender Service
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is bulking up the Public Defender Service (PDS) “as a way of breaking the dispute with advocates over fees”, it was claimed yesterday. The MoJ said last year that it viewed the PDS in part “as a safeguard against market failure”.
QASA given green light by High Court as JR fails
A judicial review of the Legal Services Board’s approval of the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocacy (QASA) has today been comprehensively rejected by the High Court.
High Court stiffens penalties against solicitors over “opaque” conveyancing quotes
A law firm whose clients were unaware of the true cost of their conveyancing after being reeled in with low quotes did not take unfair advantage of them, the High Court has ruled. However, the fines imposed by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal were too low.
SRA reveals some of 136 firms without PII insurance have “failed to close”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has published a list of 136 firms that failed to renew their professional indemnity insurance since October, but said a small number have failed to close properly.
