Budget crackdown on misuse of partnership structure to avoid tax
HMRC is set to scrutinise the status of law firm partners after measures announced in the Budget. The Treasury is to consult on removing the presumption of self-employment for LLP partners and on countering the “artificial allocation of profits to partners”.
The “noisy minority” of barristers opposed to QASA hit back at BSB claims
The Bar Standards Board chair’s description of opponents of the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates as “a noisy minority of dissenters” received an immediate high-powered response from criminal law barristers.
LSB chairman warns MPs of "unintended consequences" of referral fee ban
Banning referral fees in personal injury may have unintended consequences that will be worse than the current situation, Legal Services Board chairman David Edmonds told MPs yesterday. He also said the current regulatory regime could move rapidly to a single over-arching regulator.
SMEs “deeply unhappy” with legal services as lawyers warned they risk going the way of HMV
Just one in eight small businesses believe that lawyers provide a cost-effective solution to legal problems, new research has found. The finding suggests far larger unmet legal need among SMEs than among the general public.
Law Society mulls levy on CQS firms to fund advertising campaign
The Law Society is to ask members of its Conveyancing Quality Scheme whether they would fund a dedicated advertising campaign, it has emerged. Chief executive Des Hudson raised the possibility at a meeting of the Conveyancing Association last week.
Exclusive: ‘Save the Legal Industry’ campaign warns Cameron of 100,000 jobs losses
Law firms are rallying around a campaign to warn the government that 100,000 jobs across the legal services industry will be lost over the next year as a result of its “savage” civil justice reforms, Legal Futures can reveal.
Robertson cautions criminal bar over opposition to plea-only advocates as QASA mutiny grows
Criminal barristers’ steadfast objection to the inclusion of plea-only advocates in the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates will be viewed by the public as self-interest, the vice-chair of the Bar Standards Board has warned.
Firms sign up to professional referral network that “cuts out costly panel managers”
Forty-eight law firms have already signed up to a new business networking tool that helps solicitors capture referrals directly from other professional services and claims to cut out “costly panel managers”.
SRA reveals financial instability indicators as it relaxes rule on reporting non-material breaches
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has outlined the three key financial ‘warning signs’ against which it will assess firms’ financial stability as a key element of its supervisory work over the next year. It is also to end the need for firms to submit an annual report on non-material rule breaches.
‘Unbundling’ the new craze as lawyer-backed family mediation service launches
A lawyer-backed service that assists divorcing couples during mediation, charging fixed fees to halve the cost for clients, is being billed as a possible lifeline for family legal aid lawyers after 1 April. It came as the Law Society president urged solicitors to explore ‘unbundling’ legal services.
