New York lawyers told they cannot run the Big Apple operation of an ABS with external investors
New York lawyers are banned from running the Big Apple office of a UK alternative business structure with non-lawyer owners, the New York State Bar’s committee on professional ethics announced yesterday.
News round-up: financial stresses hit lawyers, slander case struck out, and much more
Our latest round-up of news in brief has a breakdown of calls in 2011 to legal support charity LawCare, better news on PII, a defamation battle between two employment law consultancies, developments over conveyancing panels, and SIFA launching a consultancy.
Bid to make referral fees a crime fizzles out
The prospect of paying referral fees in personal injury becoming a criminal offence seemingly disappeared last night, while the government defeated a bid to exempt not-for-profits from the ban and outlined its plans to crack down on unsolicited PI marketing.
Third of conveyancing firms “considering ABS conversion”
More than a third of conveyancing firms are considering becoming an alternative business structure, new research has found. The survey also revealed predictions of large-scale closures of traditional law firms as a result of new competition.
Bar Council attacks “overconfident” Legal Services Board for “super-regulator” ambitions
The Bar Council has attacked the Legal Services Board’s “overconfidence” and criticised its apparent desire to become a “super-regulator” rather than an oversight body. It said the LSB’s plans has ambitions to be involved in areas of activity where it should not be.
Innovative legal business opens Belfast “delivery centre” with £1.6m of public money
Innovative legal business Axiom has become the latest to open an operation in Belfast, with £1.6m of government support. Unlike at other law firm operations in the city, the 100 lawyers and paralegals will be the primary client-facing fee-earners for global companies.
RBS: more than £1bn of private equity cash waiting for law firms
There is in excess of £1bn of private equity money available for investment in the legal market, while at least one UK law firm will proceed to a public listing this year, one of the profession’s leading bankers, James Tsolakis of RBS, has predicted.
Mid-tier firms spending more on risk and compliance for the least return, says broker
Mid-tier law firms are over-engineering their risk management and compliance functions, spending more than both bigger and smaller practices for far less return, new research from Lockton has claimed.
Consumer panel calls on training review to replace CPD with revalidation scheme for lawyers
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has called upon the ongoing Legal Education and Training Review to propose a revalidation scheme for lawyers. At the same event, delegates were told that judicial evaluation in the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates is flawed.
The satisfied probate client: face-to-face advice from a solicitor on a fixed fee, says major survey…
Consumers of probate and estate administration services are significantly more satisfied when they receive their advice face to face, rather than by e-mail, post or telephone, major research has found, while those on fixed fees pay a third less than those charged by the hour.
