Neuberger: legal education and training review may be fatally flawed
The Legal Education and Training Review may end up “unbalanced or worse” because it has incorrectly identified its purpose, the president of the Supreme Court warned last night. Lord Neuberger also questioned the need for root-and-branch change.
Law firm franchise reinvents itself as online legal service for businesses
Simplify the Law – a law firm franchise concept which launched last year – has reinvented itself as an online legal service that aims to help commercial lawyers repel new competition in the market, Legal Futures can report.
Hate the Handbook? Curse the code? SRA sets out ‘red tape challenge’
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will next month launch its own version of the government’s Red Tape Challenge, chairman Charles Plant announced yesterday at the official opening of the authority’s new headquarters in Birmingham.
"Simply being a solicitor is not enough" in ABS world, says Law Society chief
Simply being a solicitor “is not enough” in the new legal market, but by raising standards further through accreditation schemes and using their brand recognition, solicitors can preserve a dominant market share, the Law Society’s chief executive has insisted.
Non-solicitors to hold sway on SRA board
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will have a lay majority for the first time from January 2013 – the last frontline legal regulator to comply with internal governance rules that require it. Meanwhile, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers has named an adviser to the Clementi review as its new CEO.
Gap between number of Bar students and pupillages grows wider
The number of students seeking to become barristers is rising sharply but pupillages are falling, with an Oxbridge education appearing to be of growing importance, according to Bar figures.
Exclusive: SRA chairman says too many solicitors are "simply not good enough"
There are too many solicitors in England and Wales “who are simply not good enough”, the chairman of the Solicitors Regulation Authority claimed yesterday. He told the 500 firms yet to nominate COLPs that “enough is enough” – they face having their right to practise withdrawn.
InjuryLawyers4u confident over referral fee ban as it opens up panel for first time in eight years
InjuryLawyers4u, arguably the UK’s leading solicitors’ marketing consortium, is opening up its panel for the first time in more than eight years. There are currently 43 firms on the panel, collectively spending millions on advertising the service.
Citizens Advice trains guns on CMCs – and their regulator for not prosecuting any
Rogue claims management companies have been slicing off more than a third of the cash awarded in settlement of payment protection insurance mis-selling claims, according to a report by Citizens Advice. The charity also attacked the regulator for not pursuing unauthorised CMCs in the courts.
MPs pile pressure on government to crack down further on claims management companies
MPs from across the political divide last week lined up to urge the Ministry of Justice to go further to control the activities of rogue claims management companies than it has proposed to do. MPs concentrated much of their fury on the use of unsolicited text messages.
