SRA reaches out to firms posing financial stability risk
All law firms judged to present a risk of financial instability are to be contacted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority by the end of this month, Legal Futures can reveal. However, it is urging firms facing financial difficulty to overcome their mistrust and contact them early.
LPO warning to law firms as general counsel freeze them out
The global legal process outsourcing market will double in value by 2015 to more than £2bn but general counsel are increasingly freezing out law firms and buying outsourced services direct, according to new research.
Conveyancers and PI firm named latest ABSs
The residential conveyancing department of a Leicester law practice has left the firm to become an alternative business structure, while a sole practitioner targeting lender panels and a personal injury practice in Cheshire have also gained licences.
Compliance officer failures bolster SRA bid for automatic fining powers
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to seek powers to levy automatic fines for breaches of its rules to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment caused by hundreds of law firms failing to nominate compliance officers on time.
ABSs and phone-hacking highlight need for regulators to focus on ethics, says LSB report
The introduction of alternative business structures – along with scandals in other sectors – means regulators need to monitor ethics across the legal profession more closely, new research has argued.
SRA: firms will have to decide for themselves if they are breaching referral fee ban
It will be for law firms to work out if they are complying with the ban on referral fees in personal injury cases, with the law drafted in such a way to make some collective marketing schemes “vulnerable to being in breach”, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned.
Djanogly out as criminal law barrister and family law solicitor join MoJ
A criminal law barrister and family law solicitor have joined the junior ranks of the Ministry of Justice, while Jonathan Djanogly has been forced to return to the back benches following yesterday’s reshuffle.
SRA set to press ahead with leniency scheme for law firm whistleblowers
The introduction of a leniency scheme for those who reveal misconduct at law firms and alternative business structures will today be debated by the board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Co-operation could result in no action taking against the potential witness over their own wrongdoing.
ABS-in-waiting posts strong results as Admiral continues to consider its options
Prospective alternative business structure Quindell Portfolio plc – whose takeover of Liverpool law firm Silverbeck Rymer is awaiting approval – has more than £500m worth of new contracts under discussion, it revealed today.
SRA supervision reduces law firm risk, report on pilot finds
A report on the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s pilot on supervision of low and medium-risk firms has concluded that the regulatory risks posed by participating firms fell during the period of supervision. Feedback from the firms involved was “overwhelmingly positive”.
