Regan: no doubt Jackson will come into force but how will “twitchy” solicitors react?
There is “no scintilla of doubt” that the Jackson reforms will be implemented but “twitchy solicitors” may play into the hands of civil servants by charging lower success fees – or even no success fees at all – as a result, a leading costs expert has said.
Education and training review “may not report until 2013”, Potter admits
The legal education and training review, commissioned by the three main frontline legal regulators in November 2010, may not produce its final report until some point in 2013, it has emerged. Meanwhile, the academic body contracted to provide research has shut down, but the work will continue.
Firms using social media to broadcast rather than converse, survey finds
Bigger law firms are embracing social media but then failing to engage in two-way communications through it, new research has found. The survey found that nearly half of the firms prohibited staff from accessing social networks from work, even though clients were keen to interact that way.
QASA set for April as regulators prepare for judges not doing their bit
The controversial Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) will now go live in April 2012, it emerged last week. We can also reveal that contingency plans have been drawn up for the judiciary not playing its expected role in QASA.
Going it alone in the new legal world “is simply a drawn-out closing down”
Going it alone in the new legal world “is simply a drawn-out closing down”, a leading law firm consultant has warned – while another has told law firms not to overlook “the power of the solicitor brand” when rushing to align themselves with national brands.
Mayson: poor state of legal training opened the door to the Co-op and others
Legal education and training are unfit for purpose, causing lawyers to fail to meet the needs of clients and leaving the profession exposed to rival market entrants filling the gaps, according to Professor Stephen Mayson.
Queen grants ILEX historic Royal Charter
The Queen has granted the Institute of Legal Executives a Royal Charter, meaning that in future Fellows of ILEX will have a protected title – ‘chartered legal executive’. It will also change its name to the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.
Solicitors cannot recover ‘cost of funding’, CA rules – but approves £10m ATE premium
Solicitors cannot recover the cost of arranging conditional fee agreements and after-the-event insurance, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday. The Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger also made a significant ruling on the application of proportionality.
Law firm mergers to accelerate in 2012, predicts investment bank
The legal market has “enormous scope for consolidation and this is as opportune a moment as there will be to invest” in it, a new report has claimed. Espirito Santo Investment Bank said 2012 will see the “acceleration” of merger activity.
Exclusive: ‘Simplify the Law’ enters the fray in latest bid to build national legal network
Another new franchise will start targeting law firms next week under the brand ‘Simplify the Law’, Legal Futures can reveal. Its first major milestone is to create a national network of law firms with a combined turnover of £200m.
