Manchester law firm launches lawyer-to-lawyer referral network
Around 50 law firms in the north-west have signed up to a new scheme from Manchester practice JMW aimed at lawyer-to-lawyer referrals. Lawshare offers firms in the network a 7-10% profit share for every case referred to JMW.
Referral fee debate rages as Ford figures show accident victims don’t proactively claim
An outsourced accident management scheme run by Ford UK to bypass referral fees and credit hire costs has found that just one person out of 180 customers who reported an accident proactively sought to make a personal injury claim.
Oh baby – QS gives birth to Bounty Pack and MoneySupermarket deals
QualitySolicitors has agreed an exclusive partnership with leading finance comparison website MoneySupermarket.com, while the network is to be promoted in the Bounty Packs given to all new mothers, Legal Futures can reveal.
Straw: LSB report on referral fees was “gobbledegook”
Former justice secretary Jack Straw has described the Legal Services Board’s report on its investigation into referral fees as “gobbledegook”, amid a fierce attack on the operation of the claims industry. He warned that if concerns about high motor premiums were not addressed, tough statutory regulation would follow.
“New generation” comparison site tells firms: you must offer fixed fees
Solicitors and barristers are being targeted to join a new comparison website that claims to be the “new generation” of legal referral businesses by requiring participating law firms and barristers to offer fixed-fee services. CompareLegalCosts.com has also moved away from the referral fee model.
Solicitor hits out at watchdog’s “nonsensical” ruling over TV advert
A solicitor has hit out at a “nonsensical” ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority as Legal Futures research showed a small spike in complaints about law firm advertising this year. The ASA has dealt with five complaints about solicitors in 2011 so far, having had only 11 in total since 2007.
Law firm partner launches risk and compliance product to help COLPs
A non-lawyer partner at a Manchester law firm has developed what is claimed to be the first web-based risk and compliance software for the legal market and aims to reduce the burden on the compliance officers every law firm has to have under outcomes-focused regulation.
Claims for compensation over solicitor mortgage fraud shoot up
The number of claims against the Solicitors Compensation Fund arising out of mortgage fraud have shot up by 140%, it has emerged. However, the time lag in claims reaching the fund means the figures disguise a “marked decrease” in mortgage fraud cases, according to the SRA.
BSB: legal aid cuts drive “unprecedented increase” in complaints by litigants in person
Complaints against barristers by litigants-in-person (LiPs) forced by legal aid cuts to represent themselves have continued to spike, according to the Bar Standards Board. It has received as many complaints from LiPs in the first half of 2011 as it did in 2009 and 2010 combined.
Legal Pioneers: Whale Rock – the business that cannot wait to become an MDP
The latest instalment of our Legal Pioneers series looks at the Whale Rock Professional Services Group, which has legal, accountancy and company secretarial arms. Clients already enjoy the benefits of the one-stop shop, writes Dan Bindman, but becoming an MDP will help considerably.
