Survey: mid-market firms prefer business development to external investment
Mid-market law firms are responding cautiously to the changing legal services market, with just 14% saying they are actively considering external investment and 21% anticipating a merger or major restructuring in the next year, according to new research.
FSA: new rules could force ABSs providing financial services advice out of the market
Solicitors who offer financial services and plan to become alternative business structures could be forced out of the market by plans to plug a gap in consumer protection created by the Legal Services Act, the Financial Services Authority has admitted.
Even good firms will see 10% rise in insurance premiums this year, says top broker
Indemnity insurance premiums for law firms with no new claims and no significant change in circumstances are still set to rise 10% this year, a leading broker has warned. Predicting a “tough” 2011, Lockton also called for a “fundamental review of the whole conveyancing process”.
Minister calls for CMC and referral fee crackdown but gives hope to injured children
Justice minister Lord McNally has called for a crackdown on claims management companies and said the government is sympathetic to a referral fee ban, as the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill enters its committee stage tomorrow.
138 law firms in the ARP close down as solicitors face bankruptcy action
Some 138 law firms have closed after entering the assigned risks pool in the past two years, while solicitors who do not pay their ARP premiums are being pursued into bankruptcy, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has reported. Most of the firms (119) shut through an orderly wind-down, while 19 were closed by an SRA intervention.
SRA reports “strong interest” from potential overseas investors in ABSs
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has already received “strong interest” in ABS investment from abroad and from non-English law firms that want to use the structure, it has revealed. They includes one of China’s largest law firms.
PC fee set to fall more than expected
The cost of a solicitor’s practising certificate is set to fall 23% this year – even more than anticipated – we can reveal. Meanwhile, the SRA is to be given the power to ensure that ABSs cannot manipulate their turnover to reduce the fees they have to pay to operate.
SRA board moves to solicitor/lay parity with appointment of ex-LCS chief
The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority this month moved to parity between solicitor and lay ordinary members, ahead of introducing a lay majority in two years’ time. Shamit Saggar, the former chairman of the Legal Complaints Service, joined the board this month as part of a deal with the Legal Services Board.
Personal injury bucks double-digit slump in civil litigation
Low-level personal injury claims bucked the trend that saw a dramatic double-digit dip in the volume of civil litigation during 2010, Ministry of Justice figures have shown. The 2010 statistics show an almost universal fall in the volume of work going through all levels of UK civil courts last year.
High Court ruling boosts solicitors facing hearsay evidence in disciplinary proceedings
Solicitors facing disciplinary proceedings could find it easier to challenge hearsay evidence after the High Court ruled that a General Medical Council panel had breached the claimant’s right to a fair hearing by admitting such evidence.
