News

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Professional indemnity insurers will no longer have to pay the defence costs of solicitors facing disciplinary proceedings, bolstering the case for a legal defence union, Legal Futures can reveal.

How do people find legal help? It is well known within the legal profession that while lawyers may not have a great reputation with the public as a whole, consumers are far warmer about their own solicitor.

A row is brewing between the Law Society and the Legal Services Consumer Panel over the make-up of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) board, Legal Futures can reveal. The Law Society says it has no intention of taking active steps to remove the solicitor majority on the board until the current members’ terms end in 2013.

The Legal Ombudsman will open on 6 October 2010, it confirmed today. The board of the Legal Ombudsman has agreed to keep to its plans for opening, subject to the Parliamentary timetable. The announcement indicates confidence that the new service will survive scrutiny by the Cabinet committee examining the need for all pending regulations left by the previous government.

There is no reason to reduce the level of the guideline hourly rates so as to strip out the cost of referral fees, an influential committee has concluded. The Advisory Committee on Civil Costs found no evidence that referral fees are too high and said claims management companies do not make excessive profits.

This week’s Question of Ethics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority looks at what a solicitor can disclose to the Passport Office when he suspects that an application he signed may be fraudulent.

Professional services firms (PSFs) have managed to overcome the potential decision-making “paralysis” inherent in the partnership structure, new research has found. It said the partnership model can often complicate decisions, with non-contentious issues quickly flaring up to the point where they threaten the retention of partners.

So-called virtual law firms are increasing in number and profile as lawyers look for other ways to practice. But their model may not suit big-hitting City lawyers who need greater support and status. However, says Mike Jones of Intrinsic Values, there is a new alternative that benefits both solicitors and firms

The individual practising certificate fee is set to be cut by more than 60% after the Solicitors Regulation Authority board approved a new fees policy last week.

The Law Society of Scotland has welcomed MSPs’ decision to regulate non-lawyer will-writers and to give clients access to compensation in the event of dishonesty by alternative business structures.