LSB, consumer panel and ombudsman defy order to close their websites
The battle over whether the Legal Services Board, its consumer panel and the Legal Ombudsman can retain their own websites continues, with the sites not closing at the end of last month as the Ministry of Justice had originally instructed.
Countdown to outcomes-focused regulation begins as SRA publishes Handbook
Solicitors, law firms and would-be alternative business structures today get first sight of the new SRA Handbook, the 563-page guide to practising and running a legal practice. The Handbook – delivered on schedule and exactly six months before it is due to come into force – introduces the profession to outcomes-focused regulation.
ABA opens door for America to embrace alternative business structures
The American Bar Association tonight floated the prospect of allowing limited forms of alternative business structures in the US. However, it has ruled out passive non-lawyer investment, laying out options which only involve non-lawyers actively contributing to a practice.
MDPs in the spotlight as 12 regulators and professional bodies agree oversight rules
A memorandum of understanding between legal regulators and regulators and professional bodies in the financial, accountancy and property worlds whose members may be part of multi-disciplinary practices is close to agreement, it has emerged.
LSB to investigate immigration law services
The Legal Services Board is to launch an assessment of the regulation of immigration advice and services after taking over responsibility for overseeing frontline regulators in the field. The move will save the profession £110,000 in direct costs.
New national network aims to help law firms dominate their local markets
A network that aims to help law firms dominate their local market and guarantees that it will increase their income has gone live. Seven law firms have so far signed up to GetSolicitors, which is billing itself as an alternative to national, branded networks by giving solicitors the tools to market and build their own brands.
Number of law firms continues to rise, now up 25% in a decade, figures show
The number of law firms in England and Wales has continued its inexorable rise, with 25% more in practice than a decade before, new figures have revealed. The Law Society’s annual statistical report also shows the impact of the recession on the largest City practices.
Are rigid fixed fees the future post-Jackson? One Yorkshire law firm thinks so
A Yorkshire firm of solicitors has launched a menu pricing litigation product under which it will shoulder the risk of costs overruns, giving clients budgeting certainty as an alternative to conditional fee agreements. The move is an early example of litigation specialists positioning themselves for a post-Jackson, post-recoverability of costs landscape.
SRA weighing up evidence of insurers discriminating against BME solicitors
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is weighing up whether evidence that the underwriting criteria used by professional indemnity insurers disproportionately affects black and minority ethnic solicitors amounts to unlawful discrimination, Legal Futures has discovered.
Co-op Legal Services reports strong growth as it gears up for ABS application
Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) continues to grow strongly, with income up nearly 20% in 2010, the Co-operative Group’s annual results have shown. Meanwhile, a spokesman has confirmed that CLS will apply for an alternative business structure licence at the earliest opportunity.
