New advocacy scheme goes live on 1 April
The new scheme for solicitors to acquire rights of audience will finally go live on 1 April after the Ministry of Justice gave the SRA the go-ahead. Qualification will be through an assessment based on competence standards, with no experience exemption any more.
Legal Ombudsman heads towards opening
The Legal Ombudsman – the operating name of the Office for Legal Complaints – has officially opened its new home in central Birmingham and announced its first wave of recruitment for more than 300 workers.
SRA reaches out over new regulatory regime
The SRA has launched what it describes as its biggest-ever consultation exercise as it seeks to engage the profession over the introduction of outcomes-focused regulation and alternative business structures.
Strong results for Co-op Legal Services
Profits at Co-operative Legal Services more than doubled last year, preliminary figures have shown. Sales from the legal arm grew 45%, to £20 million, with operating profits up £2.1 million to £3.8 million.
Conveyancers not diversifying despite growing competition
High street conveyancers are not comfortable about diversifying into other areas of practice, research has found. Some 60% were wary of moving into fields such as litigation and probate.
Consumer champion chairs new CLC board
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has unveiled consumer champion Anna Bradley as its new chairwoman. Ms Bradley currently chairs Ofcom’s independent consumer panel.
Report: globalisation set to step up
This decade will see the emergence of a new wave of global law firms, driven by the accelerated worldwide legal needs of the largest companies, new research has predicted. It suggest an increasing role for outsourcing as clients become more sophisticated.
ILEX considers legal version of Hippocratic Oath
The Institute of Legal Executives is considering whether to become the first legal body to require newly qualified members to take a ‘lawyer’s oath’ equivalent to the Hippocratic Oath doctors take on qualification.
Five firms join first SRA litigation panel
Five firms have been appointed by the SRA to its first ever litigation panel: Bevan Brittan, Capsticks, Devonshires, Field Fisher Waterhouse and Russell-Cooke.
Bad points are a “good reason” to terminate retainer, says Court of Appeal
A solicitor has good reason to terminate a retainer if a client insists on putting forward a case and instructing counsel to advance contentions that they do not consider properly arguable, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
