Legal Services Consumer Panel faces surprise axe in bonfire of quangos
The Legal Services Consumer Panel could be a surprise victim of the government’s so-called bonfire of the quangos and be merged into Citizens Advice, it has emerged. The panel’s chairwoman, Dianne Hayter, has hit out at the move, saying Citizens Advice would not be able to replicate the role of the panel during a “critical period” in the development of legal regulation as the introduction of alternative business structures nears.
Senior partners should undergo diversity training, LSB-funded research recommends
Regulators should consider making diversity training mandatory for senior partners and line managers in law firms, say academics after research uncovered a complex web of barriers between minorities and women, and the upper reaches of the legal profession. The findings will be backed up by a forthcoming study into pay disparity by the Law Society that has uncovered “a kind of structural inequality”.
Most firms “do not have balance sheet or systems” to attract external investors
Most law firms do not have the balance sheets or the systems to appeal to venture capitalists but those who can pull off deals may see some major benefits, it was claimed yesterday. Sara Hutton, a relationship manager at Royal Bank of Scotland, said venture capitalists would want a return of 20-30% and an exit in three to five years that is “reasonably visible” now, such as a flotation, management buy-out or trade sale.
Legal Ombudsman to reject file-sharing complaints but send cases to SRA
The new Legal Ombudsman (LeO) service is set to turn away the rash of complaints about the way certain law firms have been pursuing alleged filesharers, it has emerged. However, it is instead referring them on to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Debt or equity – the best funding for you
In the third part of his look at external investment in law firms, Jeremy Black of Deloitte looks at the kind of funding for you and what lessons there are from other professional services firms.
Court of Appeal: for Parliament, not courts, to extend legal professional privilege
The Court of Appeal has today unanimously confirmed that legal professional privilege does not apply to any other professional except solicitors and barristers. It follows a case in which the Law Society and Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales intervened on opposite sides.
So why would you need external investment?
In the second part of his series looking at external investment in law firms, Jeremy Black of Deloitte looks at the good and not-so-good circumstances in which investment may be sought.
Accountants should “promote and extend” their ability to give legal advice
Accountants should promote and extend their ability to give clients legal advice, and also have the right to conduct litigation and advocacy, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has said.
Law firms – the most generous businesses in the world
Jeremy Black, associate partner in Deloitte’s professional practices group, begins a week-long look at the issue of external investment in law firms by considering the forces of change that will encourage them to investigate the options available.
SRA bids to hold firm line against firms doing deals that pre-empt ABSs
Solicitors should not be allowed to enter into any binding contracts for the sale of a law firm to a non-lawyer investor ahead of 6 October 2011, the board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority will be told this week. Certain conditional contracts should be off-limits too because they threaten the independence of law firms.
