Solicitors pay out £5m to miners, with many more millions to come
More than £5 million has been paid by solicitors to former miners, with much more to come, it emerged today. Nearly 100,000 people have made or will make complaints about deductions wrongly made from the damages received by miners from government compensation schemes.
Complaints-handling in good state for OLC to take over, says ombudsman
The performance of the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) will provide a solid foundation from which the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) can build, the Legal Services Ombudsman said today.
Revealed: Law Society report to conclude that ABSs will not damage access to justice
Alternative business structures (ABSs) are unlikely to create a “serious adverse impact” on access to justice, research conducted for the Law Society is to conclude.
Exclusive: Law Society approves £22m outlay on new SRA IT system
The Law Society has approved a £22m outlay on a new IT system for the Solicitors Regulation Authority that will hit solicitors in their practising certificate fees, Legal Futures can reveal.
LSB and OLC chiefs on quango top-earners list
The heads of both the Legal Services Board (LSB) and Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) are in the list of those working at quangos who earn more than £150,000, which was released by the Cabinet Office today.
Basic instincts
This week’s Question of Ethics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority looks at whether you should take any action when representing a divorce client who has had a sexual relationship with her husband’s solicitor.
ABSs and conveyancing: a potent mix
For tech-savvy firms, alternative business structures will highlight the power of partnerships within the conveyancing sector, says David Kempster, marketing director at MDA SearchFlow.
Exclusive: SRA axes insurers’ obligation to cover solicitors’ costs in disciplinary cases
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.
Web-savvy lawyers stand to gain online
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.
Revealed: row brewing over demand for lay majority on SRA board
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.
