Two-thirds of firms saw PII premiums rise amid concerns over BME treatment
Nearly two-thirds of law firms saw their professional indemnity insurance (PII) premiums go up last year, Law Society research has found. The survey of 240 law firms also found evidence of “a growing divide in the PII market”, with smaller firms and black and minority ethnic (BME) firms finding renewal tougher than the wider profession.
Mergers in mind as big firms grow in confidence, say surveys
Separate surveys from Sweet & Maxwell and accountants BDO indicate that confidence is returning to the big law firms, with renewed interest in mergers and lateral hires, while also scaling back further plans for redundancies. But cross-selling and tighter credit control are also on the agenda.
Scots push solicitor majority ownership compromise in ABSs row
The council of the Law Society of Scotland has today ditched its support for all forms of alternative business structures and instead backed a compromise that favours majority ownership of law firms remaining with solicitors, or solicitors with other regulated professionals.
SRA unveils roadmap to outcomes-focused regulation, but Law Society has “concerns”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority today recognised that it has “much to do” to build the confidence of law firms in their regulator if it is to succeed in delivering outcomes-focused regulation (OFR). The launch today of its consultation on how OFR will work also came with words of caution from the Law Society about the implementation timetable, cost and regulatory burden that may result.
New contract will allow barristers to sue solicitors for fees
Plans for a contract that will allow barristers to sue solicitors for unpaid fees, and a blacklist of solicitors who fail to pay up on all cases, rather than just privately funded ones, have been unveiled by the Bar Council.
ILEX makes consumer protection argument to protect ‘legal executive’ title
The Institute of Legal Executives has called on the incoming government to protect the title of ‘legal executive’ as a matter of consumer protection as currently anyone can call themselves a legal executive regardless of whether they have any legal qualification.
Jackson assessor casts doubt on likelihood of referral fee ban
One of Lord Justice Jackson’s own assessors – the Senior Costs Judge, Peter Hurst – has cast doubt on the judge’s recommendation that referral fees be abolished, it has emerged. The news comes ahead of two influential reports examining referral fees that are to be published next month.
The demon drink
This week’s Question of Ethics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority asks whether you should take action if you are told that a colleague is drinking heavily and abusing his partner – and whether conduct outside the office is ever a matter for the regulator.
Barristers set to go head-to-head with solicitors for work with new corporate vehicle
Barristers were yesterday given the tools to bolt a corporate vehicle onto their chambers which can bid for work, instruct solicitors and also bring clerks and others into ownership roles. The Bar Council’s new business model, dubbed ProcureCo, raises the possibility of barristers competing with solicitors for work.
PI firms must grow or die, warns top lawyer
No claimant personal injury (PI) law firm will exist in five years’ time if it does not have 20-30 fee-earners, a leading PI practitioner predicted last week. Richard Langton, managing partner in the Birmingham office of Russell Jones & Walker, said this would enable firms to open from at least eight in the morning to eight in the evening, and perhaps on Saturdays too.
