Practice Management

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has finally given ground over unrated insurers and is to investigate again whether it should introduce financial eligibility criteria. The regulator has launched an assessment of the “full implications” of such a move.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority will not be banning personal injury firms from offering inducements to clients to instruct them, but has warned that they need to consider whether doing so fuels a compensation culture.

The Law Society yesterday unveiled its “bold” new advertising campaign to promote personal injury solicitors, with the strap-line ‘Don’t get mugged by an insurer – use a solicitor’. As revealed by Legal Futures last week, the campaign is costing around £300,000.

An interpreter company is set to appoint a huge panel of hundreds of law firms for a new Community Legal Helpline. Yorkshire-based translation firm Applied eXperts Ltd said it is responding to a rise in legal queries from non-English speaking individuals.

A personal injury firm has been reprimanded for an “irresponsible” radio ad which encouraged accident victims to claim compensation “irrespective of injury”. The news comes ahead of a £300,000 Law Society national advertising campaign that will promote PI lawyers.

The 1,300 law firms who have their professional indemnity insurance with Balva face the prospect of having four weeks to find new cover if the winding-up process the Latvian company started yesterday becomes an “insolvency event”, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned.

Eight members of Law Society committees have been kicked off for failing to undergo mandatory equality and diversity training, it has emerged. All members of boards and committees had a 30 April 2013 deadline to undergo the training.

Close to half of consumers of legal services are not satisfied with the value for money they received, with probate providing the least satisfaction and will writing the most, according to research. Just 57% considered they received value for money on average.

A single scheme joining up professional indemnity insurance and compensation funds across the whole legal services market – including unregulated providers – should be actively explored, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has recommended.

A scheme that offers solicitors a “lifeline” by enabling them to continue working with personal injury referrers was launched today by well-known legal IT firm Epoq. The company has created LegalGo, a free legal assistance plan.

The Co-operative Legal Services has disassociated itself from comments made by its sales and marketing director that putting consumers at the heart of what they do is “alien” to solicitors, after complaints by the Law Society.

The Co-operative Legal Services has today stepped up its attack on the legal market by launching its first ever TV and radio advertising campaign. The multi-million pound campaign will air on TV and radio stations across London.

Nick Clegg, former Dragon’s Den star James Caan and busloads of young people will descend on City law firms Slaughter and May and CMS Cameron McKenna today as part of the deputy prime minister’s campaign to increase opportunities for those from less privileged backgrounds.

Adopting the Virtual Practices (VP) hosted legal software and outsourced cashiering service has helped Sorrells Solicitors to streamline its services and to move across the UK from Essex to Wales.

The defence protecting honest solicitors duped by mortgage fraudsters that was erected by the Court of Appeal last year has been reinforced by the High Court. A law firm can be relieved of consequential liability for a breach of trust if it acts honestly and reasonably.