Practice Management

Mahy: something that somebody should have thought of before
Using ex-City lawyer parents looking to return to practice is a way for in-house lawyers and law firms to onshore services that many people are saying should be offshored, a former FTSE 100 general counsel said this week.

QualitySolicitors has today unveiled an exclusive partnership with online legal services provider LegalZoom – the most recognised legal brand in the US – ahead of an advertising campaign that will by openly hostile to supermarkets, banks and others offering legal services.

A new commercial law firm in Harrogate has launched with a fixed-fee product to support clients in conducting their own litigation. In the latest bid to challenge the traditional hourly billing model, Towers Legal is also offering a fixed-fee ‘virtual’ in-house lawyer service.

A solicitor has successfully challenged a demand to stump up nearly £150,000 in unpaid assigned risks pool premiums. He was able to show that the ARP’s manager had not established that he was personally liable for the debt of the LLP in question.

HMRC claimed yesterday that a “significant minority” of lawyers in London are underpaying on tax as it launched a specialist taskforce aimed at rooting them out. However, the announcement met with polarised reactions suggesting that it is either likely to lead to criminal actions or is doomed.

The names of 772 law firms which have been the subject of a formal decision by the Legal Ombudsman were published today – but an analysis by this website shows the ombudsman was happy with the law firm’s actions in more than half of the cases made public.

Shopping centre legal brand Lawyers2you added London, Leeds and Manchester to its growing list of locations this week as it plans also to target some of the capital’s most popular markets and in time introduce video conferencing as well.

All law firms judged to present a risk of financial instability are to be contacted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority by the end of this month, Legal Futures can reveal. However, it is urging firms facing financial difficulty to overcome their mistrust and contact them early.

The global legal process outsourcing market will double in value by 2015 to more than £2bn but general counsel are increasingly freezing out law firms and buying outsourced services direct, according to new research.

Global publishing giant Thomson Reuters has launched a London-based pilot of its US Super Lawyers attorney-rating service covering solicitors, the first foreign venture of its kind after more than 20 years in operation.

A new ‘find a solicitor’ website that prioritises lawyers with good feedback from their clients is set to go live in October. MrLawyer.co.uk claims it will “help to change the way the legal industry currently operates”.

The system for training lawyers is not fit for purpose, the Legal Education and Training Review research team has suggested. The team of academics floated a series of ideas that in some instances would represent radical reform of the present regime.

A fifth of lawyers who have so far responded to a survey on stress in the profession are currently suffering from clinical depression or another mental illness, it has emerged.

Our regular round-up of news you may have missed includes an international online directory, Scotland looking for a piece of the LPO market, worsening cash-flow at law firms, a free probate offer, and much more besides.

The Legal Services Board has warned regulators not to go further than the legislative requirements for the impending ban on referral fees in personal injury, calling for “a liberal approach” that does not prevent alternative business structures effectively circumventing it.