Practice Management

Rules governing law firms’ ability to acquire the case loads of failing firms should both be relaxed and made more certain for the benefit of the profession and clients, insolvency and legal experts have argued.

The College of Law is to enter the undergraduate degree market for the first time by launching a two-year LL.B that it says will prepare students for legal practice. Students will be able to choose a degree that focuses on legal issues for individuals or one aimed at business law.

The obligation on barristers to notify clients of their right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman is more a marketing opportunity than a burden, the Legal Services Board has said. Meanwhile, the LSB reaffirmed that its policy on providing complaints information at the time of engagement will stand, despite a number of concerns raised by the Bar Standards Board.

Legal software supplier Eclipse Legal Systems has helped a Midlands firm of debt recovery solicitors to become the first business to exploit a new e-mail claims gateway opened by the County Court Bulk Centre in Northampton.

Solicitors Regulation Authority proposals to exclude lender and other financial institution claims from the scope of compulsory professional indemnity insurance will be “massively damaging to the profession” and lead to more expensive and longer conveyancing transactions for the public, Law Society chief executive Des Hudson has warned.

Partners in law firms that receive external investment after October will alienate younger colleagues if they appear to be stripping the firm of value for future generations, a report has warned.

Leading personal injury law firm Fentons Solicitors LLP has replaced its practice management software with Proclaim from Legal Futures Associate Eclipse to help manage rapid growth.

A service that enables law firms to offer trade mark registrations under their own brand without lifting a finger has been launched for the first time in the latest twist on legal process outsourcing. Under the ‘white label’ trade mark registration service, all work is undertaken by intellectual property specialist solicitors Azrights in the background without the knowledge of clients.

In the second part of his examination of the regulatory issues arising out of outsourcing, Duncan Finlyson of Legal Futures Associate Lawyers Defence Group outlines the relevant provisions in the Solicitors Code of Conduct 2007.

In the first of a two-part article, Duncan Finlyson of Legal Futures Lawyers Defence Group investigates the reasons for law firms to outsource certain functions and the regulatory issues that they throw up.

Solicitors are facing “bumper” years of claims for professional negligence as recession-driven legal actions start to bite, a leading broker has warned. The latest High Court figures indicate that negligence claims against solicitors rose from 80 to 210 in 2009, which is more than any other type of professional indemnity claim, and Lockton has predicted that the figure will continue to rise.

Legal software specialist Pilgrim Systems has formed a partnership with law firm IT consultants Kestrel Business Solutions to help maintain service levels to clients during a period of growth.

Some of the UK’s leading legal brains – including Professor Richard Susskind and Legal Services Board chief executive Chris Kenny – are teaming up with six law schools in England, the US and China to launch a groundbreaking international legal education project in London this weekend. LawWithoutWalls claims to be the first global venture designed to tackle the problems facing legal education and practice by bridging law schools, students, legal and business professionals, and entrepreneurs.

Solicitors have had to cover £15m in unpaid premiums of law firms that have been in the assigned risks pool (ARP) during its first 10 years, it has emerged. Of that, £6.1m is for run-off cover for firms that closed without insurance, and the figures reveal that the Solicitors Regulation Authority has collected just £500,000 in run-off premiums since the ARP was set up in 2000.

Alternative ways of delivering legal services continue to grow with the launch of two web-based, fixed-fee Q&A services, and what is claimed to be the first Twitter “law firm”. The two websites – www.expert-answers.co.uk and www.questiontheexpert.com – both use panels of qualified lawyers to answer questions put by users, while @thelegaloracle is the brainchild of the founder of personal injury referral network Loyalty Law.