Practice Management

Solicitors facing disciplinary proceedings after 1 October will no longer be able to call on their indemnity insurance to pay their defence costs, after the Legal Services Board approved changes to the indemnity rules. The decision comes despite strong opposition from the Law Society.

The number of UK consumer online searches for legal-related services in May was up 25% over the quarter to 1.5 million, new figures have shown. National Accident Helpline was the most visible site – meaning a front-page Google ranking.

A new insurer today entered the professional indemnity market for small law firms, having taken over the run-off claims-handling function of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund.

Smaller law firms are beginning to see real benefits and savings from outsourcing non-legal services, research has suggested. A survey by IRN Research of 36 firms with 10 partners or fewer found that just under half of them are outsourcing some non-legal activities.

Kidderminster-based mfg Solicitors LLP has become the latest law firm to move to Solicitors Own Software for a new IT system serving 140 users.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority today announced a major crackdown on law firms in the assigned risks pool, with firms unable to exit the pool at the end of their term or to pay their premiums likely to be closed down.

When the profession ditched the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF), a compelling reason for the move was that many good firms were paying for the failures of the few. Now, a decade later, solicitors are back in exactly the same position. Only, the ‘few’ could become substantially more over the next few months.

Patricia Wheatley Burt of Trafalgar looks at the demands on managing partners and how to avoid placing law firm leaders too much at the whim of the partnership.

Accountant Nigel Reynolds explains why law firms need to bring back fixed fees in a bid to secure future success in business.

Law firms may not like to use the word ‘sales’ but that is exactly what they do, says Mike Jones, who was dubbed the world’s first law firm sales director when working in the City. Here he explains why law firms need to manage their sales performance better than they do.

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.

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.

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.

Professional services firms (PSFs) have managed to overcome the potential decision-making “paralysis” inherent in the partnership structure, new research has found. It said the partnership model can often complicate decisions, with non-contentious issues quickly flaring up to the point where they threaten the retention of partners.

So-called virtual law firms are increasing in number and profile as lawyers look for other ways to practice. But their model may not suit big-hitting City lawyers who need greater support and status. However, says Mike Jones of Intrinsic Values, there is a new alternative that benefits both solicitors and firms