Legal Services Act

The world’s largest law firm, Dentons, has launched a standalone advisory firm backed by private equity with the aim of building a vast multidisciplinary offering across the globe.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is planning a pilot with other legal regulators on how to extend the use of unbundling as evidence showed it could save consumers up to 50% in fees, it has emerged.

More than half of legal services workers will lose their jobs and those that remain will be forced to take “performance-enhancing medication”, a “disruptive” vision of 2050 has envisaged.

US legal services giant LegalZoom is bypassing the domestic ban on non-law firms practising law by employing US lawyers through its UK alternative business structure, it has emerged.

A digital register of regulated and unregulated legal services providers would be “the simplest solution” to improve consumer navigation of the market, the Legal Services Board has said.

The Legal Services Board is set to recommend an accreditation scheme for review and comparison websites as take-up among both law firms and consumers continues to rise.

Performance at the Legal Ombudsman is finally improving, with more cases being closed, but dealing with the backlog is only lengthening wait times for new complainants.

New forms of intervention introduced in other countries to ensure the ongoing competence of lawyers – such as annual assessments and greater self-reflection – will influence reform in England and Wales.

National law firm Shoosmiths has spun its debt recovery practice into an alternative business structure joint venture with collections, recoveries and enforcement company Chartsbridge.

Slater & Gordon has launched ‘miplatform’, what it says is a ‘first of its kind’ digital legal service that enables clients to progress their matters with little or no direct contact with a lawyer.