News
Claims lodged over dishonesty and default by solicitors spiral above £200m
The value of compensation claims lodged as a result of dishonesty and other default by solicitors now tops £200m – more than four times the amount just two years ago – new figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority have revealed.
QualitySolicitors goes live in WHSmith with national TV endorsement
QualitySolicitors’ (QS) deal to run ‘Legal Access Points’ (LAPs) within WHSmith stores was launched on Friday with celebrity fanfare and national TV coverage. Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden unveiled the first of an eventual 500 nationwide LAPs at Westfield shopping centre in west London, before a crowd of onlookers and autograph hunters.
SRA maintains freeze on trainee minimum salary at 2009 levels
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has suspended its policy of increasing the minimum salary for trainee solicitors for the second year running, a move reluctantly accepted by the Law Society’s Junior Lawyers Division.
Solicitor “troubled” by timing of hacking revelation as Law Society presses Leveson
A high-profile solicitor whose phone was hacked by the News of the World has expressed his concern that the news has become public before he had a chance to identify which clients may have been affected. Meanwhile, Law Society chief executive Des Hudson has written to Lord Justice Leveson asking him to consider the hacking of solicitors’ phones as part of his inquiry into the phone hacking affair.
LSB targets conveyancing and corporate work as major review of regulation begins
The regulation of both residential conveyancing and corporate law, as well as general legal advice, is set to be reviewed by the Legal Services Board as it begins a major investigation into the boundaries of regulation and also looks at whether Parliament needs to undertake a “root and branch overhaul of the current system”.
Bar Council takes advice on whether referral fees fall foul of Bribery Act
The Bar Council is taking leading counsel’s advice on whether referral fees amount to bribes under the Bribery Act 2010 ahead of possibly promoting an amendment to the legal aid bill to ban them, chairman Peter Lodder QC has revealed.
RTA portal struggles with claim numbers as clinical negligence pilot is set for April
The RTA portal received around 650,000 claim notification forms during its first year of operation, although problems with the system means it is not clear exactly how many claims were lodged. Meanwhile, a pilot to fast-track clinical negligence claims is set to begin next April, it has emerged.
Top Google site offers web users free answer to legal question from solicitor in 60 minutes
A new online service that allows potential clients to ask solicitors a question for free – and get a response within an hour – is set to launch to the profession shortly. The website, www.rightsolicitor.co.uk, already ranks at the top of Google behind only the Law Society for the words ‘solicitor’ and ‘solicitors’.
New indemnity insurer enters market for conveyancing firms
A new professional indemnity insurer has entered the market, targeting conveyancing firms of up to 10 partners. In a move that will be welcomed by a sector of the profession that generally has minimal choice of insurer, First Title Insurance has joined forces with INK Underwriting Agencies Ltd.
Publish and be damned: LSB says regulators should inspect firms’ diversity data
Law firms and chambers whose workforces are significantly at odds with the make-up of the wider profession can expect questions from their regulators, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has warned. The LSB today confirmed that it is pressing ahead with controversial plans to make firms and chambers survey and publish the levels of diversity and social mobility in their workforces.