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MPs from across the political divide last week lined up to urge the Ministry of Justice to go further to control the activities of rogue claims management companies than it has proposed to do. MPs concentrated much of their fury on the use of unsolicited text messages.

We kind of all knew it anyway, but just how much money a large insurance company like the Direct Line Group makes from referral fees still took my breath away. As we reported earlier this week, the group received £110m from solicitors in the three and a half years since January 2009. Call it £30m a year and extrapolate (the group’s market share is 19% of motor and 18% of home insurance) and you are looking at around £150m a year going from the pockets of solicitors to insurance companies for the privilege of receiving cases. And that’s before the £100m or so insurers make every year from credit hire referral fees.

Claims management companies (CMCs) face the prospect of having to provide financial compensation to unhappy customers after the government announced today that they are to come within the remit of the Legal Ombudsman.

Quindell Portfolio, the AIM-listed business awaiting approval for its takeover of Liverpool law firm Silverbeck Rymer, has completed yet another acquisition by buying a leading claims management company network.

Creating a multi-disciplinary practice, spinning off new services and accessing external investment to finance growth are the main goals of commercial law firms considering converting to alternative business structures, a new survey has found.