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QCs should lose their title if they fall below an acceptable standard, the Legal Services Consumer Panel suggested today in a report that calls on legal bodies that run voluntary quality schemes to improve checks on lawyers’ continuing competence so as to boost consumer confidence.

The Law Society will next month begin sharing information about conveyancing solicitors with a lender as part of moves to discourage lenders from charging a compliance fee for firms that want to be on their panels. Meanwhile, standard mortgage instructions for solicitors acting just for lenders should be released in early 2012.

Just eight applicants to the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme have been rejected, it has emerged. The number of applicants has now passed 1,000, of which 317 have so far been approved. But Law Society chief executive Des Hudson has told Legal Futures that the scheme’s credibility would not be judged on how many are rejected.

Our regular round-up of developments you need to know about includes a call for advice on voluntary quality schemes, the opening up of the legal market in Korea, the College of Law’s fast-track LPC, the continuing fight over the scope of legal professional privilege, CQS hitting 200 firms and much more.

In-deed, the new online conveyancing business, could use the cash it raises from an AIM listing to inject capital into its panel law firms, it has emerged. The company hopes to float next month, with a market capitalisation projected at around £9m.