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The rule which prevents solicitors and in the future alternative business structures (ABSs) from hiving off unreserved legal work into unregulated businesses may stifle new entrants to the market, the Legal Services Board has warned. The board is now considering a review of the rule’s “continuing relevance”.

The overlap between regulated and unregulated legal services is causing consumer confusion, with online services emerging as a particular problem, the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has warned. LeO said it needs more clarity about the limits of its jurisdiction as the market is already changing and innovating.

There are a number of risks and dangers associated with using an aptitude test to select law students – particularly that it will favour those from privileged and certain class and ethnic backgrounds – a report commissioned by the Legal Services Board has concluded.

The Legal Services Board is to reduce its funding call on the legal profession after coming in under-budget for the 2010/11 financial year. The news comes as the Law Society revealed a £57m surplus for 2010 and that chief executive Des Hudson enjoyed a 14% pay rise.

Complaints are a law firm’s best source of market intelligence. I’ve heard this said countless times in recent years, previously by the Legal Complaints Service and its many forebears, and now by the Legal Services Board. “Many lawyers are missing the chance to learn from substantial numbers of consumers who make a complaint,” said LSB chief executive Chris Kenny last week. It may well be true. But hardly any lawyer believes it.