Tag Results
“Excessively cautious” ombudsman puts off complaints-publishing decision for a year
Thursday, 31 March 2011The board of the Legal Ombudsman has put off until spring 2012 the decision on whether to name law firms on the receiving end of complaints, a move condemned by the Legal Services Consumer Panel.
Tags: Legal Ombudsman, Legal Services Consumer Panel, publishing complaints
Posted in Consumer panel, Legal Ombudsman, News, Regulation
Lord Judge opposes licensed conveyancers’ bid to become litigators and advocates
Tuesday, 29 March 2011The Lord Chief Justice has spoken out against licensed conveyancers being granted rights to conduct litigation and advocacy. Lord Judge said they are areas of work which lie outside the proper sphere of activity of a licensed conveyancer and he could see no strong public interest in giving them those rights.
Tags: Council for Licensed Conveyancers, Legal Services Board, Legal Services Consumer Panel
Posted in Legal Services Board, News, Other lawyers
Criminal standard of proof in disciplinary matters “could expose clients of ABSs”
Monday, 21 March 2011Regulators of alternative business structures could expose consumers to risk if they demand an overly high standard of proof in disciplinary hearings, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned. Meanwhile, the Bar Standards Board is to consider switching to a civil standard of proof.
Tags: ABS, Alternative business structures, bar standards board, Council for Licensed Conveyancers, ILEX Professional Standards, Legal Services Consumer Panel, Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in Alternative business structures, Barristers, Consumer panel, News, Other lawyers, Solicitors
CLC warned over allowing ABSs to dodge regulation of unreserved legal work
Friday, 11 March 2011The Council for Licensed Conveyancers’ bid to license alternative business structures could allow firms to dodge regulation of their unreserved legal work, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned.
Tags: ABS, Alternative business structures, Legal Services Consumer Panel
Posted in Alternative business structures, News, Other lawyers
Government under fire for closing LSB, ombudsman and consumer panel websites
Thursday, 10 March 2011The Cabinet Office has refused to confirm whether it is going ahead with shutting down the websites of the Legal Services Board, Legal Ombudsman and Legal Services Consumer Panel after a strong attack in the House of Lords last night that claimed it threatens the independence of the legal profession.
Tags: Legal Ombudsman, Legal Services Board, Legal Services Consumer Panel, LeO
Posted in Consumer panel, Legal Ombudsman, Legal Services Board, News
News in brief: larger firms cool on ABS, LPO boost, women suffer on pay and more
Tuesday, 8 March 2011Our latest round-up of other news of interest to Legal Futures readers includes a survey of among larger firms about ABS intentions, a lay majority on the BSB, women lawyers convinced male colleagues are paid more, good news for a big LPO provider and much more.
Tags: ABS, Alternative business structures, bar standards board, equality and diversity, internal governance rules, legal process outsourcing, Legal Services Board, Legal Services Consumer Panel, LPO, professional indemnity insurance, Scotland, Technology
Posted in Barristers, Market monitor, News, News In Brief, Outsourcing, Solicitors
Consumers back complaints publication but could misuse information, research finds
Thursday, 24 February 2011Consumers believe that a lawyer who has provided a bad service should be “named and shamed”, research released today has found. However, there are signs that consumers are likely to use published information “in a way that may be at odds with the Legal Ombudsman’s reasons for publication”.
Tags: complaints, Legal Ombudsman, Legal Services Consumer Panel, LeO, publishing complaints
Posted in Client care, Consumer panel, Legal Ombudsman, News, Regulation
Consumer panel backs separate business rule with dig at the Co-op
Wednesday, 19 January 2011Law firms and alternative business structures should not be allowed to dodge regulation by establishing separate businesses to handle unreserved work, the Legal Services Consumer Panel said this week. The panel also appeared to rebuke Co-operative Legal Services – whose stated intention is to be one of the first ABSs – for calling for freedom in how businesses choose to provide unreserved work.
Tags: ABS, Alternative business structures, Legal Services Consumer Panel, reserved legal activities, separate business rule, Solicitors Code of Conduct, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in Alternative business structures, Consumer panel, News, Solicitors
Death by red tape
Wednesday, 12 January 2011Despite being a ‘consumer champion’ (my own words), I have never quite been convinced of the need to regulate will-writing. This is not because I don’t think there aren’t problems. It’s because I don’t think it will make much difference and is probably addressing the wrong issue, which is surely that not enough people make a will at all.
Tags: Law Society, Legal Services Consumer Panel, will-writing
Posted in Blog
SRA slates LSB idea of publishing every agreement with work introducers
Wednesday, 5 January 2011The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has slated the suggestion by the Legal Services Board that approved regulators should collect and publish all referral agreements between introducers and lawyers, which the SRA estimates run to many thousands.
Tags: Legal Services Board, Legal Services Consumer Panel, referral fees, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in Consumer panel, Latest news, Legal Services Board, Solicitors
Blog
Five key issues to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech
As generative AI starts to play a bigger role in our working lives, there are some key issues that your law firm needs to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech.
Bulk litigation – not always working in consumers interests
For consumers to get the benefit, bulk litigation needs to be done well, and we are increasingly concerned that there are significant problems in some areas of this market.
ABSs, cost and audits – fixing regulation after Axiom Ince
A feature of law firm collapses and frauds has sometimes been the over-concentration of power in outdated and overburdened systems of control.
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