Tag Results

The legal aid and Jackson reforms should come into force in October 2012, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly confirmed yesterday, as Labour launched a bid to make paying a referral fee a criminal offence punishable by up to six months in prison.

There is an interesting game of pass the parcel going on over referral fees right now – made more interesting by the fact that the parcel is ticking loudly. The Ministry of Justice wants paying referral fees to be a regulatory offence, while the regulators want it to be a criminal offence – nobody wants the blame when the ban proves impossible to enforce.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel is standing by its recommendation to retain referral fees, saying it has seen no new evidence of consumer detriment to back a ban. Meanwhile, the Bar Council says its legal advice shows referral fees fall foul of the Bribery Act.

Former justice secretary Jack Straw has described the Legal Services Board’s report on its investigation into referral fees as “gobbledegook”, amid a fierce attack on the operation of the claims industry. He warned that if concerns about high motor premiums were not addressed, tough statutory regulation would follow.

The ban on referral fees is likely to take the form of a criminal offence, Lord Chancellor Ken Clarke revealed yesterday. Meanwhile, Jack Straw has called for the fees payable to lawyers under the road traffic accident portal to be halved to £600.