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The rule which prevents solicitors and alternative business structures from hiving off non-reserved legal work into unregulated businesses risks making legal services more expensive, distorting competition and preventing innovation, the Legal Services Board has warned.

It’s not like the Legal Services Board (LSB) to spring a surprise, but its announcement last week that it was not going to recommend that estate administration become a reserved legal activity – while pushing ahead with will-writing – certainly was one. My initial reaction, along with many of those reported on Legal Futures last week, was one of bafflement. Surely of the three elements of the process – will writing, probate and estate administration – it is the latter where the highest risk of fraud occurs and thus where regulation is most needed. Instead the first two will be. I understand that it was a real knife-edge decision by the LSB, and on reflection I think I agree with it.

The “popular myth” that conveyancing is low value is not borne out by the evidence, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has found. But property work is continuing to cause the regulator problems, with stamp duty land tax schemes and ‘right to buy’ negligence litigation firmly on its radar.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has ruled that three Italian lawyers based in London committed a host of accounting irregularities while acting for clients in overseas property deals.

The meeting of heads of chambers on the South Eastern Circuit last week ended in unanimous opposition to the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) in its current form, it has emerged.