Tag Results
SRA indemnity reforms will drive some firms out of business, says Law Society
Wednesday, 8 December 2010Solicitors Regulation Authority plans to exclude financial institutions from the requirement for compulsory professional indemnity insurance will drive some conveyancing firms out of business, the Law Society has claimed. The longer-term move to remove work for all commercial clients from the scope of the minimum terms and conditions of cover would be short-sighted, it adds.
Tags: assigned risks pool, Law Society, professional indemnity insurance, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in Indemnity insurance, News, Solicitors
SRA unveils major indemnity reform plan
Monday, 6 December 2010Allowing the exclusion of claims by financial institutions and an end to every law firm renewing its professional indemnity insurance (PII) on the same day and are at the heart of Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) plans to shake up client financial protection arrangements next year. In a consultation being published today, the SRA also floats the idea of removing all corporate clients from the scope of compulsory PII cover from October 2012.
Tags: assigned risks pool, professional indemnity insurance, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in Indemnity insurance, News, Solicitors
SRA to launch more law firm supervision pilots as run-up to OFR gains momentum
Friday, 3 December 2010The Solicitors Regulation Authority will start pilots for desk-based supervision and risk-based visits to law firms next month as the run-up to the launch of outcomes-focused regulation steps up. A new policy statement explains that “high intensity” supervision does not mean a firm is necessarily in trouble.
Tags: ABS, Alternative business structures, OFR, outcomes-focused regulation, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in News, Solicitors
Law Society to aid compliance officers facing personal exposure under SRA’s new regime
Friday, 3 December 2010The Law Society is considering a scheme to shore up the position of compliance officers who could find themselves personally exposed under the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) proposed handbook. Chief executive Des Hudson also raised concerns over the SRA’s progress towards outcomes-focused regulation.
Tags: ABS, Alternative business structures, compliance officer for finance and administration, compliance officer for legal practice, Law Society, outcomes-focused regulation, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in Alternative business structures, News, Solicitors
SRA to review approach to conveyancing, financial stability and international matters
Wednesday, 1 December 2010The Solicitors Regulation Authority will next year conduct ‘thematic reviews’ on its approach to conveyancing, the financial viability of law firms, and both English firms’ overseas practice and foreign lawyers working over here, it has emerged.
Tags: conveyancing, financial management, international practice, overseas lawyers, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in News, Solicitors
SRA lays out what firms can and cannot do to prepare for ABSs
Tuesday, 30 November 2010The Solicitors Regulation Authority has outlined the steps that law firms are able to take under the current rules in preparing to become an alternative business structure. It has updated its July 2009 guidance that just highlighted what solicitors should not do.
Tags: ABS, Alternative business structures, external investment, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in Alternative business structures, News, Solicitors
Legal Services Board to probe just how independent SRA is from the Law Society
Tuesday, 30 November 2010The Legal Services Board (LSB) is set to probe how independent the Solicitors Regulation Authority truly is from the Law Society. In letters to both bodies, LSB chief executive Chris Kenny said its focus would be on ensuring that “independent regulation is being delivered in practice”.
Tags: internal governance rules, Law Society, Legal Services Board, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in Legal Services Board, News, Solicitors
Revealed: SRA set to review whether rules address risks of legal process outsourcing
Monday, 29 November 2010The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is set to launch a “thematic review” of legal process outsourcing next year, Legal Futures can reveal. The review would seek to identify whether there are any particular issues or risks that require changes to the current regulatory requirements or whether certain outsourcing arrangements need particular attention in the supervision process.
Tags: legal process outsourcing, LPO, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in News, Outsourcing, Solicitors
Insurers to explain risk factors as more evidence of discrimination surfaces
Thursday, 25 November 2010Professional indemnity insurers are to provide guidance for solicitors on the way the risk they pose is assessed as part of a push to ensure there is no discrimination in the renewal process. Following a meeting called by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Association of British Insurers also agreed to work with its members to review their proposal forms and the underpinning criteria used to assess risk, and review and report on the equality and diversity work undertaken by their members.
Tags: Association of British Insurers, equality and diversity, Financial Services Authority, Law Society, professional indemnity insurance, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in Indemnity insurance, News, Solicitors
SRA audits indemnity insurers to check they reported premium income accurately
Tuesday, 23 November 2010The Solicitors Regulation Authority has launched an audit of professional indemnity insurers to check they have correctly declared the amount of premium income they received during the recent renewal.
Tags: assigned risks pool, professional indemnity insurance, qualifying insurers, Solicitors Regulation Authority
Posted in News, Solicitors