Tag Results

“Steps must be taken” to find out why the cost of legal services is increasing, despite the changed market and “great number of providers”, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, has said.

Alternative business structures in the personal injury market will do little to improve injured people’s access to justice but will benefit larger law firms at the expense of smaller ones, a new survey has found. Firms were split over whether their business models can survive the Jackson reforms.

The reshaping of the personal injury market ahead of the Jackson reforms continued apace today as leading Manchester firm Antony Hodari acquired a direct marketing capability by buying well-known brand Paul Rooney Partnership.

The Jackson reforms will lead to a rise in the number of costs disputes between solicitors and their clients, as well as demand for help with costs management, specialist costs lawyers have predicted.

The last week has seen both a victory and a defeat for lawyer lobbying, and perhaps the most fearsome legal lobbying machine – the Bar – crank into action. The victory came in the surprise climbdown by HSBC over its restricted conveyancing panel. A global banking giant felled by a campaign spearheaded by the Law Society but with strong support from the likes of the Bold Group. It was pursued at a national level, with coverage in several national newspapers, and also at a local level, with solicitors talking to their estate agent contacts.