Indemnity Insurance Intervention - extract from President's Update 12.12.11
Click here to read the extract

Law Society statement of Commitment to the Flexible Working Best Practice Protocol
"As signatories to the Diversity & Inclusion Charter, we recognise that the ability to work flexibly is becoming increasingly important for lawyers. To ensure the long term retention of both male and female lawyers, legal practices need to understand and incorporate flexible working into the fabric and culture of the business."  read the full statement

Law Society welcomes legal aid tender delays
The Law Society has welcomed the delay in implementation of new rules governing civil and family legal aid, announced today by the Ministry of Justice. The announcement was made in a written statement to Parliament and moves the implementation date from the originally proposed October 2012 to April 2013. This allows time for the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to tender under the new rules, which are currently being debated in Parliament as part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. read on ...

Unrecouped payments on account: Court of Appeal rules in the Henthorn case
Earlier this year the High Court held that the Legal Services Commission (LSC) was barred from recovering payments on account if proceedings for recovery are not commenced within six years of the conclusion of the case. The LSC appealed to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the limitation period does not commence until the LSC make a demand for payment. The Law Society and the Bar Council obtained permission to intervene in the appeal in support of the High Court judgment as the appeal was an important test case on the limitation issue.  continues ...

Regulation of will writers
The Law Society is concerned by the absence of regulation for will writing and the damage that the absence of such protection can have on the public. It has launched a campaign calling on the government to make will writing a reserved activity. read on ...

Legal aid: family contract tender results - Darlington is one of only 3 procurement areas with less than 5 providers
The results of the tender for new family contracts commencing on 1 February have been announced. This was a non-competitive bid round in so far as once firms had satisfied certain essential requirements, they were guaranteed a contract although that contract might not be as large as the one bid for. There has been an approximate six per cent reduction in the number of offices although this figure may increase when firms make the final decision whether to take up the contracts. There were a small number of unsuccessful bids partly offset by 60 new entrants, mainly in London. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has released further details about the outcome:  continues

Law Society warns that will writing and the handling of assets is open to abuse
Consumers risk losing everything if they allow unqualified and unregulated will writers to have full control of their estate's assets says the Society.  continues...

Lexcel v5 - new standard
Lexcel v5 is the new version of the Law Society's law management standard. The standard has been revised to enhance its relevance to the profession, increase risk management requirements and provide greater support for outcomes-focused regulation (OFR). The Lexcel office has worked with accredited and non-accredited practices, and stakeholders including the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) and professional indemnity insurers to ensure a holistic revision of the standard.  Read more on the Law Society website, including timelines and details of support materials available.  Information on a Lexcel v5 revisions webinar will be available there shortly

Law Society welcomes prospect of faster justice for families and children
The Law Society has said radical and sustained change to the family justice system could not come soon enough, in response to the most comprehensive and important review of family justice since 1989. The Society was responding to the Final report of the Norgrove review of Family Justice, published today. Read the full article

There is a better way
The Law Society’s alternative proposals for saving the required £350 million from the civil legal aid budget
The Law Society has produced proposals for reducing the civil legal aid budget. 
The document sets out in detail the viable and credible alternative to the Government’s proposals to cut civil legal aid in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

You can download the document here

Missing millions Government plans for civil legal aid offer unproven savings and will incur unaccounted- for costs
says the Law Society
The Government’s proposed cuts to civil legal aid are based on flawed assumptions that cast doubt on whether they can deliver the savings that have been promised. As presently drafted, the Legal Aid,Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill will, on the Government’s figures, end legal aid for 645,000 civil and family law cases every year. This figure includes 595,000 Legal Help cases and 50,000 cases of Legal Representation. So, the changes restrict legal advice and access to justice for the country’s poorest and most vulnerable: but they also are likely to add to costs else where within the Ministry of Justice and other Government Departments, undermining the Government’s deficit reduction programme.  Download the whole article.

Government reforms will only benefit insurance industry as consumers lose out
Reforms to no-win, no-fee arrangements are unlikely to reduce premiums for consumers, said the Law Society. 
The Society is responding to a Transport Select Committee evidence session today on the cost of motor insurance. 
Insurance premiums continue to rise by many times the rate of inflation, despite previous assurances of the insurance industry that any savings in legal costs would be passed on to policy holders.
read the full press release

LSC Family Contract Providers
New providers for Legal Services Commission’s (LSC’s) family contracts can now choose to be Lexcel accredited instead of obtaining the Specialist Quality Mark.
There is a specific Lexcel timeline with requirements you must adhere to in order to comply with the LSC audit requirements.
Go to the LSC Family Contract Providers on the Law Society Website for details 

Compliance officers
The Legal Services Act 2007 requires that a head of legal practice (HOLP) and head of finance and administration (HOFA) are appointed within each alternative business structure (ABS). The SRA have decided that all practices should appoint someone to these positions by 12 March 2012, including those which are not ABS. In their new regulatory framework, they have termed the roles compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) and compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA).

Download the practice note

Practice Advice Service
A service for solicitors by solicitors.
Established for over 20 years, the Practice Advice Service continues to provide a dedicated support line for Law Society members and employees of law firms.
It is staffed by solicitors who have access to a wide range of information sources and specialists across the Law Society. For more on the service, click here

Practice Notes
The latest practice notes include:
- Closing down your practice
- Social Media
- Conflicts of interest in criminal cases
- Lasting powers of attorney - updated
- Lenders requests for files
- Outsourcing
- Information on letterheads, emails and websites
- Outcomes focussed reulation (OFR) an overview 
- Complaints management
- Client care letters 
- Bankrupt beneficiaries
- Legal Aid: family contract tender 
- Overseas practice
- Compliance Officers  - PII (link)
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Press releases from the Law Society
The latest press releases can be read in full on the Media Page of the Law Society Website