Category Archives: Professional Regulation

Curb your enthusiasm: time to act on finessing witness statements?

Posted on February 3, 2013 by

An interesting story in the Lawyer about Peter Smith J criticising SNR Denton for their handling of witnesses and witness statements.  I was reminded immediately of Gloster J’s comments in the Abramovich-Berenovsky case about the polishing of evidence.  The tension between lawyers duty … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, Litigation, Professional Regulation | 2 Comments

Cab Rank Rules or Bar Room Brawls?

Posted on January 28, 2013 by

The late lamented Bobby Robson once said of Craig Bellamy, he could start an argument in an empty room with himself that lad. And I am left with that same feeling myself on reading the recent newsletter from Chair of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice, Professional Regulation | 1 Comment

Don’t complain: OFT come back for a look at legal services

Posted on January 18, 2013 by

An old OFT report was one of the precursors to the Legal Services Act. It has just published a report on legal services regulation taking stock, post  implementation.  Some of the interesting points are: Out of an estimated 3 million annual … Continue reading →

Posted in legal Education, Professional Regulation | Leave a comment

What’s the story with solicitors’ complaints and LeO?

Posted on May 15, 2012 by

The Legal Services Board have published an interesting summary of research on the legal services market which is well worth a read. Especially if you a member of the legal profession, aren’t really up for the vigorous competition coming your … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, Professional Regulation | 11 Comments

Competition vs Regulation

Posted on November 18, 2011 by

The SRA have produced a very thoughtful paper on the LSB’s approach to regulation.  It advocates a halt to the proliferation of overlapping responsibilities of regulators and the reservation of all legal services, rather than the patchwork of reserved activities … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Professional Regulation | 1 Comment

Regulating Occupations: what we know, what we don’t know

Posted on November 1, 2011 by

An interesting report on Regulating Occupations from UKCES has just been published.  It surveys a vast field looking at licensing, voluntary accreditation and other approaches to regulating the professions and a vast range of more mundane occupations across Europe and … Continue reading →

Posted in Professional Regulation | 1 Comment

Paterson, Hamlyn and the Separation of Regulation and Representation

Posted on October 4, 2011 by

Alan Paterson’s Hamlyn Lectures, Lawyers and the Public Good raise a number of very interesting questions about the future of professionalism post-Legal Services Act.  Alan is a passionate advocate of the importance of professionalism whom I have had the privilege … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice, Professional Regulation | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Referral Fees: A Short Note on the Politics of Professionalism

Posted on September 9, 2011 by

One of the interesting subplots of the referral fee ban is the professional politics of it. The position of the Law Society is particularly interesting. They are vigorously supporting a ban but I doubt whether they are really speaking for … Continue reading →

Posted in Professional Regulation, Referral Fees | 2 Comments

The Deregulation Debate: My Twopennyworth

Posted on August 26, 2011 by

Stephen Mayson has written an excellent post on legal services reform tackling the deregulation myth. As he correctly points out, deregulation is not what the Legal Services Act is about. It encourages more competition and it is leading to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Professional Regulation | 2 Comments