Maintain UK’s legal reputation, City group urges government

Professional services lobby group TheCityUK has urged the government to ensure the continuity and competitiveness of the UK’s legal sector after Brexit. A paper released today called The impact of Brexit on the UK-based legal services sector calls for ‘urgent and clear articulation’ on areas including enforceability of judgments from UK courts and the importance of English contractual law.

The paper also stresses that English courts should be kept as a hub for businesses that want to resolve international disputes.

Miles Celic, chief executive of TheCityUK, said: ‘It is vital that the key challenges and opportunities for the sector are addressed in the Brexit negotiations and that its competitiveness is maintained and enhanced. The best Brexit deal will be one which is mutually beneficial to the UK, the EU and globally and which allows for a clear and predictable shift from current business conditions to whatever new arrangement is agreed.’



Last week, the Bar Council echoed fears regarding contract law in its Brexit Papers – a working paper that examines the legal issues surrounding Brexit.

Bar Council chair Chantal-Aimée Doerries said it ‘rightly highlights the value to the economy of the English and Welsh courts and UK legal services’.

‘We must not take for granted the high regard in which our courts and judges are held around the world, and the role this plays in our economic success,’ she added.

TheCityUK’s paper also identifies recommendations for the government to consider to optimise the future legal framework including:

• Providing an urgent and clear articulation of how the future position of the UK in cross-border civil justice within the EU will be addressed;
• Continuing to allow firms to access legal talent and skills on similar terms to how they do now;
• Continuing engagement with sector-specific industry bodies to assess and understand knock-on impacts of Brexit on the legal sector.

The Law Society has also called on the government to ensure recognition and enforcement of judgments, collaboration on policing and security, and that UK lawyers are able to practise and base themselves in EU member states.

Chief executive Catherine Dixon has also been appointed to London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Brexit Expert Advisory Group, a team of academics, investors and business leaders set up to provide advise on the challenges and opportunities of leaving the EU.

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Maintain UK’s legal reputation, City group urges government

Virtual firm receives £3.75m venture capital boost

A venture capital business has invested £3.75m in an alternative business structure whose business model involves legal consultants working remotely. Setfords Solicitors, which has around 160 lawyers across the country, has raised funding from Business Growth Fund in return for an undisclosed stake. 

It is Business Growth Fund's second investment in legal services. It has previously staked £5m into south-east firm McMillan Williams Solicitors. Its other investments include a chain of Mexican restaurants, a bathroom retailer, a boutique gym chain and a chain of fancy-dress shops. 

Setfords, which is one of a handful of firms letting lawyers work remotely while providing a back-office team. The 10-year-old firm has 60 people at its Guildford office and has recruited 65 consultants in the past year. The firm recently opened offices in Chancery Lane in London and has been licensed as an ABS. Last year it reported revenues up 20% to more than £8m.

It does not disclose profit figures. 

Founder Guy Setford said: ‘We have experienced significant growth over the past 10 years, and established a brand and business model that its trusted by independent lawyers and clients.

‘We will continue to grow, recruit and invest in our infrastructure – BGF’s funding allows us to pursue our plans without disrupting the current model or management team.’

The new investment will specifically be used for digital marketing, technology upgrades and recruitment of more legal consultants.

Steve Richards, former chief executive of Interflora and Virginware, has been appointed as non-executive chairman following the investment.

BGF is an independent company with capital of up to £2.5bn and is backed by five of the UK’s main banking groups – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered.

Chartered accountant Ben Kirby, an investor at BGF who will join the board of Setfords, added: ‘As a relatively young law firm, Setfords has already built a nationwide footprint under the leadership of CEOs Guy and Chris Setford.

‘Through a combination of innovative thinking, smart technology and a great brand, the company is well placed to become an even bigger business and we are delighted to be supporting their ambitions.’

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Virtual firm receives £3.75m venture capital boost

Pro bono clinics report greater number of ‘distressed’ clients

As the demand for free legal advice soars, a pro bono charity has highlighted the significant impact solicitors can make to clients’ health and family relationships.

LawWorks’ annual clinics report states that the network responded to more than 530,000 enquiries between April 2015 and March this year – a 24% increase on the previous year.

Worryingly, more than seven in 10 saw a rise in the number of clients in ‘crisis’ or ‘distress’.

At the pre-advice stage, 82% of clients felt stressed because of their legal problem, 77% felt worried, and 62% were upset. Over half felt anxious, depressed, angry or confused.

Other feelings identified by 7% of respondents included feeling suicidal, humiliated and degraded.

More than three-quarters of clients felt their legal problem had affected their mental or physical health.

Eight in 10 felt their legal problem was affecting their family or personal relationships. Nearly a quarter said their legal problem was either affecting behaviour problems in their children or resulting in increased arguments with them.

Describing their employment woes, one respondent told the report: ‘Psychologically hard to go and be in work. Had heart palpitations and sometimes feel even physically sick before going into work.’

Some clients reported being unable to eat, sleep, losing weight, and having headaches or memory loss. One client said: ‘Not eating properly – sleep – mistakes driving on the road.’

Showing the marked difference legal advice can make, eight in 10 felt less stressed after receiving help.

One client told the report: ‘If you know what your rights are, that’s it, you are empowered. Nobody can take that knowledge away from me once I know it.’

Another said: ‘Mentally I am in a far better position. The solicitor has helped take a lot of the stress away. It has helped me set aside the issues, the cause of my worry. Previously I couldn’t sleep. The guidance helped me to relax… I have been able to crack on with my work rather than thinking of it all the time.

‘As a result, I have a better relationship with my partner and my kids. At times it has felt like a bereavement. The solicitor has helped me to move on. The case is no longer dominating my life.’

Other findings in the report include family law overtaking employment and housing as the most common advice area and a ‘notable’ growth in asylum and immigration advice.

Solicitors and trainee solicitors made up 92% of lawyer-volunteers.

Despite 39 new clinics joining the now 223-strong network, the charity noted a 16% decrease in the amount of debt advice being given, and a 2% drop in consumer and contract advice.

The report states: ‘This can be seen against a backdrop where changes to the licensing of consumer credit activities in 2014 (when regulation moved from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority) resulted in a number of clinics being forced to close debt advice services.

‘This is an issue LawWorks continues to raise with policymakers, and these latest figures provide further evidence of the impact that the regulatory changes have had on the provision on pro bono debt advice.’

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Pro bono clinics report greater number of ‘distressed’ clients

Give judges a role in legal regulation, Society suggests

Giving the judiciary a role in appointments to the Legal Services Board could help protect the independence of the legal profession, the Law Society has suggested. Responding to the government’s call for opinions on the future existence and shape of the legal super-regulator, Chancery Lane warns of the international perception that the LSB is an arm of the state.

‘Therefore it is critical that the LSB not only acts independently from governmental control, but is also seen to be independent from governmental control,’ the Society says. One way to do this would be to further remove the appointments process to the LSB from the state. ‘One way to achieve this would be to give more control over LSB appointments to senior judges,’ it suggests.

The proposal follows a call last month by the lord chief justice for judges to have a role in regulation to protect advocacy standards. Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd told the House of Commons justice committee that judges’ interests should be represented whenever changes are made to the legal regulatory framework.

Consultation on the government’s ‘tailored review’ into the LSB and Office for Legal Complaints closed on 24 November. The Society said it had ‘a number of observations’ which cut across the questions raised in the consultation, so its response takes the form of a paper rather than specific answers.

Among to topics it raises is the LSB exceeding its remit. ‘One example where, in the Society’s opinion, the LSB did go beyond the scope of its role was in the publication of a briefing paper on Alternatives to Handling Client Money,’ it states.

‘The briefing raised concerns around the risks of authorised persons holding client money without consideration of the significant benefits that this brings to the market. The briefing did not identify the risks inherent in any alternative proposal.’

Another example is the LSB’s research on the unregulated sector. ‘In the Society’s opinion, the LSB should not divert its limited resources away from its core role of overseeing the frontline regulators.’

However the Society notes examples where the LSB ‘has provided effective challenge to the frontline regulators’. For example it notes that in 2014 the LSB refused to approve an application from the Solicitors Regulation Authority to reduce the minimum level of professional indemnity insurance.

‘The Society also believes that the LSB has done a good job providing oversight and challenge to the Legal Ombudsman in respect of its operations.’It also describes the LSB's approach to transparency as 'very positive'.

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Give judges a role in legal regulation, Society suggests

NHSLA faces new probe into £1.5bn clin neg costs

Parliament's spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) has opened a study into the cost of defending clinical negligence claims. In particular, the NAO wants to investigate the NHS Litigation Authority's main scheme for defending claims, whereby NHS trusts pay into a risk pool and receive indemnity cover.

The probe comes amid concern that claims against NHS hospitals cost a ‘significant and rising’ amount, with the Department of Health spending £1.5bn in this area in 2015/16.

The NAO said: ‘This study will examine whether the Department of Health and the NHSLA understand what is causing the increase in clinical negligence costs, and evaluate their efforts to manage and reduce the costs associated with clinical negligence claims.

‘We will also assess the NHSLA’s contribution to helping trusts to reduce the number of negligence claims they receive by sharing learning about past incidents and by encouraging wider forms of redress for affected patients.’

Evidence is being collected for a report likely to be published next summer.

The NHSLA received 11,000 new clinical negligence claims in 2015/16. The outcome of the study will add to the long-running debate between claimant lawyers and the NHSLA over what – or who – is responsible for rising clinical negligence costs.

A government response to a consultation on fixed recoverable costs in clin neg claims is expected soon.

In a bid to reduce costs, the NHSLA has already announced a new mediation service, but claimant lawyers say the authority would be better served advising trusts to settle claims early rather than allowing proceedings to be issued.

The Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers (SCIL) pointed out that the NAO’s intervention comes on top of critical reports by the Public Accounts Committee and Care Quality Commission.

SCIL Chairman Steve Webber said: ‘This NAO inquiry is long overdue and critical for the safety of patients. Government has been looking at the issue in the wrong way for far too long so parliament’s intervention is welcome.

‘Ministers have conveniently overlooked the fact that costs are rising because too often "indefensible" cases are being dragged into the courts as trusts and NHSLA just add to the frustration and suffering facing patients hurt by procedures going wrong.’

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NHSLA faces new probe into £1.5bn clin neg costs

NHSLA to face new probe into £1.5bn costs

Parliament's spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) has opened a study into the cost of defending clinical negligence claims. In particular, the NAO wants to investigate the NHS Litigation Authority's main scheme for defending claims, whereby NHS trusts pay into a risk pool and receive indemnity cover.

The probe comes amid concern that claims against NHS hospitals cost a ‘significant and rising’ amount, with the Department of Health spending £1.5bn in this area in 2015/16.

The NAO said: ‘This study will examine whether the Department of Health and the NHSLA understand what is causing the increase in clinical negligence costs, and evaluate their efforts to manage and reduce the costs associated with clinical negligence claims.

‘We will also assess the NHSLA’s contribution to helping trusts to reduce the number of negligence claims they receive by sharing learning about past incidents and by encouraging wider forms of redress for affected patients.’

Evidence is being collected for a report likely to be published next summer.

The NHSLA received 11,000 new clinical negligence claims in 2015/16. The outcome of the study will add to the long-running debate between claimant lawyers and the NHSLA over what – or who – is responsible for rising clinical negligence costs.

A government response to a consultation on fixed recoverable costs in clin neg claims is expected soon.

In a bid to reduce costs, the NHSLA has already announced a new mediation service, but claimant lawyers say the authority would be better served advising trusts to settle claims early rather than allowing proceedings to be issued.

The Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers (SCIL) pointed out that the NAO’s intervention comes on top of critical reports by the Public Accounts Committee and Care Quality Commission.

SCIL Chairman Steve Webber said: ‘This NAO inquiry is long overdue and critical for the safety of patients. Government has been looking at the issue in the wrong way for far too long so parliament’s intervention is welcome.

‘Ministers have conveniently overlooked the fact that costs are rising because too often "indefensible" cases are being dragged into the courts as trusts and NHSLA just add to the frustration and suffering facing patients hurt by procedures going wrong.’

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NHSLA to face new probe into £1.5bn costs

Police ‘unlawfully accessed’ solicitor’s phone, judge set to rule

Cleveland's police force has admitted unlawfully accessing the private phone records of a criminal defence solicitor as well as those of journalists and former officers in the force.

Cleveland Police told an Investigatory Powers Tribunal that it used anti-terror powers as part of an investigation into the alleged leaking of confidential information to newspapers in 2012.

The solicitor involved has been named as Alan Samuels of Slater and Gordon in Newcastle. His mobile phone records were intercepted, the tribunal heard. Samuels was unable to comment when approached by the Gazette. 

Two former officers with the force, Mark Dias and Steve Matthews, also had their phones accessed. However the force, which used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, claimed its actions were justified.

The force’s investigation attempted to locate the source of newspaper stories that related to an internal grievance inquiry, an internal racism report and information about a murder investigation.

The decision over whether the force’s techniques were lawful will be made in the new year, but according to the BBC, Mr Justice Burton said it was clear what his decision would be and that the force should start thinking about compensation.

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Police ‘unlawfully accessed’ solicitor’s phone, judge set to rule