![David Lester (senior partner at Blythe Liggins), Darryl Barnes, Jagdeep Sandher (head of dispute resolution at Blythe Liggins)[4]](https://d1d8vslyhr7rdg.cloudfront.net/Pictures/274x183/4/2/8/116428_davidlesterseniorpartneratblytheligginsdarrylbarnesjagdeepsandherheadofdisputeresolutionatblytheliggins4_981603_crop.jpg)
Linda Lee
OpinionAccounts rules changes – ignoring lawyers
The profession, clients and the SRA alike would struggle to cope with the regulator’s radical change to the definition of ‘client money’.
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Focus set squarely on tackling legal concerns
This is my penultimate podium – and while I have a busy diary for the month ahead, I am naturally starting to think about all that has taken place at Chancery Lane since I became president last July.
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Solicitors facing ABSs must review their options
The profession is at a crossroads and facing some of the most difficult challenges for generations.
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Importance of legal ethics must not be sidelined in changing market
Close to the start of my presidential year I spent a weekend in Prague with colleagues to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of the independence of the Czech legal profession.
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Making our voices heard on legal aid
As we await the government’s response to submissions received on its legal aid green paper, I would like to express my thanks to all of you who took the time to write to government to express your views on this important issue.
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Clients must be able to choose the lawyer they want
One of our main concerns at the Law Society is to ensure that we continue to work to preserve the principles of access to justice.
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Consumer conference challenged perceptions of legal sector
As president of the Law Society, I see it as my job to ensure that we solicitors are well equipped for the legal services market of the future.
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Decision time on ABSs
Next month, the Law Society council will have to make the most important decision in my presidential year, the outcome of which will have long-term implications for the profession.
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The benefits of joining the residential conveyancing scheme
Despite the challenges from licensed conveyancers, it is believed that between 85% and 90% of the conveyancing market are solicitors. However, it is hard to tell how accurate this figure is. Of only 600,000-800,000 transactions last year (which includes remortgages), the largest Land Registry users include Enact and My Home ...
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Solicitors must stand together to face daunting challenges ahead
During the first six months of my presidency of the Law Society I have travelled overseas and across England and Wales to speak to lawyers from sectors such as the City, small high street practitioners, sole practitioners, in-house solicitors, private practice and solicitors working in publicly funded roles. This includes ...
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We must not stand by and let government devastate access to justice
On 12 November I stood in a muddy field in Runnymede and listened to the great and the good, including justice secretary Ken Clarke, hail the Magna Carta as the foundation of fundamental rights and the protector of human freedom and civil rights. Chief among those rights are equality before ...
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We need a level regulatory playing field
Two weeks ago we saw the publication of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s consultation on the ‘architecture of change’: the SRA’s new handbook. A lot of the debate up until now has been about the pros and cons of outcomes-focused regulation (OFR) coinciding with the introduction of alternative business structures (ABSs). ...
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High Court family tender ruling was a victory for justice
At the start of my presidential year in what, I was assured, was the ‘quiet period’, I received two pieces of extremely bad news. The first was that many small firms were being removed from lenders’ panels, and the second was that the family law tender process had resulted in ...
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The Law Society will continue to fight over the legal aid tender
‘There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.’ So said US Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in 1964. More than 45 years later we are still fighting to ensure access to justice for all.
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Why we had to issue formal proceedings over the family legal tender
The days of a ‘quiet August’ are a thing of the past. The change of government has ensured that Whitehall has remained a hive of activity over the summer – and here at the Law Society we have been far busier than anticipated.
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Professional solidarity will be essential in year ahead
Having held the office of president of the Law Society of England and Wales for three weeks now, I am delighted to give my first monthly update to the profession. This month, I want to look at two significant problems facing the profession – professional indemnity insurance (PII) and legal ...