Six months of talksIt has been a long six months for Law Society and Legal Services Commission negotiators, which concluded with a letter from the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, to Law Society President Michael Napier on 5 February.

Below summarises the key changes that have resulted:August 2000

l No increase in rates since 1992

l No payment for additional administration

l Complicated quality and audit terms

l Fixed three-year contract with no automatic renewal, too uncertain

l LSC could unilaterally amend the contract

l No mechanism for reviewing operation and impact of contracting

February 2001

l Overall increase in payments of 7.25%, plus retention of 'Narey' money.

l Payment for face-to-face file reviews at advocacy rates, and supervisory time

l Quality and audit requirements simplified

l Three-year rolling contract with automatic extension

l 21-day minimum consultation with the profession on changes

l Monitoring group of Law Society, practitioner groups and LSC to review implementation