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
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