As tempting as it is to devote this column to the forthcoming festivities of the Christmas season, attempt to answer questions such as “what do the department store Santas do for the rest of the year?†and pontificate about what misery 2012 will hold for the profession, I have chosen to share with you some details of a recent trip to New York.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is expecting 20 firms and organisations to apply for alternative business structure status when the regulator begins licensing ABSs on 3 January 2012, Solicitors Journal has learned. The first licences are due to be issued around six weeks later, in the second half of February.
The government is postponing implementation of the cuts contained in its legal aid bill to April 2013. Consultation on competitive tendering for criminal legal aid has been postponed until the autumn of 2013.
The Court of Appeal has rejected arguments by the Law Society and Bar Council that the LSC's ability to recoup legal aid payments on account should be limited to six years from the end of the case.
