Guest Post: Third party funders, out of the shadows

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Third-party funding (TPF) has suddenly become the black sheep of the litigation finance industry. In the wake of the spectacularly unsuccessful TPF-backed Excalibur Ventures case – a huge piece of litigation that Lord Justice Christopher Clarke described in December as “speculative and opportunistic” – questions are now being asked about what the problems that are emerging with …

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Guest comment: That legal big bang – still waiting for the Dyson moment

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We are now a little over two years since the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) began accepting applications from would-be alternative business structures (ABSs), and a little under two years since it issued the first licences. I have a sense that some are disappointed and a little underwhelmed by what has happened since then. In the …

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Guest post: Where next for the Law Society after no-confidence vote?

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The Law Society, if nothing else, is a decent host and members attending the special general meeting (SGM) on Tuesday (17 December) were treated to KitKats among the refreshments on offer. Appropriately enough they were the two-finger variety, which is certainly the gesture some see the vote of no-confidence in president Nick Fluck and chief executive …

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Guest post: Too close for comfort – Research concludes the Bar Council has ‘undue influence’ over regulation

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The Bar may be collegiate, but are the Bar Council and the Bar Standards Board (BSB) too close? Have you read last month’s Legal Services Board (LSB) report that found the Bar Council encroached on the BSB’s regulatory independence? I doubt it; it’s a lengthy document and it’s taken me three weeks to find the time. But …

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