David Greene ponders what is ahead for the personal injury claims industry following the referral fee ban
The last major piece of the Jackson proposals is, somewhat unexpectedly, slipping into place with the banning of referral fees for personal injury (see The death of referral fees). The concept of a ban had been gathering political momentum over the past few months since the initial announcement of the implementation of other Jackson reforms. A variety of stakeholders with their own agendas joined the hubbub. No doubt the ban will produce some radical changes to the accident industry.
There is somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction shared, I am sure by many of us, that paying for claims is morally and practically repugnant but will the ban meet the expressed desires of the proponents?
Waiting game
The parliamentary under-secretary of state for justice, Jonathan Djanogly, initially said that the government would wait and see on the development of alternative business structures (ABSs) this autumn and the effect they would have on the market. On the one hand, the government had the Office of
