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21 June 2023
Issue: 8030 / Categories: Legal News , Legal services , Procedure & practice
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Solicitors give thumbs up to unbundling

‘Unbundling’ could make solicitors affordable, Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) research has shown.

The SRA’s ‘Unbundled services pilot—final report’, published last week following a pilot among family law firms and wider survey, found most law firms had a positive attitude to ‘unbundling’. An ‘unbundled’ legal service is where one or more services are taken on by the client rather than the law firm completing the whole process.

Solicitors also raised concerns about insurance, negligence, the need for new technology and the possibility clients may miss deadlines.

Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: 'Unbundling won't work for everyone but raising awareness would help people to make good choices.’

Law Society president Lubna Shuja said: ‘Some practitioners have already started to deliver forms of unbundled services.

‘However, concerns remain around the risk of being found negligent for things the solicitor believed fell outside the retainer. This risk needs to be addressed.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
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Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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