Rise in negligence claims threatens high street firms

Posted By: James

Thursday 4th December 2014

A threefold rise in negligence claims last year has led to concerns that high street legal practices could be driven to the wall by rising insurance costs, writes Jonathan Ames in the Times. The Legal Services Board (LSB) last week rejected proposals from the Solicitors Regulation Authority to cut the minimum amount of negligence cover conventional partnerships must carry from £2m to £500,000. High Court actions against solicitors jumped to 418 in 2013-14 from just 143 the year before, with experts citing the nearing time limit on negligence claims from the 2008 financial crisis as one cause. Joe Bryant, a partner at RPC, also attributes the increase in claims to a change in regulatory approach. “The LSB has spent a lot of time banging the drum to let clients know about seeking redress and the SRA has gone along with that,” he said.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/law/article4286389.ece

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