The report draws on data from an online survey of UK law firms as well as 15 extended interviews with ‘non-solicitor stakeholders.’ Overall, the responses showed a significant degree of confidence that the nation’s personal injury law firms have responded well to reforms set in motion by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LAPSO).

Steady improvements

Only 12 per cent of survey respondents said they believed that the practice of personal injury lawyers accepting and progressing frivolous cases was still prevalent in the market, while the majority believe that consumers are still benefiting from a high level of access to personal injury legal services despite the reform agenda. Moreover, the bulk of respondents said they felt that the relationship between law firms, insurers and medical reporting organisations had benefited from the introduction of MedCo, an independent system for sourcing medical reports on soft tissue injuries.

Towards diversification

Around 30 per cent of the PI firms included in the study flagged plans to diversify their practice in the next two years. However, the report highlighted concerns about a lack of competence among those firms looking to move away from road traffic accident claims and broaden their practice to include other types of PI claims, such as occupational disease or catastrophic injury. Judges included in the study reported sometimes poor standards of evidence for cases covered by such firms.

Sources: Law Society Gazette; Australasian Lawyer