Sue Brown

Completely out of the blue, at the end of this week the MoJ announced a ban on referral fees.  Insurers welcomed the ban, but others felt the announcement was rather at odds with the Legal Services Board's conclusion that a total ban was inappropriate, and that instead the focus should be on creating greater transparency.
Prolegal's Sue Brown happened to be at our offices while it was all kicking off, so a brilliant opportunity to get her take on the issue first hand.  Sue is a highly experienced and market-leading claimant lawyer, and has very strong views that she is not afraid to put on the record.  She believes the ban will be extremely dangerous for consumers because, she says, insurers' enthusiasm for the ban has less to do with their distaste for 'treating clients as commodities to be bought and sold', and more to do with their having spotted an opportunity to remove independent solicitors from the process altogether.  Post Online's coverage of the story lead with Sue's comments, under the banner 'Prolegal warns MoJ over dangerous referral fee decision'.  Sue is clearly a woman to be approached with caution!


Prolegal has a reputation for doing things differently and their response to the referral fees ban was no exception.  In addition to the expert comment that Sue was only too happy to provide to the press, the firm decided to commission a cartoon.  We put them in touch with nationals-and-private-Eye regular Ken Pyne who at breath-taking speed produced this gem for us.  


Check out Prolegal's new website too - a dramatic change of image indicative of their move up-market, adding a range of high-value-add legal services to their commoditised offering.


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Others had plenty to say on the ban as well, many coming from an altogether different point of view.  We were busy across the whole Kysen team placing comment from the London Solicitors Litigation Association, Parabis, and the Forum of Insurance Lawyers, who all had insightful points to make to further the debate.  


Our man Elliott here was particularly busy dealing with national and insurance press - at one point an enquiry from Channel 4 as well.  He thoroughly enjoyed himself - an exciting flurry of activity at the end of an already-busy week (or at least that's what he told me...)


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Light relief this week came in the form of Vogue Fashion's Night Out, a global event taking place in no less than 16 countries around the world including, of course, London (Covent Garden for the first time), Milan, Paris, New York.   Brilliant fun! Even though we only made it to two shops.  But when you're offered champagne, food and beauty treatments while you shop, where's the incentive to move on!  Thanks Betsey Johnson and The Sanctuary Spa!.