Personal Injury Referral Fee Ban

From the 1st April 2013 it is now illegal for a law firm to buy or sell personal injury referrals / leads in order to generate profit.

The official word from the SRA is here for those who havent read the prohibitive instrument in all its glory:

The personal injury referral business is worth hundreds of millions of pounds - or rather it used to be.

The end of the personal injury world as we know it
....and I dont feel fine

For those old enough to recall that lyric you may well have enjoyed a halcyon period as a personal injury lawyer but it seems that our world is changing forever any time soon.

Not content with the big hit on reforming the fee structure and banning referrals, the government now seem intent on hitting the small claims court limit which has been stable at £1000 for 2 decades or more.

More on the story here 

If these changes go ahead then the PI industry we know and love will not exist below a £5000 damages threshold.

I will keep you posted on developments

Meanwhile my conveyancing friends tell me things are picking up in the housing market. Who would have thought it 6 years ago that a conveyancer had brighter prospects than a personal injury lawyer..!!!