Quality is the main thing clients want from their legal services providers, with the cost sinking in priority when consumers receive the right service and advice, new research has found.

Conveyancing Direct was one of four conveyancing businesses awarded an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) licence by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) in October. Red Legal, Advantage Property Lawyers (APL) and Runnett & Co were the other three licensed by the CLC last month. The latest entry, Vickery Conveyancing, which received ABS status on 7 November, brings the total ABS licences issued by the CLC to fourteen.

Effective complaint handling helps legal service providers to build a solid reputation and can have a positive impact on business, says a recent YouGov report, commissioned by the Legal Ombudsman and the Legal Services Consumer Panel.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) has, this week, agreed new guidelines with the British Bankers Association (BBA) and the Law Society of England and Wales that will reduce administrative obstacles for both families and professionals in probate-related dealings with banks.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has started a final consultation, proposing that Will writing and estate administration, along with extraction of the Grant of Probate, should be added to the list of reserved activities in the legal sector in England and Wales.

The Sun Life Direct ninth annual Total Cost of Dying Report 2012 was released last week. As well as looking at general trends in the cost of dying, this year's survey entitled “Death shouldn’t mean debt; responsibility, choice and selflessness” looked at what motivates people to plan and make decisions for their funeral.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) this month published a discussion paper outlining how it would evaluate the impact of key changes in the legal services market, such as the new business model (issuing of ABS licences), on access to justice. The organisation proposed a set of eight measures to monitor access to justice for individual consumers, making wide use of previous research and approaching areas where it has scarce information, such as the impact of technology on the legal market.

Christine Houghton, Sales and Marketing Director at Kings Court Trust, provides a summary of the ABS licences issued throughout August and shares her thoughts on the situation so far…

Latest data from the Office of National Statistics show mortality rates for 2011 at the lowest ever recorded. 9000 fewer deaths were registered in 2011 compared to 2010. Despite this decrease, probate lawyers and probate service firms are holding on to their market share.