There is a crucial get-out clause that means referral fees in personal injury claims may continue to be paid in disguise.
I pay a legitimate commission. You pay a shady referral fee. He pays a bribe. Welcome to the fierce debate over the impending ban on referral fees in personal injury claims.
It has only added to the furore over the legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders bill, which peers will start dissecting line by line on 20 December. Combined with the Jackson reforms to civil litigation costs in part 2 of the bill, new clauses 54 to 58, introduced in the Commons, will "reduce legal costs and speculative suing, so that businesses, schools and individuals can be less fearful of unnecessary claims encouraged by those looking for profit rather than justice", said the justice secretary, Ken Clarke.
But will it work? Despite pressure from his Labour predecessor, Jack Straw, the government has decided against making the payment or receipt of a referral fee a criminal offence. It recognises the difficulty of defining a referral fee in such a way that ensures less straightforward arrangements are caught and lead to a conviction beyond reasonable doubt.
Read more - http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/dec/06/ban-referral-fees-looming?newsfeed=true
