Andy Bean writes:
After a long search by many, Sandra (Indiana Jones) Ozturk has finally unearthed the newly released Legal Help & Graduated Fee Rates for cases started on or after 1st July from the LSC’s website: Download file (right-click the link and ‘save target as’ to save onto your PC).
Our Civil Handouts will be updated and available on here soon – to order your (free) shiny laminated version(s) please send an email to us: jrs@we-are-jrs.co.uk with your postal address.

Steve is also now in the ‘Boro with a damaged car (not his fault). He has been helping firms register Online and discovered this on the LSC Online site:

“We are also producing a tool that can be used in Microsoft Excel to aid the creation of bulk load files”.

Keep up guys!
“Tipping the hat” is also customary in such circumstances.
The original (and best) JRS Wizard should also be available shortly.

I have today renamed one of the trays, in the bank behind me, “Autorec Ongoing”.
With the number of skirmishes growing daily it seems to make sense.
The issue in the last day or so relates to the oft discussed “7.5% balance of payments pull forward”, issue. We have seen some interesting proposals and comments including a statement that there is (note not “will be”) no pull forward in the unified contract, although it is not to be published and will not be introduced until July next year. This was in an example where the firm were within reporting profile and there was no contractual right to amend the SMP.
It is also the case that all these attempted reconciliations run to March 08 and not January 13th 08. It remains unclear how the “pull forward” issue will be resolved when we arrive at the day when it does disappear.
The “Autorecbot Antidote” spreadsheet has been getting a bit of hammer. You can have a copy if you like.

Setting – a solicitors office Autumn 2007
Autorecbot: We need to reduce your SMP by

I had not expected such a swift notification of a similar incident. The major similarity is the cursory nature of the notification and the emphasis placed on the lack of “discretion” available. Phone negotiation demonstrated similar inflexibility despite there being unambiguous evidence of lack of a need for an SMP reduction.
Be under no illusions it is coming to a place near you and remember we have a helpful spreadsheet available.

We have predicted the demise of the Preferred Supplier Scheme and its replacement with an age of “more proactive contract management”. With this the proposed, central “can do”, “soft skilled” human engine for these developments – the “Relationship Manager” – becomes a mere chimera* from a previous epoch.
In the light of recent events nobody can doubt that the LSC’s brutal honesty and concern about the breakdown of it’s relationship with suppliers, in the March 06 proposals, is likewise a feint shadow of the past.
We began to identify this trend when it became clear that rather than a new tier of RMs we were more likely to get a team of “re-sprayed” Account Managers. More recently we have frequently commented about the rise of the Autorecbot. (For more Autorecbot stories use the “search” feature in the sidebar).
If you doubt our concern regarding the latter how about this, just in:

“I have no discretion in making this (potentially fatal) change to your current SMP and intend making this change tomorrow” (parenthesis mine).

Yes. The Autorecbots are coming make what preparations you can!
*a figment of the imagination, for example, a wildly unrealistic idea or hope or a completely impractical plan – Encarta