On Thursday in the Court of Appeal, the Law Society won its challenge over legal aid contracts against the Legal Services Commission (LSC). The LSC is no longer able to unilaterally amend the unified contract in the way it proposed. The court upheld the Law Society's appeal and rejected the LSC's appeal. The LSC was refused permission to appeal to the House of Lords and ordered to pay Law Society's costs.
More information, including the judgement, can found on the Law Society's website: http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/newsandevents/news.law.