All Law Gazette articles in Archive – Page 1579
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News
VAT breaks and nepotism on menu as French lawyers seek reform
The newly elected president of France could scrap VAT on legal fees for certain consumers and abolish a ‘nepotistic’ decree passed by the previous administration, the president of the Paris bar has told the Gazette. Christiane Feral-Schuhl, in London to visit the Law Society, also told ...
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HSBC deal ends conveyancing panel dispute
Hundreds more firms will be able to work for HSBC mortgage clients and the bank after the lender agreed this week to expand its conveyancing panel to include all firms with the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) mark. The deal, announced today, follows a four-month campaign by the Law ...
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Wasted costs order over e-disclosure failures
When assessing litigation costs, the expense of collecting, analysing and reviewing information is a key consideration. Only by ensuring that these processes are completed accurately and efficiently can the cost of e-disclosure be effectively managed.
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Is economics useless?
Is economics any use? That sounds like the start of a rant/ a joke/ or a quip in an after-dinner speech (all the easier to make as many economies, presumably advised by fine economic minds, struggle to recover and grow). So let me be more ...
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Trainee minimum wage to go
Regulators have voted to scrap the trainee solicitor minimum wage 30 years after it was first introduced. The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority made the decision to deregulate the salary immediately at its meeting today. The decision comes after a five-month ...
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SRA opts for national minimum wage for trainees
Regulators have voted to partially deregulate the trainee solicitor minimum wage 30 years after it was introduced. The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority made the decision to change the terms of the salary immediately at its meeting today. The tailored solicitor minimum salary will be ...
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ABS applicants billed thousands for consultancy
Alternative business structure hopefuls are being invoiced thousands of pounds for consultants to handle the financial minutiae of their applications to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Gazette has learned. The SRA says it has hired specialists to supplement its 25-strong team dedicated to vetting ABS applications. ...
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Stobart offers pay-as-you-go barristers - but no plans to be ABS
The logistics company known for its distinctive Eddie Stobart lorries has launched a legal service to help the public cut the cost of legal disputes by linking clients directly with barristers without the need for a solicitor.
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Hopper at SPG conference: SRA in need of ‘self-audit’ in actions
A solicitor QC who acts for firms under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has accused SRA investigators of a ‘Kafkaesque’ lack of proportionality in their dealings with small firms and individual solicitors.
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Government moves to adopt deferred prosecutions
Long-expected plans to enable US-style deferred prosecutions for white-collar crimes take a step forward with the publication of a Ministry of Justice consultation today. Under a deferred prosecution the authorities and a malefactor business can agree a penalty to be imposed if the business does ...
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SPG conference: OFR ‘proportionate’ for all law firms
SRA chief executive Antony Townsend (pictured) used his speech at the conference to defend outcomes-focused regulation (OFR) and compliance officer requirements as proportionate for all sizes of firms. OFR, a ‘single intelligent compliance regime’ applying to ‘all entities, from sole practitioners to huge multinational firms’ ...
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ALS interpreters contract facing renewed scrutiny
The deal between the Ministry of Justice and the private company contracted to provide court interpreters is to face scrutiny from parliamentary watchdogs, as cases continue to be disrupted by poor performance and non-attendance of interpreters.
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Can mediation always rise to the occasion?
The numbers of family and commercial mediations are growing - but while an elite group of commercial mediators is earning six figures, newcomers in both fields are finding it hard to gain the experience to break into the market. CEDR’s fifth mediation audit, published this week, shows the top commercial ...
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No quarter asked
In response to the letter ‘Advice warning’, may I add a fourth reason? That is the fact that your own client will complain bitterly if they see you giving quarter to the enemy.
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Has attack warning come too late?
Professionalism is under threat. So said Lady Justice Hallett in a little-noticed speech at the end of March to the Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates (SAHCA). Dame Heather Hallett’s concerns were echoed by Baroness Deech, chair of the Bar Standards Board, in a lecture she gave at Gresham College ...
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Mediations on the up, audit reveals
The number of civil and commercial mediations has grown by one-third and their value by almost a half over the past two years, an authoritative study reveals this week. The Mediation Audit 2012, the dispute resolution body CEDR’s fifth biennial survey of civil and commercial ...
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Stobart Barristers: did the legal earth just get flatter?
Legal services liberalisation has been a phoney war, but I think that ends with today’s news that logistics company Stobart Group is entering the market with the launch of Stobart Barristers. For sections of the bar, it makes the ProcureCo model look like Betamax to the green and yellow giant’s ...
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SPG conference: 'solicitor' brand still strong, says Fluck
‘Warm and fluffy’ big brands are no match for the powerful ethical traditions of the ‘solicitor’ brand, Law Society deputy vice president Nick Fluck told the conference. Fluck (pictured) said the profession will ‘continue to thrive’ if it works together to design and deliver legal services ...
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Travellers, homelessness and bricks and mortar
Basildon Borough Council did not act unlawfully when offering bricks and mortar accommodation to homeless former Dale Farm travellers. So found the Court of Appeal on 21 March 2012 in Sheridan and others v Basildon Borough Council [2012] EWCA Civ 335, which also usefully considered the extent of a housing ...
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Closed material proceedings in civil cases would undermine foundations
by Jan Clements, senior legal adviser, editorial legal services, at Guardian News & Media The announcement in the Queen’s speech that the government intends to push through a bill for secret hearings was met with dismay by human rights organisations and lawyers.