All Law Gazette articles in Archive – Page 1625
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Let’s have a legal complaints mash-up
Think the Legal Services Ombudsman is going too far by publishing figures of complaints against named law firms? Think again. What if the information was linked to data showing each firm’s geographical location together with that of named solicitors subjected to Solicitors Regulation Authority sanctions?
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Iraq executions heighten justice fears
A spate of executions in Iraq has raised new fears about the conduct of justice in the strife-torn country. The country’s justice ministry has announced nearly 100 hangings so far in 2012, including 26 in two days in August alone. According to campaigners Human Rights Watch, all the executed were ...
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Three rings or you’re out?
Promising levels of service seems an easy thing to do. The Co-operative announced that a caller 'will receive a response from a trained lawyer within three rings'. QualitySolicitors promised a number of things including direct lawyer contact, first consultation free, no hidden costs, same-day response and Saturday office opening.
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Whose justice system is Europe’s best?
There are legions of fat-cat legal aid lawyers living off the cream of the land in Britain, or so certain newspapers have been telling us for years. And those papers may be right: as recently as 2010 the UK genuinely did pay out more in legal aid than any other ...
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Black History Month set to launch
Law firms seeking to grow their business in emerging markets should ‘tap into the cultural acumen’ of the UK’s black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, the organisers of a month-long event to celebrate black achievement said today. The Law Society’s Black History Month starts on 3 ...
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SRA talks tough on COLPs and COFAs
Six hundred law firms had failed to nominate compliance officers by mid-September, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed. The organisation this week warned firms they could have their licences revoked if their officers for legal practice, and finance and administration (COLPs and COFAs) are not in ...
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Costs? What the devil is going on?
The principles of the Code of Conduct require solicitors to: 'Uphold the rule of law and the proper administration of justice.' And to 'act in the best interests of each client'. Where the two are in conflict, the proper administration of justice takes precedence.
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Court privacy ruling on divorce
Divorcing couples have been given reassurance that their private financial affairs will remain confidential even when the media attend court, following a recent judgment from the family court. In the anonymised case ...
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Jackson’s 10% increase in general damages
On 1 April 2013, the reforms to civil costs contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 will come into force. Part 2 of the act provides for the implementation of recommendations 7, 9, 14 and 94 of the final report on civil litigation costs by ...
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Family lawyers call for more ADR support
A leading family lawyer has called for more government and judicial support to encourage separating couples to resolve disputes out of court. Jo Edwards, vice-chair of family lawyers’ group Resolution, made the plea following a survey that showed a lack of awareness among the public of ...
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There's a limit to how challenged anyone can feel by a closely related professional
As the legal services sector liberalises, often-daily announcements confirm increased competition from unfamiliar sources. As we report today, the Bar Council’s launch of ‘BarCo’, a third-party escrow account to hold client money is the latest – allowing as it will, barristers to offer a full range of legal services without ...
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BarCo escrow scheme ‘levels the playing field’
The Bar Council has developed a scheme to allow barristers to hold client money through a third party, a move that its chair says will create a ‘level playing field’ with solicitors. Today it launches BarCo, a third-party escrow account which holds client money, allowing barristers ...
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Defining the coroner’s role has been the work of centuries
In the world of sudden deaths, the law tends to move slowly. Parliament first passed legislation setting out the duties of coroners well over 700 years ago, in 1275. But the Statute of Westminster can also be seen as the last act of parliament to define the coroner’s role, in ...
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Law firms blamed for claim delays
Law firms are delaying the processing of thousands of claims at the new centralised facility in Salford by stopping cheques and sending duplicate documents, the centre has complained. In the six months to 7 September, firms stopped 872 cheques, worth £167,140, that they had sent to ...
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Should pro bono be compulsory?
by Lia Moses, a caseworker at LawWorks, a national charity working with solicitors to support pro bono across the profession The New York State Bar this month made it a requirement for all lawyers to carry out 50 hours of pro bono work before being admitted.
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Conscience call
The impugners of conscientious objection in the case of Ms Ladele were allowed more than 500 words in which to express their illiberal opinions; Mr Davis’ letter contains about 50, and, though well-intentioned, scarcely touches the heart of the matter.
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Glee are the champions
Hit musical soap Glee inspired Sheffield and Doncaster solicitors Taylor Bracewell and Bhayani Bracewell to put new skills to the test – penning a song that won the Best Teamwork Award in the Glee Bah Business competition.
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Chocolate smudges
It comes to something when all that seems to be worth watching on television, now the Olympics are finished, are reruns of the Sweeney. But last night I did learn something when Regan says to Carter: ‘He fooled the chocolate.’ I couldn’t work out what he meant. Rhyming slang drops ...