All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 55
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News
McNally brushes off LASPO criticism as ‘report fatigue’
Justice minister Lord McNally (pictured) has dismissed a wave of criticism of the impact of legal aid cuts by saying the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill is starting to suffer from ‘report fatigue’.
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News
Court statistics ‘support case for reform’, government says
Care proceedings take on average more than a year to resolve, statistics released for the first time by the Ministry of Justice have revealed. New data on the average length of civil and criminal cases published this week from the third quarter of 2011 showed that care proceedings took an ...
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News
HSBC conveyancing panel size 'could harm consumer choice'
Concerns are growing that the restricted size of HSBC’s new conveyancing panel may harm consumer choice. The bank launched the panel this week to provide services to residential mortgage customers. It has 43 members across the UK, 39 of which are solicitor firms and four licensed conveyancing companies. ...
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Profile
Interview: Michael Todd QC
Catherine Baksi talks with Michael Todd QC, chairman of the Bar Council, about the future of the bar and the challenges it faces.
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News
Law Society wary on shared parenting possibility
The Law Society’s family law committee has cautioned against introducing a legal presumption of shared parenting after divorce, following indications that the government may seek to change the law. Children’s minister Tim Loughton has said that the government is ‘looking closely at all the options ...
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News
Londoners will fare worst from legal aid cuts - survey
Londoners will be hit hardest by the government’s planned legal aid cuts, a survey published by the Legal Action Group (LAG) has found. It has calculated that the capital will lose £9.33m under the proposed reforms in funding for housing, employment, debt, welfare benefits and immigration ...
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News
Merger expectations grow among small firms
A third of small and medium sized firms expect to merge in the coming year as the trend to join forces continues, according to research by the Law Consultancy Network. The fourth set of six-monthly statistics complied by consultant Andrew Otterburn showed that 21 of the ...
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News
Family lawyers renew attack on ‘devastating’ legal aid cuts
Removing legal aid for private family cases could lead to thousands of children losing contact with a parent and many families being left dependant on welfare benefits, family lawyers warn today. In a renewed attack on provisions of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of ...
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News
Legal aid cuts are false economy, says study
Planned cuts to legal aid in private family work, social welfare law and clinical negligence will save less than half the sum predicted by the government, according to an independent economic study published today. The Law Society’s chief executive, Desmond Hudson, said the report’s findings ‘fatally undermine’ Ministry of Justice ...
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News
Quality hallmark for HSBC’s conveyancing mini-panel
HSBC has established a conveyancing panel of solicitors and licensed conveyancers to provide legal services to its residential mortgage customers. Solicitor member firms must have the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accreditation. The panel, managed by Countrywide, will launch on Monday across the UK. Of ...
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News
Should doom merchants have gone to Specsavers?
With the new year came the long-awaited announcement that the Solicitors Regulation Authority has begun processing applications from companies looking to become alternative business structures.
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News
Lawyers named in honours list
The Queen’s solicitor and the former terror laws watchdog were among the lawyers recognised in the New Year honours list. Mark Bridges, partner at London firm Farrer & Co, was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for his work as personal solicitor to the Queen. ...
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News
Experts to ponder ‘drug driving’ offence
The government is putting together an expert panel to examine the case for introducing a new offence of ‘drug driving’. The initiative, by the Department for Transport, will bring together academics and scientific experts in alcohol and drug misuse, the Home Office and Department of Health. ...
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News
CPS solicitor faces disciplinary action
A Crown Prosecution Service solicitor is facing disciplinary proceedings over failings in the treatment of evidence from an undercover police officer in trials of environmental activists. An inquiry by retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Christopher Rose into the CPS’s handling of cases against campaigners ...
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News
Criminal bar in dock for solicitor-advocate ‘turf war’
The criminal bar stands accused of using the planned quality assurance scheme to wage a ‘turf war’ on solicitor-advocates, following the circulation of a letter calling on barristers to engage with the scheme. In the letter, sent to all members of the Criminal Bar ...
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News
Employment law reforms are 'unworkable', say lawyers
Proposed employment law reforms are unworkable, according to a survey of employment lawyers. More than three quarters (78%) of lawyers polled by solicitor network Contact Law said reforms announced last month by business secretary Vince Cable would lead to a ‘hire and fire’ culture. Only 8% of respondents were in ...
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News
Society condemns out-of-court sentencing plan
The Law Society has criticised Nick Herbert’s proposal to give magistrates power to issue summary sentences outside of court, which it says could leave defendants without access to proper advice. Speaking to the Magistrates’ Association last week, the justice minister (pictured) mooted the idea of giving ...
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News
Lenders urged to set up one-stop shop for panel vetting
Mortgage lenders should create a single body to vet law firm applications for conveyancing panel membership, the head of mortgage fraud at Lloyds Banking Group has said. Paul Collins, who is also manager of the group’s conveyancing panel, said that lenders should develop a unified approach ...
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News
LCJ warns of technology threat to justice system
The lord chief justice has today warned of the need to preserve the integrity of the trial and jury system in the face of risks posed by modern technology. In his foreword to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division’s annual review of the Legal Year, Lord ...
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News
Solicitors to work ‘unpaid’ until committals abolished in April 2012
Committals in either way criminal cases will be abolished from April 2012, the justice secretary announced today. Kenneth Clarke said the change will be effected by bringing into force schedule 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 on a phased basis. The regions where it will ...