All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 61
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News
Whitehall plans to scrap AJTC ‘perverse’
Government plans to scrap the Administrative Justice & Tribunals Council are ‘misguided’ and ‘perverse’, the body’s chair has told the Ministry of Justice. Responding to the consultation proposing the abolition of the AJTC, Richard Thomas said the independent body, which reviews the administrative justice system and ...
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Unite campaign backs public service interpreting
Trade union Unite is to launch a campaign to support public service interpreting and ensure that properly trained translators are used by criminal justice agencies.
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Banks pledge to help with cashflow problems
Four high street banks have agreed to help law firms that are experiencing cashflow difficulties resulting from the ongoing delays in payment from the Legal Services Commission, following a request from the Law Society. Chancery Lane wrote to banks to alert them to the problems being ...
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Labour tables amendments to legal aid and costs reforms
Opponents to government strategy for civil litigation and legal aid reform have launched a multi-pronged ‘victim-centric’ attack on the proposals. Labour MPs have tabled a series of amendments to the coalition government’s planned changes under the umbrella of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders ...
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Solicitors voice concerns over reduction in LSC helpline hours
The reduced operating hours of the Legal Services Commission’s telephone helpline is hampering cases, the Gazette has been told. Lawyers from around the country have contacted the Gazette reporting that the LSC’s decision to cut the operation of its telephone helpline to four hours a day ...
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Lawyers2you national franchise set for launch
A new solicitor-led national law firm franchise will launch next week, with ambitions to extend to continental Europe and the US, the Gazette can reveal. The Lawyers2you franchise has been set up by West Midlands firm Blakemores, spearheaded by its managing partner Guy Barnett (pictured). ...
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New criminal bar chair pledges to fight cuts
The new chairman of the Criminal Bar Association has warned that legal aid cuts could ‘cripple’ the criminal bar, and urged his colleagues to remain united in the face of the challenges that lie ahead. Max Hill QC (pictured), from London’s 18 Red Lion Court, gave ...
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TV Edwards reveals two new mergers
London firm TV Edwards has announced mergers with two other London firms, further consolidating its position as one of the capital’s largest legal aid firms. Today the firm completes a merger with Hammersmith firm Mark & Co, which has a reputation for serious criminal law work. ...
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News
Expert witnesses elusive as pay falls
Reduced legal aid fees for expert witnesses are making it ‘almost impossible’ to find experts and in some cases leaving law firms out of pocket by thousands of pounds, a leading family lawyer has warned. Christina Blacklaws, Law Society Council member for child care, said the ...
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Rioters given tough sentences, MoJ figures show
The Ministry of Justice has today released statistics on the outcomes of suspects involved in the recent riots, showing that a much higher percentage of defendants were remanded in custody than usual. The figures show that 1,566 suspects have had initial hearings at magistrates’ courts. ...
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Will national franchises be the future for high street firms?
As law firms edge ever closer to the time when they will lose their monopoly on the provision of legal services, they are finally putting their heads above the parapet and revealing their survival strategies. Up to now many have been reluctant to show their hands, ...
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'Maturity' is key when sentencing young people
Courts should pay more attention to a young person’s ‘maturity’ and less to their age when making sentencing decisions, a report by two criminal justice groups has recommended. A research paper by the Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance and the Criminal Justice Alliance has called on ...
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News
Court clerk first to be prosecuted under Bribery Act
A London magistrates’ court employee has become the first person to be prosecuted under the new Bribery Act, the Crown Prosecution Service said today. Munir Yakub Patel, an administrative clerk at Redbridge Magistrates’ Court in Ilford, London, faces a charge under Section 2 of the 2010 ...
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News
LSC transfers all Immigration Advisory Service cases
All cases on the books of the collapsed Immigration Advisory Service (IAS) have been transferred to alternative providers, the Legal Services Commission has said. The commission is also continuing the process of reallocating IAS’s unused new matter starts, carrying out a ‘mini tender’ in some ...
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News
HMRC and mortgage lenders launch verification scheme
A new mortgage verification scheme to help combat mortgage fraud will be launched on 1 September. HM Revenue & Customs, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Societies Association have worked together on the scheme, which was announced in the March 2010 budget. ...
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LSB gives go ahead for barristers to manage ABSs
The Legal Services Board has approved the Bar Standards Board’s application for changes to the bar’s code of conduct to allow barristers to be managers or employees of alternative business structures. In April this year, the bar’s regulator took the decision that barristers should be permitted to work in the ...
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News
Co-operative Legal Services' profits rise
The Co-operative Legal Services has seen its revenues increase by 22% and its profits rise by 3% during the first half of the year, the group’s interim financial results have revealed.
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News
Non-trial advocates to be excluded from court work
Non-trial advocates will be excluded from higher court work by the quality assurance scheme for advocates (QASA), a leading solicitor advocate has warned. Following publication of a second consultation on the controversial accreditation scheme, president of the Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates Jo Cooper said ...
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Barristers seek to extend public access rights
Public access barristers could be allowed to accept direct instructions from clients eligible for legal aid, under proposals being considered by the Bar Standards Board. Currently Rule 3(1) of the Public Access Rules prohibits barristers from accepting direct instructions from a lay client who may be eligible for public funding ...
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News
Record number of care cases puts courts under strain
Record numbers of care cases are putting ‘intense’ pressure on the family justice system, according to the head of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass). Figures from HM Courts and Tribunals Service show that the number of care and supervision cases before ...