All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 64
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News
NHS lawyers warned government that reforms would escalate its costs
NHS lawyers warned the government before it published its bill on legal aid reform that scrapping legal aid for clinical negligence claims would ‘massively’ escalate NHS legal costs, and leave some seriously injured people unable to bring cases. In its response to the government’s cost-cutting consultation ...
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LSC publishes plan for interim family contracts
The Legal Services Commission has published a plan for the tender process for new interim family contracts to start in February 2012. It proposes a non-competitive tender, meaning that all applicants meeting the minimum requirements will be awarded a contract. The ...
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News
Land Registry drops e-transfer move
The Land Registry has shelved plans to introduce electronic transfers with e-signatures, and written off nearly £11m spent developing the scheme. The Registry’s annual report, published last week, showed that it is writing off £6.4m spent developing electronic charges, signatures and transfers, and a further £4.5m ...
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News
Thousands of Crown court trials are 'ineffective'
Defence and prosecution lawyers are to blame for more than a third of ‘ineffective’ trials in the Crown court, according to data published by the Ministry of Justice. The Judicial and Court Statistics 2010 show that, of the 977,000 ...
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Society appoints new SRA board members
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has announced the appointment of three new members to its board. They are solicitor member Moni Mannings, partner and head of City firm Olswang's finance group; lay member Shamit Sagger, professor of politics at the University of Sussex and former chair of ...
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News
NHS 'above the law' in legal aid reforms
The government is putting the NHS ‘above the law’ with its proposed legal aid reforms and changes to the ‘no win, no fee’ arrangements, the Gazette has been told. Paul Rumley, clinical negligence partner at Withy King’s Swindon office, said the legal aid cuts and reform ...
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News
Society calls for safeguards in bail legislation
The Law Society has urged the home secretary to consider safeguards to the emergency bail legislation about to go through parliament to prevent abuse of the bail system by police. The emergency legislation has been prompted by a High Court ruling in the case of murder ...
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News
Government will not remove police station advice, Djanogly pledges
The government has no intention of removing legal help from people detained at police stations, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly confirmed today. Speaking at the Legal Action Group’s conference in London, he said that although the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill would enable the ...
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News
Solicitors join London Pride march
The Law Society has called on solicitors to join it in marching at London Pride 2011 this Saturday to celebrate diversity in the legal profession. The Law Society, Bar Council, Institute of Legal Executives, Junior Lawyers Division, Bar Lesbian and Gay Group, Lesbian and Gay Lawyers ...
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News
Firm fights LSC on client rights
A Merseyside firm has commenced legal proceedings on behalf of two clients challenging the Legal Services Commission’s attempt to restrict their right to choose their own solicitor. In judicial review proceedings, RMNJ claims the LSC acted ‘unlawfully’ by not allowing the clients to choose their own ...
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News
Personal injury firms join forces over thalidomide claims
Two leading personal injury firms have joined forces to represent those affected by the drug thalidomide. London firm Leigh Day & Co and national firm Russell Jones & Walker this week launched the Thalidomiders Legal Group to pursue compensation claims on behalf of people in the ...
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News
Law firms ally with chambers to bid for criminal contract
Fifteen law firms in south Wales are to form an alliance with a set of chambers to bid for a criminal legal aid contract from the Legal Services Commission in the next contract round. In what is believed to be the first initiative of its kind, ...
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News
Chancery Lane escalates legal aid fight
The Law Society is stepping up its campaign to block coalition reforms of legal aid and civil litigation funding which it says will leave the civil justice system ‘at the edge of an abyss’. The move comes as the House of Commons’ health committee warned this ...
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News
District judge wins top legal aid award
The district judge behind the groundbreaking Family Drug and Alcohol Court was honoured at the ninth annual Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards this week. Nicholas Crichton (pictured, left) received the top award for outstanding achievement for his work in establishing the pilot of the ...
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News
LSC cuts off phone advice agency
The Legal Services Commission has suspended The Shaftesbury Group’s contract to provide telephone advice for people detained in police stations for less serious offences. As reported earlier this month, the LSC transferred a contract to provide the Criminal Defence Service (Direct) service from Bostalls to the ...
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News
Government to provide £20m for not-for-profit centres
The government will provide £20m to help support not-for-profit advice centres hit by planned legal aid cuts, Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke announced yesterday. During the second reading debate on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, the justice secretary also indicated the he may ...
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News
The Bellfield trial and a counsel of caution
The fallout from the trial of Milly Dowler’s murderer has proved discomfiting for defence lawyers. Defence barrister Jeffrey Samuels QC has been vilified in the press for his questioning of Milly’s father and has apparently been sent threatening emails. The ...
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News
Commons committee fires warning on clinical negligence funding reforms
The House of Commons health committee has warned that government proposals to change the funding of clinical negligence cases could undermine access to justice and reduce compensation for some of the most seriously injured or disabled claimants. In a report published today, the committee, chaired by ...
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News
New rules on giving evidence aimed at protecting vulnerable
New laws designed to make it easier for children and vulnerable people to give evidence in court came into force today. The changes, contained in amendments to the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, provide a range of special measures which the court can direct ...
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News
Watchdog highlights ‘imbalance of power’ between consumers and lawyers
Consumers have benefited from the first four years of the Legal Services Act, but there remains an ‘imbalance of power’ which acts to their detriment in dealing with lawyers. So says the first consumer impact report by watchdog the Legal Services Consumer Panel, published today. ...