All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 91
-
News
Call for conveyancers to diversify as pressure grows on fees
Conveyancers are facing unprecedented pressure over fees but have largely failed to diversify into other areas, according to research seen exclusively by the Gazette. The news comes as Spicerhaart, the estate agency which has launched website iSold.com in association with supermarket Tesco, said that it expects ...
-
News
IT glitch hits operation of virtual court
IT problems caused a ‘meltdown’ in the operation of the virtual court at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court last month, with the system down for a week, the Gazette has learned. An IT fault meant that the virtual court system, whereby defendants make their first appearance ...
-
News
LSC delays payments due to ‘cash position’ problems
The Legal Services Commission notified the Law Society today that it will be delaying payments to solicitors due in March until the start of the next financial year in April. Chancery Lane said the LSC had said this was due to the ‘cash position’ in which ...
-
News
Libel success fees limited to 10%
The success fees charged by lawyers in defamation cases will be cut by 90% after justice secretary Jack Straw laid an order to amend the laws on ‘no win, no fee’ agreements. From April the maximum uplift charged by lawyers for winning defamation cases taken on ...
-
News
Why leave it so late to scrap the LSC?
Between them justice secretary Jack Straw and former civil servant Sir Ian Magee hammered the final nail into the coffin of the Legal Services Commission this week.
-
News
Withers ‘in contempt’ of parliament over legal action threat
City firm Withers was ‘in contempt’ of parliament when it threatened an MP with legal action if he criticised one of its clients in the House of Commons, a parliamentary investigation found last week. But the report of the standards and privileges committee says no further ...
-
News
Carolyn Regan quits as Jack Straw turns LSC into executive agency
The chief executive of the Legal Services Commission has resigned after the Ministry of Justice took control of the body following the publication of the Magee review of the delivery of legal aid. Carolyn Regan, who has headed the LSC for the last three and half ...
-
News
Appointment of just one solicitor QC concerns Law Society
The Law Society has claimed that the appointment of only one of the 10 solicitors who applied for silk is evidence of a ‘worrying trend’. Following last week’s announcement of 129 new QCs, Chancery Lane said it was a ‘matter of great concern’ that the ...
-
News
Most consumers ‘cannot tell good lawyer from bad one’
Most consumers could not tell a good lawyer from a bad one, according to Ministry of Justice research published this week.
-
News
Poverty campaign protest outside ‘vulture fund’ firm
City firms that represent so-called ‘vulture funds’ while claiming to be socially responsible have been accused of hypocrisy by a campaign group on global poverty. The Jubilee Debt Campaign last week staged a protest outside the London office of US firm Dechert, two days before ...
-
News
Government use of ADR falls – but settlement rate increases
The use of alternative dispute resolution by government departments fell last year, though settlement rates increased, a report published by the Ministry of Justice has revealed. In 2008/09 ADR was used in 314 cases, leading to settlement in 259 (82%), saving costs estimated at £90.2m, the ...
-
News
Only one solicitor among new QC appointments
Just one solicitor was among the 129 Queen’s Counsel appointments announced by the lord chancellor today in the fourth competition run by the independent selection panel. George Trinick, energy partner at national firm Eversheds, was the only solicitor of the 10 who applied to be appointed. Only four solicitors applied ...
-
News
Immigration lawyers unhappy over new accreditation process
Immigration solicitors are concerned that they have been ‘singled out’ from other legal aid lawyers through the introduction of a new reaccreditation process. The compulsory immigration and asylum accreditation scheme, administered by the Law Society, was launched in 2004, with reaccreditation required after three years. ...
-
News
Law Society TUPE action reaches the High Court
The Law Society’s legal action against the Office for Legal Complaints and the government to determine whether employment protection rules apply to staff at the Legal Complaints Service was heard in the High Court last week. In December 2009, the Society issued proceedings seeking a declaration ...
-
News
Some criminal advocates ‘not up to the job’
Research on how to assess standards of advocacy has backed up anecdotal evidence that there are problems with the quality of some criminal advocates, but found there is no significant disparity between the performance of solicitors and barristers. Professor Richard Moorhead of Cardiff Law School, who ...
-
News
Poorer students cannot afford to become legal aid lawyers
Students from low-income backgrounds cannot afford to become legal aid lawyers, according to a report published today by the group for Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL). The report warned that legal aid lawyers were becoming less representative of the clients they help. ...
-
News
OFT calls for referral fee payment regulation
The Office of Fair Trading has recommended that the government consider legislation to regulate the payment of referral fees to estate agents, but stopped short of calling for them to be banned. In a report on home buying and selling published last week, the OFT said ...
-
News
Committee proposes libel law changes
A parliamentary committee has proposed wide-ranging changes to the libel laws but rejected the introduction of legislation on privacy. The Commons Culture, Media and Sports Committee recommended that the Press Complaints Commission amended its code to include a new requirement that journalists notify the subject of ...
-
News
Coodes unveils online legal service
A 263-year-old south-west law firm has stepped into the internet age by launching a new online legal service in preparation for competition from new entrants to the market. Devon and Cornwall firm Coodes, established in 1747, has set up Coodes Direct offering fixed-price legal advice, plus ...
-
News
Groundbreaking college scheme sidesteps training contract
Northumbria University Law School has joined forces with national firm Irwin Mitchell to pilot a groundbreaking scheme to train future lawyers. It now offers a full-time five-year Master of Law (Solicitor) degree, combining the academic, vocational and training stages of qualification as a solicitor, at the ...