Headlines – Page 1344
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Royal Courts of Justice were 'incompetent'
I noted with interest the Obiteritem reporting the Family Justice Review Panel’s comment that the family justice system is in fact ‘not a system at all’ (see [2011] Gazette, 7 April, 35). Last week, my husband, two-year-old daughter and I were ordered to attend the Royal ...
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Justice rumbles on
Obiter confesses to being a bit of a grouch when the tummy is rumbling, but it seems he is not the only one. This fascinating graph supplied to Obiter by science journalist Ed Yong reveals an interesting relationship between the grant of parole and the ...
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Adding insult to injury
Labour justice minister Andy Slaughter raised a laugh at a predictably bellicose annual conference of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers last week (Lord Justice Jackson’s ears must have been burning, let’s put it that way).
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You say ‘tomato’, I say ‘moneymaker’
In these straitened times for legal aid lawyers, Obiter was impressed to hear of a fresh initiative from David Pickup, eponymous partner at Pickup & Scott. Industry at Pickup’s firm is not in doubt, of course, but he reflects in an email to Obiter that ...
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Government has cocked a deaf ear to the 'claimant lobby'
They did a U-turn on selling off the forests; they called a temporary halt to the root-and-branch restructuring of the National Health Service. Might the coalition be prevailed upon to reappraise its proposals for the reform of civil litigation costs, even at this late stage?
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Solicitors can help CPS get rape retraction prosecutions right
by Keir Starmer, director of public prosecutions A woman makes a rape allegation against a man, and then later retracts it.
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Learning about our brothers and sisters in law
I was in Budapest last week. The Hungarian Presidency of the EU held a conference on e-Justice, and I spoke about the CCBE’s Find-A-Lawyer project. I was on a panel covering the legal professions. On the coach from the hotel to ...
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Law firm launches online fixed-fee service
A London law firm and a barristers’ chambers have collaborated to offer a new online fixed-fee legal advice scheme. EDC Lord & Co and 6 Pump Court Chambers have launched ClickLaw24.com with referral agency Contact Law. The service provides 24/7 access to ...
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Irwin Mitchell to seek external investment
National firm Irwin Mitchell has become one of the first law firms to give notice that it will seek external investment as it embraces the opportunities presented by the Legal Services Act. The firm, which has nine offices in the UK, will seek external investment ...
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The problem with injunctions
I know the name of the Premier League footballer who has taken out an injunction to prevent his private life being thrust into public consumption. Or at least, I think I know. I’ve certainly heard his name mentioned over a chat at the bar. ...
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SRA publishes strategy for combating conveyancing fraud
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has published a draft supervision and enforcement strategy, setting out how it plans to work with conveyancing firms to combat fraud and money laundering. The strategy forms part of a package of measures designed to address problems in this ...
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Linklaters tops table of law firm websites
Magic circle firm Linklaters has the best corporate website of the top 10 UK law firms, according to a new benchmarking survey. Linklaters’ site was placed 6th in a survey of 100 corporate websites by digital marketing agency Intendance, with magic circle firm Slaughter and May ...
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Solicitors have won the battle over insurance
The legal profession locks horns with the insurance industry on a daily basis, and this animosity is only increased when a regulator or a government decides that the two must change their ways. But in my three years at the Gazette, I can’t remember a ...
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TUC warns against impact of employment law reforms
Government plans for reform of employment tribunals will discriminate against black and minority ethnic groups, disabled people, women, and young workers, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The TUC said today that it is ‘seriously concerned’ that the government’s proposals ‘are heavily weighted in favour ...
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Half of UK adults cold-called by claims firms
More than half of the UK’s adults have been cold-called or texted by claims firms in the past three years, research has suggested. A survey of almost 2,000 adults by market researchers consumerintelligence.com also found that 78% of people are concerned by a ‘growing compensation culture’ ...
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Prudential granted leave to appeal in privilege case
The Supreme Court has granted financial services company Prudential leave to appeal in a Court of Appeal case that had confirmed that legal professional privilege (LPP) can only apply to qualified solicitors and barristers. If Prudential chooses to go ahead with the appeal, a reversal of ...
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European Arrest Warrant: enough is enough
Julian Assange of Wikileaks is not the only one who thinks there are flaws in the working of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). He has been joined now by no less than the Commissioner of Justice, Viviane Reding, on the occasion of the third European ...
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Consumer ‘confusion’ over legal expenses insurance
The public’s knowledge of legal expenses insurance is limited, despite the fact that 25 million UK households have bought the cover, according to research published today. A report by Consumer Focus, the UK consumer watchdog, found that 43% of people knew little or nothing about before-the-event ...
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CBI slams ‘claim first, think later’ tribunal culture
The government must tackle the ‘claim first, think later’ culture that is making employment tribunals slow and costly for employers, a report has urged. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) report Settling the Matter claims that there has been a 173% rise over the last five ...
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More law firms face financial distress, report suggests
There has been a 61% increase over the last 12 months in the number of law firms and other professional service providers facing financial distress, according to a report by business consultants Begbies Traynor. The Red Flag Alert report said that the number of professional services ...