Headlines – Page 1350
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At the end of the line: is the solicitors' profession full?
Since 1960, when 19,069 solicitors held practising certificates (PCs), the number of solicitors with PCs rose by 2,000 a year on average to 117,862 by the end of July 2010. This number increased every year for 50 years except for 1971 and 1983. ...
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Complaints clinic: Legal Ombudsman
Effective communication and regular updates are key to managing clients’ expectations When I came into post a couple of years ago now, one thing was immediately clear to me. ...
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Social security
EU nationals - Habitual residence - Indirect discrimination - Justification Galina Patmalniece v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: SC (Lord Hope (deputy president), Justices of the Supreme Court Lord Rodger, Lord Walker, Lady Hale, Lord Brown): 16 ...
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Civil Procedure
Extradition - Appeal notice - European Arrest Warrants - Time limits Kane v Spain: QBD (Admin) (Mr Justice Collins) 17 March 2011 The appellant (K) appealed against a decision of ...
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Civil Procedure
Charities - Conditional permission - Permission to appeal - Protective costs orders R (on the application of Medical Justice) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury MR, Lords Justices Hooper, Rimer): ...
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Family Procedure Rules
The new Family Procedure Rules come into effect on 6 April. They are a welcome step in consolidating the existing disparate set of rules. They provide a single set of rules for family proceedings whether in the High Court, county courts or magistrates’ courts. No ...
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Making the grade: examining accreditation schemes
A campaign to raise public awareness of the Law Society’s accreditation schemes and their value in helping people choose firms or specialist practitioners in increasingly competitive markets will be launched shortly. There is growing interest within the profession about the schemes.
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Accreditation schemes give consumers more choice
The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘accreditation’ thus: ‘Give authority or sanction to someone or something when recognised standards have been met.’ Which is precisely what happens when someone qualifies to be a practising solicitor, a point not lost on those who are ambivalent about the development of ...
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Judges should be given the respect they deserve
by District Judge Paul Mildred, the new President of the Association of Her Majesty’s District Judges, Bournemouth Combined Court Centre It is time to bring back respect for the judiciary along with everyone else involved in public service.
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MPs call for rethink on legal aid
An influential committee of MPs has criticised the government’s ‘dramatic’ legal aid reforms and called on ministers to ‘refine’ their proposals. In a report published this week, the House of Commons Justice Committee recommended that the Ministry of Justice look at other ways to make the ...
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Jackson reforms ‘devastating’
The government’s plans to implement Lord Justice Jackson’s headline civil costs reforms are a ‘devastating attack on access to justice’, the Law Society warned on Tuesday. Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke confirmed this week that legislation will be introduced to implement Jackson’s reforms, which will force winning ...
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Legal aid firm merger to ‘embrace new opportunities'
Two high-profile legal aid firms are to merge this week to create one of the largest publicly funded criminal defence practices in the country, the Gazette can reveal. Noble, with offices in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire, will merge with Wembley and Watford firm Tank Jowett on ...
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Public law practitioners at ‘breaking point’
Public law solicitors are at ‘breaking point’ due to increased workloads and financial pressure, according to an authoritative report published this week. A study of how parents are represented in care proceedings, by academics at Bristol University’s school of law, found that solicitors acting for parents ...
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Fraudsters jailed for £140,000 injury law scam
Six fraudsters were jailed last week for fronting a fake claims company that defrauded 19 personal injury law firms of almost £140,000. The company, North West Claims, which was run from an apartment in the Beetham Tower, Manchester, referred fictitious road traffic accident claims to solicitors ...
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Young women solicitors far outnumber men
Women solicitors significantly outnumber men at the younger end of the profession, according to Law Society research published today. If current trends continue, the profession could comprise more women than men within the next ten years. The Society’s annual statistical report shows ...
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Lawyers ‘sound off’ for legal aid
Hundreds of lawyers took to the streets of central London on Saturday to protest against the government’s proposed legal aid cuts. Under the banners of the Law Society’s ‘Sound off for justice’ campaign, Justice for All and Young Legal Aid Lawyers, they joined the TUC’s ...
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Claims farmers ban on hold
A government proposal to ban ‘claims farmers’ from offering cash inducements and other benefits to the public has been put on hold, the Ministry of Justice confirmed this week. Responding to its consultation on the proposed ban, which was triggered by Lord Young of Graffham’s report ...
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Law Society of Scotland defers constitutional reform
A three-year project to modernise the constitution of the 10,500-strong Law Society of Scotland has run into difficulties, after solicitors failed to agree on the proposed changes. At the Edinburgh-based body’s annual meeting last Friday, a motion to rescind the current constitution won approval, with ...
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Ilex fast-track route proves popular
More than 270 law graduates have embarked on the Institute of Legal Executives’ (ILEX) fast-track route to becoming a solicitor since its launch in 2009, the Gazette has learned. Some 66 graduates applied for the scheme during the last quarter. ...
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Businesses face ‘human rights audit’
Human rights lawyers could be called upon to audit big businesses for possible human rights abuses, if proposals submitted last week to the UN Human Rights Council are endorsed. A six-year UN-commissioned study on business and human rights has concluded that companies should regularly carry out ...