Headlines – Page 1463
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Solicitors should be concerned about the ‘entire contract’ rule
by Richard Buxtonwho heads a small firm in Cambridge specialising in environmental and public law As the solicitors in Buxton v Mills-Owens [2010] EWCA Civ 122 who stood to lose all profit costs, the Court of Appeal’s decision that we terminated our retainer with our erstwhile ...
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Courts are places for the dispensation of justice, not vulgar commerce
‘Today’s drink-driving hearings are brought to you by Gethomesafely Ltd personal breathalysers.’ Excuse our flippancy, and it will be infinity and a day before that message is broadcast across an HM Courts Service public address system. One hopes. But our disclosure this week that commercial ...
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Elephant in the room
I read with glee Mr Gafford’s letter ‘Conveyancing fee embarrassingly low’ (see [2010] Gazette, 4 March, 11), not because I take joy in other people’s angst, but because it’s about time that someone mentioned the elephant in the room.
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Blowing our own trumpet
I was surprised and disappointed at the headline and tone of the front page news item ‘Most people "could not tell a good lawyer from a bad one"’ (see [2010] Gazette, 4 March, 1).
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Burying good news
It is astonishing that the government has not publicised the Ministry of Justice research into public attitudes to legal services (see [2010] Gazette, 4 March, 1) – after ministers specifically commissioned it so they had a baseline from which to measure the impact of the reforms.
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How to define failure?
I am intrigued as to how standards of advocacy are to be assessed. Who are the people making the assessments? Do they have checklists which they tick off when the right questions are asked? What experience have they got of the courts in question?
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No level playing field
Des Hudson claims that subjecting immigration solicitors to a two-hour exam if they want to continue doing publicly funded work is ‘the least burdensome’ option for reaccreditation (see [2010] Gazette 4 March, 11).
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News analysis: how will reform of LSC affect legal aid lawyers?
Sir Ian Magee’s review of the delivery and governance of legal aid, commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and published last week, was the third report in the space of 12 months to criticise financial controls at the Legal Services Commission. It followed the qualification of the LSC’s accounts for ...
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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 ...
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Two solicitors accused over file-sharing ‘bully tactics’
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has referred two solicitors from London firm Davenport Lyons to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over claims that the firm sent ‘bullying’ letters accusing hundreds of people of illegal file-sharing. Consumer group Which? complained to the SRA in 2008 that Davenport Lyons partner ...
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Court staff go on strike over cuts to redundancy pay
More than 10,000 courts service staff this week refused to cross picket lines as part of a national strike by civil servants over cuts to redundancy pay, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) claimed. However, a spokeswoman for HM Courts Service said that, while there were some reductions in ...
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Commerce & Industry Group in-house trainee push
The Commerce & Industry Group is to encourage in-house departments to take on trainee solicitors, its new chair John Bleasdale has told the Gazette. Bleasdale said he wants the group’s 4,500 lawyer members to increase significantly the number of in-house training contracts available to Legal Practice ...
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Staff cuts bolstering revenues in mid-tier corporate firms
The ‘pressure is still on’ mid-tier corporate firms, research by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers has shown, despite strong revenue figures for the last quarter. The latest figures from PwC’s quarterly law firm benchmarking survey indicate that, although revenues held up well during the traditionally quiet period to ...
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Call to simplify ‘intrusive’ legal aid means test
The Ministry of Justice’s decision to grant legal aid to families bereaved by the 7/7 bombings has prompted calls for the ‘intrusive’ and ‘distressing’ means test forms to be simplified. Last week justice secretary Jack Straw said that due to the ‘exceptional circumstances’, families who had ...
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Children should give evidence, says Supreme Court
Children in family proceedings should be called to give live evidence in court if the advantage it would bring in deciding the case outweighs the risk of harm to the welfare of the child, the Supreme Court ruled last week. In a unanimous decision, five law ...
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Adverts for magistrates’ courts branded ‘tacky’
A leading criminal solicitor has urged firms to boycott a ‘tacky’ scheme to introduce commercial advertising boards into magistrates’ courts. HM Courts Service has given permission for a private company, Executive Legal, to install the boards and charge local law firms £424 a year to display ...
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Firms enter into ‘gentlemen’s agreements’ with investors
Law firms are entering into ‘gentlemen’s agreements’ with investors in anticipation of the rule changes that will allow them to sell equity stakes in their businesses from October 2011, a leading consultant told the Gazette this week. Giles Murphy (pictured), head of assurance and business services ...
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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 ...
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Judges face an even tougher task in children’s cases
Judges in family proceedings have been given an unenviable task. Following a decision of the Supreme Court last week, they must now think longer and harder...
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‘Out of touch’ Law Society of Scotland facing a vote of confidence
The 10,500-member Law Society of Scotland is to face a vote of confidence on its future as the voice of Scottish solicitors, as grassroots opposition to the introduction of so-called ‘Tesco law’ intensifies. Members disillusioned by the body’s policy of support for external ownership and alternative business structures are behind ...