Headlines – Page 1578
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Festive update of a timeless classic
Prudence was dead. There was no doubt about that. The register of her burial was signed by the governor of the Bank of England. Jack Scrooge signed it. Old Prudence was as dead as a door-nail. Yet Scrooge never painted out Prudence’s name. Oh! He was ...
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Bid by civil law notaries to protect their monopoly
The news item ‘CCBE warning on threat of notaries’ highlighted what is going on behind the scenes in Brussels (see [2008] Gazette, 4 December, 3). As vice-president of the Notaries Society of England and Wales, I attended the Forum on Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters; ...
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Gradual adoption of e-conveyancing
I write in response to the letter from Andrew Bingham of 27 November (see [2008] Gazette, 27 November, 11). Land Registry has always made it clear that we intend to introduce e-conveyancing stage by stage, rather than in a one-off ‘big bang’ - an approach we ...
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Prescribing a review of healthcare services
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said in his letter last week: 'Contrary to Dr Payne-James’s view, nurses are well-trained specialists and deliver high-quality care day in, day out'. I have to protest most strongly that Dr Carter ascribes to me views ...
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Property solicitors can shrug off the gloom
As I was watching television the other day, it occurred to me that there was one part of the UK which had been completely unaffected by the downturn. Here, the words credit crunch had never ever been mentioned, let alone caused difficulties. Where was this utopian land that had shrugged ...
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2009 a year to endure rather than prosper
Many practitioners could be forgiven for bidding a hearty good riddance to 2008, but for the fact that 2009 will almost certainly be even more challenging. In a week when the normally taciturn Barclays chief executive John Varley was accused of talking down the housing ...
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Sole practitioners condemn fee rise
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) will consider scrapping proposals to charge 4,500 sole practitioners an additional practising fee of £300 a year, the Gazette has learned.
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New guideline hourly rates are unveiled
New interim guideline hourly rates (GHR) were released in December - but could be slashed in future for personal injury and clinical negligence work if the committee that recommends levels decides that referral fees should not be built into them. The advisory committee on civil ...
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Legal aid advocates to face quality assurance test
Quality inspections for publicly funded criminal defence advocates are on the horizon under plans unveiled by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) this week. The commission said it would test a ‘quality assurance scheme’ on some 250 barristers and solicitors at Crown Courts from February next year. ...
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'Common sense' declarations victory for insurance scheme
The Court of Appeal has rejected a major challenge to the way claimant personal injury solicitors operate the Accident Line Protect (ALP) after-the-event insurance scheme. It held last week that being on the ALP panel and so having to recommend the Law Society-endorsed after-the-event (ATE) ...
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Mediators need time to consider regulation proposals
Proposals for a regulation regime for mediation faltered last week when mediators told the Civil Mediation Council (CMC) they need more time to consider ‘ambitious’ plans. However members of the organisation, which represents civil and commercial mediators, approved a scheme to register workplace mediators to ...
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Bar paves the way for joint practices
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is paving the way for barristers to go into practice with solicitors, but will leave regulation of the new legal disciplinary partnerships (LDPs) to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). In its second consultation on the implications of the Legal Services Act ...
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E-working compulsory from 2010
Electronic working will be compulsory for civil legal aid providers from 2010 under plans announced by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) this week. The commission’s Delivery Transformation programme aims to save £7m a year. It will expand the use of online billing, ensure that ...
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Bart-Stewart attacks JAC
The new chair of the Black Solicitors Network (BSN), Cordella Bart-Stewart, has launched a scathing attack on the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), calling for an independent review of appointment processes. Bart-Stewart has refused to take part in what she calls ‘marketing exercises’ such as JAC ...
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Family courts opened up
Family court hearings are for the first time to be open to the press, Justice Secretary Jack Straw told the Commons on Tuesday. From April, accredited media will be allowed to report hearings, unless the child’s welfare requires them not to be admitted, he said. ...
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Data page for December 2008
The data page is financial rates and data compiled for the Law Society Gazette by Moneyfacts Group, the UK's largest supplier of savings and mortgage data. Downloads Download the ...
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Points-based immigration
Now the old work permit scheme has gasped its last breath, employers and legal practitioners alike may soon recall with fondness the bygone age of the paper work permit. On 27 November, the work permit scheme was replaced by tier 2 of the points-based system (PBS) ...
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Human rights
Bicycles – Exemptions – Notification - Processions Kay v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis: HL (Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, Baroness Hale of Richmond, Lord Carswell, Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood): 26 November 2008 ...
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Group litigation: the coming of class actions?
The recession, with the government’s bail-out of the banks, could provide fertile territory for lawyers that specialise in group litigation.
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Word on the street
Let’s face it: if you’re left cold by Olympic sport and televised ballroom dancing, 2008 wasn’t a great year for culture. However, it did produce a spate of books written by lawyers, former lawyers, or with a legal theme. So, if you’re hunting down a ...