All articles by James Dean – Page 25
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News
PII bills to stay flat for big firms, but rise sharply for small
Professional indemnity insurance (PII) premiums for the top 100 law firms look likely to remain flat for 2009/10 despite a slight increase in claims, insurance broker Marsh said today. Insurance bills for small firms, however, are likely to rise significantly. Marsh, which claims it brokes PII ...
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Provision gap in the east after East Anglia law centres close
East Anglia is currently without a single legal aid law centre after Cambridge Law Centre and Huntingdon Law Centre, the only two centres in East Anglia, closed down after their parent charity ceased trading. Advice for Life, the charity that ran both law centres, stopped trading ...
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Fox Hayes £1m FSA fine still unpaid
The Financial Services Authority has yet to recover a penny of the £1m fine it levied against collapsed Leeds firm Fox Hayes for its part in a £15m ‘boiler room’ fraud, the Gazette can reveal. The City regulator fined Fox Hayes in February for failing ...
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Miners’ MP seeks probe into compensation payouts
The new chair of the All-Party Coalfield Communities Group has called on the government to investigate whether wide variations in compensation paid to injured miners may be explained at least in part by bad advice from solicitors.
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Controversy continues over miners' claims
The work that solicitors have done under the mineworkers’ compensation scheme has attracted the attention of press, parliament and the public ever since details of wrongdoing began to emerge earlier this decade. But the debate has focused on two controversies: the millions of pounds that solicitors have earned, and the ...
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SOCA ignores call to give lawyers feedback on money laundering reports
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) intends to reject a recommendation that it should provide solicitors and other professionals with feedback when they make suspicious activity reports (SARs), the Gazette has learned. A House of Lords committee last week asked SOCA to provide ‘increased levels of ...
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Huge fines await regulators under LSB proposals
The Legal Services Board could punish non-compliant regulators with multi-million-pound fines if its proposals on enforcement, released today, are accepted. From January 2010, the LSB would be able to fine the Law Society up to £28m for non-compliance if its proposals come into force in their ...
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News
Solicitors hit by HSBC bank charges on client accounts
HSBC, the world’s biggest bank, has taken a ‘commercial decision’ to introduce extra charges for solicitors which could add thousands of pounds to law firms’ banking bills, the Gazette has learned. The new policy, which applies specifically to solicitors, comes despite the fact that most client ...
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Tories pledge to hike salaries to lure top City lawyers to regulator
The Conservatives will attempt to lure top City lawyers into the public sector with the promise of improved salaries should they take power at the next general election. Outlining Conservative policy for financial regulation on Monday, shadow chancellor George Osborne said he would scrap the FSA ...
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News
Businesses should be liable for employee bribery
Businesses should face strict liability for bribes paid by their employees, the Joint Committee on the Draft Bribery Bill recommended today. Publishing its report on the draft bill, the committee said that liability for bribes should rest with companies and partnerships unless they can prove they ...
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Profits crash at SJ Berwin
Partner profits at City firm SJ Berwin have plummeted by nearly half, with senior partner Jonathan Blake denouncing his firm’s financial results as ‘disappointing’ and ‘not acceptable’. The firm reported a 49% fall in profits per equity partner (PEP) from £801,000 in 2007/08 to £410,000 in ...
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Key Business Finance to pay back money to solicitors’ firms
Solicitors owed thousands of pounds by Key Business Finance (KBF), the legal lender that collapsed last year, will be paid back most of what they are owed. Some 66 law firms made advance payments to KBF totalling £460,000 just before it collapsed. KBF’s administrators Ernst ...
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News
Asian economies set to boost City law firm profits
Legal work in the emerging Asian economies will provide the biggest profits boost to large law firms over the coming year – but only to firms with established ties, law firm management experts predicted this week. Profitability in the eurozone should remain stable, and there may ...
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News
Anti-money laundering rules should be relaxed for solicitors
The anti-money laundering (AML) reporting regime should be relaxed for solicitors and others in the private sector, a House of Lords committee concluded today. Failure to report a suspicious transaction which is based on a minor criminal offence should not be prosecuted, according to the House ...
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‘US in stronger position than UK’ to weather downturn
Top US law firms are better placed to weather the downturn than the biggest UK firms, and will be in a better position when the demand for legal services picks up, the head of the world’s biggest firm claimed this week. Eric Friedman (pictured), executive partner ...
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More power for FSA’s chief enforcer
The Financial Services Authority’s chief enforcer is to be given greater power to fine individuals and companies as she moves to head an enhanced enforcement division at the City watchdog. The FSA wants to treble some fines for mis-selling and market abusers after it merges its ...
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News
Cold calling leaves solicitors at risk of conduct breach
A growing number of claims management companies are putting solicitors at risk of breaching conduct rules by hiring call centres to cold call potential claimants, the Gazette has learned. The Ministry of Justice has identified a ‘shift’ towards the use of call centres in India and ...
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News
Allen & Overy reports fall in profitability
Allen & Overy today reported a slight fall in profitability on top of a rise in turnover, as it became the last magic circle firm to release its financial results. Revenues at the firm rose 7% from £1.02bn in 2007/08 to £1.09bn for the year ending ...
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Bird & Bird revenues up 30%
City firm Bird & Bird today reported a 30% jump in revenues, buoyed by the firm's recent expansion and the strength of the euro. The firm's revenues grew from £144m in 2007/08 to £186m for the year ended 30 April 2009. However, profit per partner fell ...
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Shoosmiths profits fall by more than half
National firm Shoosmiths today reported profits down by more than half, with a slight reduction in turnover. Profits at the firm tumbled to £5.6m in 2008/09, down 54% on 2007/08. Profits per equity partner dropped from £318,000 to £150,000 over the same period. Turnover fell 4% ...