All articles by James Dean – Page 28
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News
Lord Hunt outlines vision for regulation
The peer tasked by Chancery Lane with reviewing legal regulation says that only ‘minor’ adjustments to the Law Society’s internal governance may be required to yield ‘enormous benefit’ for the regulation of law firms. Lord Hunt of Wirral wants to see a system of regulation emerge ...
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New provider to enter PII market
The single renewal date of 1 October is not the only cause of last year’s problems with professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewals, the chairman of the Law Society’s PII working group stressed this week. Nigel Day, a partner at Manchester firm Hague Lambert, said: ‘It’s ...
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Serious Fraud Office to ask parliament to grant it new powers
The Serious Fraud Office is to ask parliament to enhance its powers to fight fraudulent companies and corrupt directors, the Gazette has learned. The investigation and prosecution agency has begun consulting privately with senior lawyers and officials before it approaches parliament later in the year. Sources close to the discussions ...
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Jackson costs review backs CFAs, alternative dispute resolution
Lord Justice Jackson today (8 May) published his much-awaited preliminary report as part of his review of civil litigation costs. Speaking this morning, Master of the Rolls Sir Anthony Clarke, who commissioned the review, said Jackson’s final proposals will be given a ‘fair wind’ by the ...
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Spreading ‘good news’ about the profession
The legal profession ‘is in good shape,’ according to one of HM Treasury’s top dogs. Launching a report on the future of UK financial services at a Whitehall press briefing this morning, Paul Myners, financial services secretary to the Treasury, painted a bright picture of the state of all the ...
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Hunt to recommend pre-emptive role for the SRA
The review of legal regulation commissioned by the Law Society is likely to recommend that the Solicitors Regulation Authority carry out more pre-emptive and advisory visits to firms, especially those deemed to be ‘at risk’, its author has revealed. Lord Hunt of Wirral , the man ...
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SRA’s submission to Hunt review calls for clarity
The division between regulatory and representative functions of the Law Society is ‘inconsistent with the requirements of the Legal Services Act’ and ‘baffling to many consumers and solicitors’, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has told Lord Hunt’s regulation review. In its submission to the Law Society-commissioned ...
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Cash-strapped universities hold out begging bowl
British law students are in for a rough ride, it seems. The Financial Times reported yesterday that top universities are losing money at an astounding rate, pointing to huge deficits in the funding they receive from the government and the actual cost of education.
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News
More City firms wield the axe
Two big City firms have today announced another raft of redundancies, with a combined total of up to 50 lawyers and up to 115 support staff facing the axe. Berwin Leighton Paisner will cut up to 30 lawyers and up to 55 support staff, while CMS ...
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Auditors seek cap on insolvency liability
The ‘big four’ accountancy firms are to lobby the government to further limit their liability as auditors in the event of corporate collapse, despite lawyers’ concerns that client companies would be ill-advised to agree to such a step. A spokeswoman for the Institute of Chartered ...
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HMRC enforcement head announces crackdown on tax havens
Drafters of tax avoidance schemes face greater scrutiny over the coming months as HM Revenue & Customs moves to close loopholes and bolster its disclosure regime, according to the head of the Revenue’s anti-tax avoidance group. Chris Tailby, a barrister who has directed the Revenue’s anti-avoidance ...
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50% tax rise will raise £150M from City partners alone
Equity partners at the UK’s 10 biggest law firms will each pay on average £100,000 extra a year to help bail the government out of deficit, Gazette research suggests. Chancellor Alistair Darling’s new 50% income tax bracket, which comes in to force in April 2010, will raise £150m from City ...
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News
SRA not up to the job, Law Society tells Hunt review
The Solicitors Regulation Authority ‘lacks the sufficient skills, understanding and flexibility to effectively regulate all parts of the profession’, the Law Society has told the independent review of legal regulation, which Chancery Lane commissioned. In its submission to Lord Hunt’s review, Chancery Lane says sole practitioners ...
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Herbert Smith managing partner predicts pay freeze
Salaries at City law firms are likely to remain static for some years, Herbert Smith managing partner David Willis (pictured) predicted this week after his firm announced 84 job cuts in London. Salaries will be frozen for all staff except trainees in the firm’s London office ...
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Premiums to rise as PII crisis worsens
This year’s professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewals season will be at least as difficult as 2008 and probably worse, the joint Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority PII crisis group has concluded. Premiums will rise because of escalating claims on PII policies – especially from the ...
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News
Green paper proposes role for local community in selecting judges
Aspiring district judges could have to win the endorsement of local community figures to secure appointment, under new proposals unveiled by the government today (29 April). The Ministry of Justice wants communities to work with the Judicial Appointments Commission in the ‘selection and deployment’ of district ...
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Hopes for tech and media bonanza unfounded, research shows
Hopes that a boom in technology, media and telecoms (TMT) activity could offset the slump in financial services and property may be unrealistic, new research has suggested. A survey published last week predicts a downturn in the TMT sector because of funding problems faced by businesses. ...
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Impact of budget belt-tightening may not last
I’ll bet some of the law’s City types were at home last night tapping away frantically on a calculator, and I’ll bet that 50% figured in most, if not all, of their equations. Yes, the taxman will be pocketing more of their take home pay – and all in the ...
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Darling cuts and cuts again
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Law Officers Departments will have to make a further £85m in efficiency savings as a result of today’s budget. Chancellor Alistair Darling (pictured) today (22 April) earmarked an additional £5bn in efficiency savings across government on ...
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KBF executives set up new legal lending firm
Executives behind the Iceland-funded legal lender that collapsed amid last autumn’s banking crisis have launched a new venture, offering a similar service based on what they say is a more robust funding model. Key Business Finance (KBF), which supplied nearly 15% of law firms in ...