All articles by John Hyde – Page 322

  • News

    Review of regulation? Let’s fire the LSB for a start

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    In a former life I was an entertainment writer. I interviewed Steve Coogan and Sir Cliff – I even went to a Justin Bieber concert (my hearing is still suffering from the screaming – not my own I should add). I was great fun at dinner ...

  • News

    Claims management ‘list of shame’ to go online

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Claims management companies that are under investigation will be named online, the Ministry of Justice said today. The list, which goes live next Thursday, will include details of what action is being taken and the reason for it. The MoJ, which runs ...

  • News

    Slaughter: further court closures will bring ‘chaos’

    03 June 2013

    Shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter has warned the government that a further round of court closures would be ‘reckless and chaotic’. Speculation is growing that the Ministry of Justice will soon announce at least 80 further court closures – mainly magistrates’ courts – to add to ...

  • News

    Bar Council faces probe over cab rank ‘interference’

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    The Legal Services Board is to formally investigate whether the Bar Council breached rules to interfere in a controversial decision affecting the cab rank rule. The investigation follows information provided earlier this year about the council’s role in representing its members. Chris ...

  • News

    Hodge holds fire on ‘tax avoidance by lawyers’

    03 June 2013

    The Commons public spending watchdog has no plans to call lawyers before its headline-grabbing inquiry into tax avoidance – at least before the summer recess. The public accounts committee, chaired by Margaret Hodge MP, has lacerated representatives from the Big Four accounting firms at recent hearings, ...

  • News

    Claims against the NHS set to surge

    03 June 2013

    Clinical negligence cases against the NHS increased by 18% in 2012/13, government figures have revealed. Statistics compiled by the Department for Work and Pensions found there were 16,006 cases registered with the compensation recovery unit last year, compared with 13,517 for 2011/12. ...

  • News

    Panel firms named as claims against NHS soar

    03 June 2013

    The Department of Health has announced its roster of defendant panel firms that will share a £400m contract for the NHS in England over the next four years. After a tender process lasting several months, successful bidders were informed this morning. ...

  • News

    Growth rate plummets at top 100 firms

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Fee income growth achieved by the top 100 UK law firms more than halved in 2012/13, according to financial consultant Deloitte. The country’s leading firms managed a 2.6% increase in revenue for the last financial year, compared with a 6.6% increase in 2011/12. The year was capped off by a ...

  • News

    Jackson LJ to rule on his own reforms

    2013-05-27T00:00:00Z

    Lord Justice Jackson is one of five High Court judges appointed to hear appeals arising from his costs reforms.

  • News

    LSB relies on regulators to see off DBA ‘mis-selling’ fear

    2013-05-27T00:00:00Z

    The Legal Services Board will not introduce specific guidance for damages-based agreements

  • News

    Government denies plan for ‘wholesale privatisation’ of courts

    2013-05-27T00:00:00Z

    The Ministry of Justice has denied it has plans for the ‘wholesale privatisation’ of the courts service – despite extra pressure from the Treasury to reduce spending..

  • News

    Quindell strikes pioneering claims deal with Honda UK

    2013-05-27T00:00:00Z

    Listed personal injury consolidator Quindell is to offer accident management services to all UK Honda customers.

  • News

    Culture change needed at BSB, says super-regulator

    2013-05-27T00:00:00Z

    The Bar Standards Board will encounter ‘significant challenges’ in emulating the Solicitors Regulation Authority

  • News

    ‘Simples’: Compare The Market owner BGL buys Minster Law

    2013-05-27T00:00:00Z

    BGL Group, the owner of price-comparison site Compare the Market, has bought personal injury specialist Minster Law

  • News

    LSA now better reflected in firms’ business plans

    2013-05-27T00:00:00Z

    The proportion of firms that expect to change their business strategy in response to the Legal Services Act has more than doubled in the last three years

  • News

    Legal firms looking to outsource back-office work

    27 May 2013

    Outsourcing providers say they are experiencing a wave of interest from law firms looking to transfer the employment of back-office staff.la

  • News

    What’s so bad about privatising our courts?

    2013-05-27T00:00:00Z

    When I were a lad, the trains were genuinely horrible. They were dirty, usually late and (in my corner of Essex at least) they had manual doors so you could get on board while the train was still moving. It always ...

  • News

    SRA vigil as over 50 law firms fear collapse

    27 May 2013

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority is continuing to supervise more than 50 firms at risk of financial collapse, after reporting a figure of 56 in March.

  • News

    Will-writing could still be regulated

    20 May 2013

    Will-writing could eventually be brought within the scope of regulation, despite the government’s spurning of the profession’s call to make it a reserved activity. Justice secretary Chris Grayling last week responded to the Legal Services Board’s recommendation for regulation by saying there was insufficient evidence ...

  • News

    North-west paralegal initiative

    20 May 2013

    A group of law firms has come together to create a paralegal apprenticeship, as financial pressures on the sector start to take effect. Nine firms based in the north-west have formed the Legal Sector Employer Skills Group to take on 100 paralegals, who start their apprenticeships ...