All articles by John Hyde – Page 331
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News
Leniency for whistleblowing? This is not the NYPD
Call me a stooge if you like, but I reckon the Law Society is bang on the money with this one. Yesterday it emerged that Chancery Lane is opposed to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s plan to offer whistleblowers leniency if they shop their partners in crime. ...
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A dissenting Judge
Lord Judge, as we all know, has a wonderfully apt name. Not as good as the anaesthetist from Essex called Doctor De’ath but certainly enough to raise a smile. However that’s not the main reason why I’ll miss the Lord Chief Justice when he hangs up the gown and retires ...
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Jackson reforms ‘undermined’ by landmark costs ruling
A judgment on costs today by the Court of Appeal will have significant ramifications for litigators preparing for the Jackson reforms. The court found there was ‘good reason’ for a claimant’s original costs estimate to go over budget by more than £268,000. The appeal, in Henry ...
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Solicitors face sanction threat over COLP/COFA forms
Solicitors who failed to disclose relevant information about their past on compliance officer applications could have their licences removed, regulators have warned. The Solicitors Regulation Authority plans to pursue hundreds of applicants who failed to declare facts such as criminal convictions or a previous ...
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DWF rides to rescue of Cobbetts
National firm DWF has announced its intention to acquire troubled firm Cobbetts.
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DBA caps set by government
Damages based agreements (DBAs) are to be capped at 25% for personal injury and 50% for any other claim, the government confirmed in a statutory instrument setting out how the civil litigation reforms will work when they come into force on 1 April. As expected, DBAs ...
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Lord Judge ‘troubled’ by court camera plan
The lord chief justice has voiced opposition to the government’s plan to allow the filming of sentencing in the Crown court. Lord Judge said today he was ‘troubled by cameras swanning around court’. Appearing before the House of Lords constitution committee ...
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SRA calms referral fee fears
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will try to appease firms worried about the lack of ‘safe harbour’ advice on coping with the ban on referral fees by publishing genuine case studies of acceptable business models. The regulator last week repeated it will not pre-approve models that ...
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Call for care failings disclosure laws
NHS trusts and their lawyers should be forced by law to reveal when care providers have made serious mistakes, campaigners have said in the run-up to the report of the inquiry into alleged failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. Peter Walsh, chief executive of ...
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Texas considers plan to open borders to foreigners
The US state of Texas is considering a plan to open its borders to foreign lawyers and compete with New York for the best international talent.
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Pinsent Masons boosts outsourcing trend with Krakow deal
City firm Pinsent Masons has become the latest law practice to outsource key services by sending documents to be reviewed in Poland. The firm used Capita’s outsourced legal services operation in Krakow to review aspects of a large dispute. Both parties had ...
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Civil justice advisers condemn PI fixed fees as ‘unrealistic’
Fixed-fee proposals for personal injury work are unrealistic and should wait until at least 2014, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) has advised. The independent advisory body chaired by the master of the rolls has told the government it should hold back from new costs plans before ...
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Lyons rebuts Admiral takeover reports
Personal injury firm Lyons Davidson has flatly denied press reports that it is in takeover talks with insurance giant Admiral. An article in the Mail on Sunday claimed that British insurer Admiral planned to buy the national firm, which last year became an alternative business structure, ...
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Cobbetts set to go into administration
National firm Cobbetts has announced it is seeking protection from creditors as a buyer is sought for the business.
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MoJ reveals £600m in court fines are unpaid
The government failed to make any significant impression on the £600m of outstanding debt from court fines during the latest financial year. Helen Grant, justice minister, told parliament this month that outstanding impositions stood at £1.8bn at the end of April 2012. A Ministry of ...
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COLP cover-up is unforgivable – and that’s the truth
Cards on the table - we’ve all told the odd porkie on an application form. You might add an inch or two to your height on a dating website or fake an interest in the theatre for a job application. I am not immune, dear readers, ...
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Business leaders have grown ‘diversity weary’
Managers of leading professional firms are growing ‘diversity weary’, according to the organisers of a poll of business leaders. Research commissioned by City firm Reed Smith found concerns that ‘a flurry’ of initiatives to encourage more women into senior roles could lead to a backlash. ...
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Reform chief predicts 'sweaty palms' over costs budgets
Judges and lawyers will adapt to new costs management rules but the process may take some time, according to the senior judge charged with implementing the Jackson reforms. Lord Justice Ramsey, who has taken over responsibility for the task from Lord Justice Jackson, admitted there will ...
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Legal challenge begins on RTA fixed fees
Claimant groups have formally begun a legal challenge to the government’s plans to cut personal injury fixed costs. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) have jointly applied for a judicial review of the justice secretary’s decision to cut fees ...
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SRA spurns pleas to approve post-Jackson business models
Regulators will reject requests to pre-approve business models that may flout the impending ban on referral fees. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed it will not draw up detailed rules ahead of the ban coming into force in April, despite requests from members of the profession. ...