All articles by John Hyde – Page 335
-
News
Crackdown on political lobbyists under fire
The legal profession has warned the government it is fixing its sights on the wrong target with plans for a register of political lobbyists. Downing Street confirmed last week that it wants to create a statutory register, with legislation published within six weeks, following allegations involving ...
-
News
Law firms warned on debt recovery
Law firms involved in debt recovery work have been warned by the regulator to ensure they have proper control over what is being done in their name. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has seen an increase in cases where solicitors working with debt recovery companies are in ...
-
News
SRA puts a price on extra intervention levy
Each solicitor may have to pay an extra £23 a year in compensation fund contributions to pay for future interventions into failing firms. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has decided to use the compensation fund to meet the estimated £7m budget overspend on interventions this year, occasioned ...
-
News
Growth rate plummets at top 100 firms
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
Claims against the NHS set to surge
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
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
Hodge holds fire on ‘tax avoidance by lawyers’
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
Bar Council faces probe over cab rank ‘interference’
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
Slaughter: further court closures will bring ‘chaos’
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
Claims management ‘list of shame’ to go online
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
Review of regulation? Let’s fire the LSB for a start
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
‘No limits’ to regulation review
The Ministry of Justice has said there will be no limits to a far-reaching review of the regulation of legal services. Justice minister Helen Grant (pictured) today called on regulators and providers of legal services to show how the burden of regulation can be reduced. ...
-
News
Starmer offers victims ‘right to review’
Victims of crime, including bereaved family members, will have the right to ask prosecutors to look again at a case following a decision not to charge or to discontinue proceedings. The government will today set out plans to allow appeals against decisions taken by the Crown ...
-
News
SRA vigil as over 50 law firms fear collapse
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
What’s so bad about privatising our courts?
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
Legal firms looking to outsource back-office work
Outsourcing providers say they are experiencing a wave of interest from law firms looking to transfer the employment of back-office staff.la
-
News
LSA now better reflected in firms’ business plans
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
‘Simples’: Compare The Market owner BGL buys Minster Law
BGL Group, the owner of price-comparison site Compare the Market, has bought personal injury specialist Minster Law
-
News
Culture change needed at BSB, says super-regulator
The Bar Standards Board will encounter ‘significant challenges’ in emulating the Solicitors Regulation Authority
-
News
Quindell strikes pioneering claims deal with Honda UK
Listed personal injury consolidator Quindell is to offer accident management services to all UK Honda customers.