All articles by John Hyde – Page 336
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News
Private equity firm hires planning team as ABS total hits 160
A law firm backed by James Caan’s private equity investment company has announced the appointment of a team of six town planners. Knights Solicitors, which secured an alternative business structure licence in January, will incorporate the new additions into its real estate team. ...
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News
Judges call for urgent overhaul to cope with surge of LIPs
The government and judicial office must overhaul training, advice to litigants and the nature of the court process itself to deal with thousands more litigants in person (LIPs), a judicial working group has concluded. In a report published today, the working group, made up of senior ...
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News
Society calls for hold on fixed-fee extension
The Law Society today urged the government to delay the extension of the RTA Portal to new civil litigation areas – which will mean fixed fees for all claims worth up to £25,000 – warning that law firms may not be ready for the change. The ...
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News
The SRA's catch-22
It doesn’t seem like a week can go by without the Solicitors Regulation Authority making a jaw-dropping revelation. First it was ‘You will have to sell the family silver to fund interventions’, then ‘You’ll have to find a bit more down the sofa to cover the ...
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News
Public still sees lawyers as ‘arrogant’
Regulation of legal services is not working to promote public trust in the profession as lawyers continue to be perceived as accountable only to themselves, new research has suggested. Surveys carried out by the Legal Services Board found a perception that legal professionals are not answerable ...
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News
Solicitors warned over RTA Portal registration
Solicitors have been warned they risk running out of time if they delay registering for the extended online claims portal. From 31 July employers’ and public liability claims will be brought into the RTA Portal with fixed fees for practitioners in those areas. ...
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News
MASS calls for blanket inducements ban
The group representing RTA claimant solicitors has said it is ‘disappointed’ that inducements for claims will not be banned. Last week the Solicitors Regulation Authority stated there was no reason to outlaw cash or gift enticements to potential claimants. The Motor Accident Solicitors Society today entered the debate and called ...
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News
Psychic's libel battle ends in victory
Who? Graham Atkins, 46, founding partner of media specialists Atkins Thomson.Why is he in the news? Represented psychic Sally Morgan in her successful libel action against the publisher of the Daily Mail. The newspaper had accused her of using a hidden earpiece during a Dublin show to receive instructions from ...
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Feature
Specialist courts under microscope on costs budgeting
Exempting mandatory costs budgeting for claims in excess of £2m may be ‘unnecessary and inappropriate’, a newly established sub-group of the Civil Procedure Rule committee has suggested. An intervention from the Judicial Office in February ensured that high-value commercial cases would be exempt from impending Jackson reforms. It meant that ...
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News
Delay in switch of CMC complaints
The government is almost certain to miss its target for transferring complaints about claims management companies (CMCs) to the Legal Ombudsman. The Ministry of Justice cannot yet say when the plans – unveiled last August – will come to fruition. The move was scheduled to be completed this year, but ...
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News
Merged firms promise to retain high street presence
Birmingham firm DBS Law – which last month advertised for potential acquisition targets – has announced the first fruits of its merger campaign. The firm revealed today that it has merged with neighbouring firm Hearne & Co, saying it is determined to challenge current market ...
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News
Want to be a partner? Borrow against rising house prices
A loan provider is offering finance to solicitors aiming to become equity partners in law firms – in exchange for a stake in the rising value of their home. Castle Trust, which was set up with backing from private equity giant JC Flowers, says there is ...
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News
Inducements: damage limitation
Let’s make this clear: inducements to purchase a service or product are a fundamental and legitimate part of business. I’m still with the same bank that offered me free cash back in freshers’ week at university, and I’ll bet many others are in the same boat. ...
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News
Judges look again at £2m claims exemption
Exempting mandatory costs budgeting for claims in excess of £2m may be ‘unnecessary and inappropriate’, a newly established sub-group of the Civil Procedure Rule committee has suggested. An intervention from the Judicial Office in February ensured that high-value commercial cases would be exempt from impending Jackson ...
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News
Redundancies at Direct Line
Up to 40 legal staff, including solicitors, have been placed at risk of redundancy after insurance giant Direct Line announced a major restructuring plan. The Gazette understands a mixture of fee-earners and back-office staff from national firm Parabis were told this morning they are affected. Based ...
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News
LETR: allow non-graduates direct access, says SRA chair
Law courses should be tailored to allow non-graduates a direct route into the solicitors’ profession, Charles Plant, chairman of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, said today. He was responding to the report of the Legal Education and Training Review, published this afternoon, which says more flexibility ...
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News
‘Last chance saloon’ on costs
A leading academic has warned solicitors that judges will grant no more latitude to those who default on their case budgets. Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School told the Liverpool Law Society conference that firms exceeding their budget will be ‘in the deepest of trouble’. Regan, who assisted Lord ...
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News
Taylor Wessing looks to cut a quarter of secretarial posts
More than a quarter of secretarial roles are at risk of redundancy at top-20 firm Taylor Wessing. The international firm wants to cut its London-based secretarial staff by 26 roles and has started a 30-day consultation process with affected staff. A spokeswoman for the firm said voluntary redundancy would not ...
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News
Wiltshire solicitor’s murderer jailed for 28 years
A disgruntled litigant has been sentenced to 28 years in jail for the murder of Wiltshire solicitor Jim Ward. Michael Chudley, 63, shot Ward with a sawn-off shotgun on 2 July last year at the MGW Law building in Devizes. Chudley had ...
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News
HRA applies to soldiers on duty, Supreme Court confirms
The solicitor leading the case for the families of soldiers killed on duty in Iraq has welcome today’s Supreme Court judgment that gives them the right to claim against the UK government. Susan Smith (pictured, centre), Colin Redpath (pictured, left) and Karla and Courtney Ellis, known ...