All articles by John Hyde – Page 337
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‘Don’t ditch quality,’ says Desmond Hudson
Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson has warned firms to avoid a ‘race to the bottom’ as they seek to survive and prosper in a tough market.
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Shadow minister hints at ‘unwind’ of Jackson reforms
Labour’s shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter has given the biggest hint yet that his party might seek to undo some civil justice reforms if returned to power. Slaughter (pictured) told today’s Westminster Legal Policy Forum that it was too early to judge the effectiveness of Jackson ...
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SRA’s popularity slips
Solicitors are less likely to speak positively of the Solicitors Regulation Authority than they were a year ago, a Law Society survey has found. Firms who took part in the 2012/13 winter poll were less likely than a year before to give ‘good’ ratings for the ...
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Quindell tries to calm investors after shares slide
Attempts by fast-growing legal entity Quindell Portfolio to ease investors’ concerns appear to have had little effect after a second day of tumbling share prices. The company released a statement yesterday after its shares on the London AIM stock market fell by 28%. ...
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Future ‘not necessarily bleak’ for costs lawyers
The judge responsible for implementing the Jackson reforms has spoken of his hope that third-party funding will become more prevalent in financing cases. Mr Justice Ramsey told the Association of Costs Lawyers annual conference the future of third-party litigation funding was one of the ‘great questions’ ...
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‘Significant concerns’ over costs budgeting
Solicitors have ‘significant concerns’ that costs budgeting will increase overall costs due to the time taken to comply with it. An 18-month pilot study into new costs rules brought in by the Jackson reforms has found they will get a mixed response from practitioners forced into ...
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HJA rejects Magdalene ‘cash cow’ slurs
A claimant firm that advertised for victims of the Magdalene laundries has rejected accusations it is using the notorious Irish scandal as a ‘cash cow’ for lawyers. London firm Hodge Jones & Allen was criticised in the Irish media after it placed advertisements asking for women ...
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Women trailing at magic circle elite
The magic circle’s commitment to diversity will again be called into question after the proportion of women making partner in 2013 fell below 20%. The quintet of UK-based firms appointed just 13 women worldwide out of a total of 73. In last year’s round, ...
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PI shake-up continues with two new takeovers
Contraction in the personal injury market has continued with the announcement of two new takeovers. North-west firm Antony Hodari has completed the purchase of litigation specialist Tandem Law through its AVH Legal trading arm. The acquisition was agreed with Tandem Law’s administrators ...
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Private equity spurns law firm advances
Law firms will continue to be unattractive to private equity investors until they improve how they present their financial situation and partners invest their own cash, leading investors said yesterday. John Llewellyn-Lloyd, head of professional services at investment bank Espirito Santo, said external investment was the ...
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Stobart to bid for new legal aid contracts
Stobart Group is likely to bid for a contract if the government goes ahead with plans for price-competitive tendering for criminal legal aid, the business confirmed today. Trevor Howarth, group legal director for Stobart Barristers, said the fixed-fee service had been created with changes to ...
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Small-claims threshold decision in autumn, Grant says
A government decision on the limit of the size of claims handled by the small-claims court will not be made until the autumn, justice minister Helen Grant revealed today. Grant (pictured) said the Ministry of Justice’s response to a public consultation, which closed in March, is ...
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Majority will avoid sanctions on compliance
Only a small minority of the 928 people or firms being investigated over compliance officer nominations will face sanctions, the Solicitors Regulation Authority revealed last week. Enforcement action is under way against those who either failed to nominate COLPs and COFAs before the deadline or where ...
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Saatchi promises safeguards in negligence immunity bill
Advertising magnate Lord Saatchi will today outline how he intends to protect doctors from negligence claims if they innovate in the treatment of cancer patients. In a speech to the Royal Society of Medicine, Saatchi will explain how doctors can be encouraged to innovate without being ...
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Our only certainty is uncertainty
Sado-masochism, that's the only possible answer. How else do you explain why so many solicitors line up for conferences about the future of the legal profession, like lobsters clambering to the front of the tank for a better view of the cooking instructions? I speak as ...
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PI firms can prosper with right skills, says Graves
Personal injury firms can survive and prosper in the new era of lower fixed fees if they upskill their workforce and filter out more profitable cases, a leading legal consultant has told the Gazette. Lesley Graves (pictured), founder of Citadel Law, said that up to 10% ...
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Society targets ‘special relationship’ with US visit
Closer links between UK and US law firms were the focus of a Law Society visit to Washington DC last week.
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Society warns against muddling funding for interventions
The Law Society has called for ‘proper transparency’ if regulators are to pay intervention costs out of compensation fund reserves. The Solicitors Regulation Authority confirmed on Wednesday it wants to cover an estimated £7m overspend on interventions this year by using money held in the compensation fund. The SRA says ...
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SRA getting better at complaints – independent assessor
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has ‘significantly improved’ how it deals with complaints about its service, an independent assessor has concluded. The Independent Complaints Review Service (ICRS) upheld or partially upheld 75 cases out of 245 separate complaints issued from October 2011 to the end of 2012. ...
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SRA wants compensation fund to cover intervention bill
The SRA has decided not to impose a one-off levy on solicitors to pay for the rising cost of intervening in failed firms, but wants the multimillion-pound bill to fall on the rapidly diminishing compensation fund instead.