All articles by John Hyde – Page 337
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News
Gladstone Brookes TV ad falls foul of watchdog
The advertising watchdog has ordered a claims management company (CMC) to stop showing a TV advertisement which exaggerated how long a PPI claim would take. Gladstone Brookes, which instructed almost 71,000 clients in the first eight months of 2012, ran the advertisement stating that ‘reclaiming ...
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Quindell snaps up second law firm
One of the biggest new entrants to the legal services market has added to its growing stable with the acquisition of personal injury firm Pinto Potts. AIM-listed Quindell Portfolio announced the takeover this morning to the stock exchange and confirmed it has bought the firm for ...
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News
Claims manager jailed for insurance fraud
The manager of a claims management company who processed fraudulent insurance claims has been jailed for 21 months. Asif Mallu, 38, organised 10 claims between May and December 2005, making more than £12,000 through solicitors’ referral fees, courtesy car hire and the recovery of vehicles involved. ...
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News
PI firm buys debt recovery service
National firm Irwin Mitchell has announced it is to acquire a debt recovery company and to apply to license it as an alternative business structure. Oxfordshire-based PDP Management Services will operate as a subsidiary of Ascent, which is in turn a subsidiary of personal injury ...
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Berezovsky gets £35m costs bill
Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky (pictured) has been ordered to pay £35m to cover the defence costs of his failed claim against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
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Unhappy consumers ‘intimidated by jargon’
Legal services consumers feel intimidated by jargon when they make complaints to law firms and for that reason are more likely to take their complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, research has found. A survey published today of more than 1,000 people who had complained to the ...
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News
Ten things we learned from the Tory conference
1) Chris Grayling is a popular choice for justice secretary: He wouldn’t exactly be your first choice to enjoy a pint with, but Grayling has the sort of dead-eyed, intransigent attitude to law and order that delights the rank and file. His conference speech granted every ...
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News
CoA finds for insurers on damages uplift
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a 10% uplift on general damages will not apply to cases begun before 1 April on a conditional fee agreement (CFA). In a ruling made today, the most senior judges in England and Wales overturned an earlier judgment that ...
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News
Grayling’s opportunism
Has it really come to this? Will elections of the future really be decided on how much violence we are prepared to countenance against criminals? Chris Grayling’s keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference will today propose a change to the law on self-defence against burglars, ...
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Justice minister: we’ll stop weekend courts pilot if critics are right
New justice minister Jeremy Wright today said the government would cancel plans for weekend court hearings if the trial proves to be unsuccessful. Wright, in his first public speech since joining the department last month, said it would be ‘crazy’ to pursue the policy nationwide if ...
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London legal jobs boom defies downturn
Employment in London in legal services is growing faster than any other financial or professional service, new figures have revealed. According to lobby group TheCityUK, the number of legal services employees in the City rose in the first half of 2012 by 3.3% to 118,700. The ...
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News
No more open chequebooks for expert witnesses, conference warned
Expert witnesses appearing for both sides in clinical negligence could become the norm, the former head of the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) predicted yesterday. Steve Walker, who retired as chief executive of the NHSLA in August after 16 years, said solicitors must find ways to bring ...
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News
Big brands are ABS-olutely unfabulous
What a curious week of news. We had Ed Miliband reinvent himself as electable, Obama somehow do the opposite and numerous ex-BBC staff claim to be horrified at the behaviour of an ex-colleague, despite never thinking to report it themselves. In the legal world, it was a week that on ...
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Rocket Lawyer ready for UK launch
One of the US’s biggest legal brands has confirmed it will enter the UK market from next month. Rocket Lawyer, which offers a do-it-yourself online template as well as referrals to a 25-firm panel, will go live from the end of November after a digital ...
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Society demands insurance reform
Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson has called for immediate reform of the insurance industry after a damning report by the Office of Fair Trading. The consumer watchdog last week reported the industry to the Competition Commission after finding that motorists are being charged too much after an accident. ...
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News
Fewer firms without PII cover set to enter pool
Almost 30 firms had applied to enter the assigned risks pool (ARP) within two days of the professional indemnity insurance deadline passing, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said on Tuesday. The regulator’s figures show 28 firms had failed to secure cover on the open market as ...
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News
Saga targets confused legal consumers
Over-50s holiday specialist Saga said it would target clients ‘bamboozled’ by jargon as it became the second consumer brand name to enter the legal services market. Roger Ramsden, chief executive of Saga Services, said: ‘People want legal advice and products at a price they understand, ...
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News
Justice names new chief
Campaign group Justice has appointed human rights lawyer Andrea Coomber (pictured) as its new director. Coomber, currently legal director of the international human rights organisation Interights, replaces Roger Smith. Smith announced his decision to step down in May after 11 years in the post. ...
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News
We’re keeping our options open, says ABS applicant AA
Breakdown recovery and insurance business AA has insisted it is merely ‘keeping its options open’ by applying for an alternative business structure licence. The company today confirmed it has applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority with a view to providing legal services in the future. It ...
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News
PI insurer’s collapse raises question mark over claims
The Law Society has urged former clients of the collapsed Lemma Europe insurance company to seek advice from their broker as soon as possible. Last week, the Supreme Court of Gibraltar appointed a provisional liquidator to establish the financial position of Lemma after the company had ...