All articles by John Hyde – Page 341
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News
WHSmith tie-up had mixed results, QS pioneer says
A leading figure at high street brand QualitySolicitors has admitted the tie-up with WHSmith has not worked for all signatory firms. John Baden-Daintree, head of legal services at QS, told the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) conference last Friday that some practices had seen few ...
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ABS delay frustrating for Scottish lawyers
Firms in Scotland are growing increasingly frustrated by delays to the advent of alternative business structures north of the border, according to senior lawyers. The Law Society of Scotland confirmed last week that its plans to be an approved regulator of the new entities are on ...
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APIL can celebrate survival, if little else
Given that most of the planet has been wiped out by terrifying aliens, the film Independence Day ends on a remarkably happy note. President Bill Pullman rallies his troops and assures them the future is bright. You survived, he tells them, and that’s reason enough to celebrate. Now get digging ...
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Firms still failing to ask for client feedback, survey shows
Most law firms are failing to get proper feedback from clients after carrying out work for them, new research has found. A YouGov SixthSense survey of more than 2,000 adults found just 20% of those who had used law firms and solicitors in the last three ...
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SRA moves to calm fears over indemnity insurer
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has sought to reassure hundreds of law firms using Balva for professional indemnity cover after the Latvian company was placed under new restrictions. The Financial Conduct Authority has updated its register following a decision by Latvian regulators to prohibit Balva from writing ...
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News
Chancery Lane wants voice at whiplash inquiry
The Law Society has demanded that solicitors’ voices are heard when MPs come to hear evidence on whiplash. The House of Commons transport select committee will invite witnesses to appear in parliament later this year having today closed the call for evidence. ...
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Firm defends police officer Kelly Jones in kerb claim
The personal injury firm at the centre of a media furore over a claimant police officer has insisted its client is right to press on with the case. National firm Pattinson & Brewer said Norfolk officer PC Kelly Jones is continuing with a claim against a ...
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News
Europe reviews cross-border claims
The European Commission is to review the operation of a cross-border claims service, after admitting it has failed to make an impression with consumers. The European Small Claims Procedure was launched four years ago to resolve cross-border disputes worth less than €2,000. ...
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News
New entrants must have old principles, Townsend tells PI sector
Solicitors must not abandon their principles even if they are forming ventures with new entrants from outside the profession, the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s chief executive said today. Antony Townsend (pictured) told the annual Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) conference that the sector was ‘complicated’ by ...
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News
Be proud and fight on, PI lawyers told
The incoming president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has told colleagues they have no choice but to fight on in the face of government-imposed reforms. Matthew Stockwell told the annual APIL conference at Celtic Manor near Newport yesterday that the claimant industry had failed ...
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News
MPs throw out health and safety liability move
MPs have rejected a House of Lords amendment that sought to cancel out significant changes to 39-year-old health and safety legislation. The government wants to change Section 47 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to remove the principle of strict liability and force ...
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News
Judiciary ‘not ready’ for Jackson reforms
A High Court judge has told parties involved in some clinical negligence claims to ignore the Jackson reforms for at least six months. A practice note written last month and distributed to law firms by Master Roberts, one of two High Court clinical negligence masters, revealed ...
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News
No ABSs in Scotland until ‘end of 2013’
Alternative business structures will not be introduced in Scotland until the end of the year at the earliest. The Scottish government wants more time to review the Law Society of Scotland’s application to be an approved regulator. The Society – the only ...
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News
Law firm ABS ventures for insurer Admiral
Insurance giant Admiral Group has confirmed two joint ventures with law firms. The UK motor insurance giant has joined with national firm Lyons Davidson and Cardiff firm Cordner Lewis to create Admiral Law and BDE Law. The insurer confirmed in a ...
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News
Lord Sugar’s court victory cue for campaign against employment laws
Business leader Lord Sugar has vowed to fight in the House of Lords against a ‘new wave of claim culture’ after seeing off a claim from a former winner of The Apprentice. Stella English lost her claim for constructive dismissal after a tribunal rejected her argument ...
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News
CoA backs Law Society on disbursement liability
Solicitors who help their clients by funding the cost of disbursements should not be liable for costs if a case fails, the Court of Appeal has ruled. The ruling came after an intervention by the Law Society in the case of Flatman v Germany published today ...
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Wales broaches support plan
The Welsh government is in talks with the Law Society about providing taxpayers’ money to support new and existing law firms in the country, the Gazette can reveal. Meetings were held last week with a view to the government offering help to domestic firms in ...
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News
New code of conduct for CMCs
Claims management companies will have to agree contracts in writing with their clients before taking fees, the Ministry of Justice announced today. The MoJ’s claims management regulator published new conduct rules – coming into force from this summer – in its response to a consultation on ...
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News
MoJ cuts driven by Treasury demands
The Treasury played a key role in cajoling justice ministers to push ahead with civil litigation reforms, an influential House of Commons committee report has suggested. A public accounts committee report into the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA), which groups together departmental financial statements for the ...
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Fighting talk from PI firms despite Jackson
Surviving personal injury firms say they will emerge from bruising civil litigation reforms stronger than ever, despite gloomy forecasts for the sector. The Jackson reforms and this month’s 60% cut in fixed fees through the RTA Portal have forced many firms to make redundancies and reduce ...