All articles by John Hyde – Page 342
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News
Fall in solicitor prosecutions
The number of prosecutions opened against solicitors fell dramatically in the first quarter of 2013. The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Legal & Enforcement division issued just 17 Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal cases in the first three months of this year, compared ...
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Insurance giants in law firm ventures
Insurance giant Admiral is poised this week to move into legal services through a joint venture with national firm Lyons Davidson. The partnership – set to be announced as the Gazette went to press – is the most significant of a spate of tie-ups between insurers ...
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More firms using unrated insurers for PII
The proportion of law firms relying on an unrated insurer for professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover almost doubled last year, a new survey has revealed. Around 16% of cash-strapped practices – including almost a quarter of sole practitioners – ignored warnings about unrated insurers as they ...
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Quindell acquires costs recovery firm in £14m deal
Listed legal entity Quindell Portfolio has announced the acquisition of costs firm Compass Costs in a deal with a paper value of £14m. The takeover was announced to the AIM stock exchange this morning and was secured through the issue of 80m Quindell shares – around ...
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Bird & Bird leads shareholders in record £4bn RBS suit
Shareholders of the Royal Bank of Scotland today issued legal proceedings against the bank and four former directors in a claim that could be worth as much as £4bn. The RBOS Shareholder Action Group, represented by international firm Bird & Bird, claims that the bank’s directors ...
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Solicitor wins BBC RTA apology
The BBC has apologised after failing to reveal its source for a claim that one in seven RTA claims results from a staged collision. Home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds made the unattributed claim on a News at Ten report on 15 February on the conviction of ...
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Motor insurer partners with law firm as referral ban bites
The UK’s fourth biggest motor insurer has become the first to announce a partnership with a law firm in the aftermath of the ban on referral fees. Ageas UK has agreed a five-year partnership with Cardiff firm NewLaw to provide services for customers making non-fault personal ...
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Insurers use referral fee ban to feather their own nests
Readers will remember that former justice minister Jonathan Djanogly was required to begin many public appearances by declaring an interest (‘possibly’) in the insurance sector.
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Law Society stands by Jackson CFA guidance
The Law Society has said it stands by its draft model conditional fee agreement, which was issued ahead of the Jackson reforms coming into force. The Society has faced criticism from some online commentators that the documents contained errors and could not be relied upon. ...
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Judge criticises ‘desultory’ training in run-up to 1 April
A senior member of the judiciary has become the first judge to criticise in public the level of training given ahead of the Jackson reforms coming into force. Senior master Steven Whitaker (pictured), who is also the Queen’s remembrancer at the Royal Courts of Justice, said ...
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Quindell adds a software company to its portfolio
Fast-expanding alternative business structure Quindell Portfolio today announced the acquisition of a supplier of a case-management system. Quindell, which over the past year has acquired three law firms, announced the takeover of iSaaS Technology Ltd to the AIM stock exchange this morning. The company markets ...
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News
Burden of proof on firms after fee ban
Personal injury firms will be expected to retain records and management information from next Monday to prove that payments for cases do not fall within the referral fee ban. Definitive rules for the ban will be published when the SRA Handbook is changed to coincide with ...
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Appeal judge makes blistering attack on ‘emasculating’ legal aid cuts
A retired judge has used one of his final cases to launch an attack on the government’s ‘emasculation’ of legal aid. Sir Alan Ward said judges of all levels were facing increasing difficulties with litigants in person – a problem which will only get worse when ...
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Troubled Ashton Fox bought by Antony Hodari in pre-pack deal
North-west personal injury firm Antony Hodari has announced the acquisition of Preston firm Ashton Fox in a pre-pack deal. Ashton Fox went in to administration last month. The deal, for an undisclosed amount, includes all work in progress, totaling around 8,000 cases, predominantly on mortgage ...
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LLPs set for tax avoidance probe
Law firms operating as LLPs could be caught in a planned crackdown on avoidance of national insurance payments. In last week’s budget, chancellor George Osborne announced plans to consult on ‘removing the presumption of self-employment’ from limited liability partnerships. The budget ...
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Referral fee ban: no period of grace, says SRA
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned firms there will be ‘no transitional period’ after the referral fee ban comes into force next Monday. The regulator today published guidance and support for personal injury firms trying to adapt their business models to get work without paying for ...
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News
NHS will benefit from legal duty of candour, says lawyer
A legal duty of candour will save the NHS money in the long term through more transparent clinical negligence claims, a leading specialist lawyer has predicted. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday confirmed that the NHS will have a legal duty to be honest about mistakes, following ...
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Grayling looks to boost revenue from litigation
Justice secretary Chris Grayling will consult on plans to raise more money from those who litigate in courts in England and Wales. Grayling today announced he had asked his department to look at reform of the resourcing and administration of HM Courts & Tribunals Service. ...
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This judgment is sponsored by Budweiser
There are always two clues for the eagle-eyed journalist that an announcement is going to cause trouble. The first is the announcement itself: the less detail, the more controversial it’s likely to turn out. It’s like the Titanic captain telling passengers the ship is suffering a ...