All articles by John Hyde – Page 348
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News
Business leaders have grown ‘diversity weary’
Managers of leading professional firms are growing ‘diversity weary’, according to the organisers of a poll of business leaders. Research commissioned by City firm Reed Smith found concerns that ‘a flurry’ of initiatives to encourage more women into senior roles could lead to a backlash. ...
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COLP cover-up is unforgivable – and that’s the truth
Cards on the table - we’ve all told the odd porkie on an application form. You might add an inch or two to your height on a dating website or fake an interest in the theatre for a job application. I am not immune, dear readers, ...
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40 jobs at risk at CMS Cameron McKenna
City firm CMS Cameron McKenna has confirmed it has put 40 roles in the UK at risk of redundancy. The announcement was made today following a review of the domestic business structure. The roles are a mixture of legal, legal support and secretarial, with 26 of ...
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Six more firms win ABS status
Personal injury firms from both the defendant and claimant sectors are among a glut of new alternative business structures announced today. The Solicitors Regulation Authority confirmed the identities of six new licences to take the total it has granted up to 74. Six more are due ...
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Betfair founder backs new ABS Brilliant Law
A team of non-solicitors with financial support from the founder of betting exchange website Betfair has announced its arrival into the legal market. Former Minster Law chief executive Matthew Briggs (pictured) and one-time BSkyB director Jeremy Fenn will be joint managers of Leeds-based Brilliant Law. ...
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Call for criminal sanctions against care home owners
A former health minister today called for legislation to hold corporations criminally accountable for abuse and neglect in care homes. In a 10-minute rule motion, Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow proposed a new offence of corporate neglect where senior management allowed abuse to occur. ...
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Brilliant Law? It’s just a wolf in wolf’s clothing
I’ve never quite understood the antagonism towards foreign football club chairmen. Sure, we may question how the likes of Abramovich and Glazer acquired their money (or even if they have any at all), but to me there’s something deeper afoot. These people are foreign outsiders: they’re ...
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Compensation fund review to take two years
A full-scale review of the compensation fund will take two years to complete, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed. Regulators want to weigh up whether existing arrangements provide effective protection for consumers of legal services, as well as address any solicitors’ concerns about the scheme. ...
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Regulator ponders guillotine on PPI complaints
The Financial Services Authority has opened talks on introducing a time limit for payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints. In a statement released this afternoon, the FSA admitted there had been ‘initial discussions’ to consider the merits of a limit. The talks followed an approach by the ...
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Society critical of employee shareholder contracts
The government’s proposals for employee shareholder contracts will only add to red tape for small businesses and create confusion about workers’ rights, the Law Society has warned. The plans, contained in the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, are currently before the House of Lords having been passed ...
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DWF expands national presence with new merger
In the latest sign of consolidation in the legal sector, business firm DWF today announced a merger with insurance firm Fishburns.
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Flexed ABS and flip-flops – my predictions for 2013
I’ll admit it’s been a slow start to 2013 here at Gazette Towers. So slow, in fact, that my ‘2013 predictions’ piece is now three days overdue. If I left it any later this piece would have to be a recap on the year so far. So my apologies for ...
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Cherie Booth’s consultancy among latest ABS approvals
An international legal consultancy chaired by Cherie Booth QC and a franchise for individual lawyers are among a glut of new year alternative business structure (ABS) announcements. In the space of 24 hours, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed seven new ABSs to bring the total ...
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Society calls for freeze on civil justice reform
The government must postpone all further civil justice reforms until lawyers have had sufficient time to prepare for change, the Law Society said today. Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff welcomed justice secretary Chris Grayling’s decision to halt April’s expansion of the RTA Portal – confirmed over ...
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Co-op fined for PPI complaints-handling
The Co-operative Bank has been fined £113,000 for failing to handle payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints fairly. The bank had put a ‘significant proportion’ of its 1,629 complaints on hold in 2011 whilst the British Bankers Association’s ultimately unsuccessful High Court challenge to new Financial Services ...
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Ombudsman sets out new fees plan
A tougher approach to ‘free’ investigations will allow the Legal Ombudsman to raise an extra £1.6m through case fees in 2013/14, the ombudsman’s office revealed today. In the coming financial year the ombudsman will charge firms for their first case rather than allow two free ...
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News
11% of firms still lack compliance officers
Nominated staff at more than 8,800 firms this week took up their new roles as compliance officers. The Solicitors Regulation Authority confirmed that individuals at 89% of firms were approved to start work as watchdogs for legal practice, and finance and administration, known as COLPs and ...
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News
RTA Portal: no plan B as government postpones expansion
The government has refused to reveal an alternative date for extending the RTA Portal scheme after announcing a postponement of its 1 April target today. As the Gazette reported before Christmas, the plan to extend the scheme to handle claims up to £25,000, as well ...
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RTA Portal software may not be ready for deadline
The company running the expanded claims portal today admitted a significant setback in meeting the government’s April deadline for handling new types of claims. In a statement, RTA Portal Co revealed it will have to build the software for the extended system on the basis of ...
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New model pioneers win ABS status
Two of the highest-profile flagbearers for new models of legal service ownership have won approval as alternative business structures. Knights Solicitors, owned by James Caan’s private equity vehicle Hamilton Bradshaw, and stock exchange-listed personal injury company Quindell Portfolio were both confirmed as ABSs by the Solicitors ...