All articles by John Hyde – Page 350
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News
‘Raise cap’ on crime victims’ compensation
Personal injury lawyers have called on the government to raise the cap on compensation for victims of crime. A Ministry of Justice consultation, ‘Getting it right for victims and witnesses’, closed this week after three months. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers responded to the consultation ...
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News
SRA costs plan 'a burden' says Society
The Law Society has told regulators that solicitors should not be expected to pay for losses incurred by uninsured firms. The Solicitors Regulation Authority proposed last week that payments would be taken out of the Compensation Fund from later this year. The fund, paid for by ...
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Firm offers £1,500 advance for PI victims
A personal injury firm with ambitions to open 50 outlets this year is offering a £1,500 cash advance for accident victims who make a claim. GT Law, which has also applied to be an alternative business structure, will require a medical report and insurer’s admission of ...
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News
Whiplash claims need objective evidence, say insurers
The body representing the insurance industry has called for compensation for whiplash claims to be withheld until there is ‘objective evidence’ of injury. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has urged the government to look at radical action to tackle growing numbers of whiplash claims. Speaking ...
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News
Clarke in Jackson reform climbdown
Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke today made a surprise U-turn to postpone Jackson reforms for mesothelioma cases. The issue has been the most controversial aspect of part two of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill, with the Lords voting for a second time on ...
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Tragic effects of Ched Evans case
Perhaps the saddest element of the Ched Evans case is the effect on future victims of sexual offences. Footballer Evans was convicted on Friday of raping a girl in a hotel room who was too drunk to give consent. The Sheffield United and Wales striker, who ...
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Legal aid bill back in Commons for latest ping pong round
The government suffered three more House of Lords defeats to its plans to cut legal aid last night, setting the scene for a further tussle in the Commons today. The parliamentary ping pong follows 11 defeats initially inflicted by peers on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of offenders bill, ...
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News
Double ABS first for NewLaw Legal
A personal injury firm based in Cardiff has become the first Welsh practice to be licensed as an alternative business structure (ABS). NewLaw Legal, founded in 2004, was confirmed as the fourth ABS by the Solicitors Regulation Authority today. It is also ...
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Consumers ‘in the dark’ on CMC practices
A quarter of consumers are not aware that claims management companies (CMCs) take a cut of their mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) claim, a survey has revealed. The joint survey by consumer watchdog Which? and MoneySavingExpert.com found that claimants were unaware of their rights and the ...
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News
Plant: firms 'deluded' to think ABSs won't have impact
A regulation chief has warned the UK’s biggest commercial firms that they are ‘deluded’ to think alternative business structures will not affect them. Solicitors Regulation Authority chairman Charles Plant told the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers conference on Friday that no firm could assume they ...
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News
Time to make for the high ground
Let’s cut to the chase: the best part about conferences is the freebies. Solicitors suddenly turn into scavengers when there’s a free pen or teddy bear in sight, walking away from the venue looking like some wildly unambitious looter. One thing’s for sure, there were be ...
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Solicitors 'refuse to give journalists their names'
A leading court reporting agency says increasing numbers of solicitors are refusing to give their full name to journalists when appearing in court. Guy Toyn, news editor at Central News, told the Gazette that up to one in every 20 solicitors his reporters comes across asks ...
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News
Don’t tell him, Pike!
Our current government is so transfixed by transparency it’ll probably turn holographic any moment. Think about the benefits: we can airbrush Michael Gove, ministers can avoid actually having to meet the public and we’ll finally get to see the Men in Black-style alien controlling Jeremy Hunt ...
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Firms going direct for PII coverage, Law Society poll shows
Increasing numbers of law firms are seeking out their own quotes for professional indemnity insurance, according to a Law Society survey. The poll of 600 firms found almost one-fifth of firms approached insurers directly to get 2011/12 cover - nearly double the proportion who did so ...
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News
Insurance industry ‘deluded’ says PI chief
The incoming president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has launched a stinging attack on the prime minister and insurance industry. Speaking at the APIL conference in Newport today, Karl Tonks accused insurers of creating a ‘dysfunctional’ system through third-party capture of people who would never otherwise make a ...
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News
Wotton urges US to accept ABSs
Law Society president John Wotton will today urge the US to embrace the era of alternative business structures.In a speech to the American Bar Association (ABA) in New York, Wotton is expected to speak of the opportunities for solicitors through non-lawyer ownership of firms.
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News
Insurers under fire for ‘wasted costs’
The incoming leader of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers will go on the attack against insurers this week. Karl Tonks, incoming president of APIL, will use his inaugural speech on Thursday at the group’s annual conference to call for fairness in the civil litigation system. ...
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News
ABA rebuffs proposal for non-lawyer ownership
The American Bar Association has rejected any proposal to change its ban on non-lawyer ownership of firms. The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 decided last week to uphold the prohibition after a three-year of consultation with the profession.
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News
Hundreds of CMCs ‘cancelled’ by MoJ
The Ministry of Justice has closed down about one in five claims management companies in the past year, according to figures obtained by the Gazette. A freedom of information request to the MoJ’s Claims Management Regulation department has revealed that 734 businesses were ‘cancelled’ in ...
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News
Law firm is business loan pioneer
An East Anglian high street firm is one of the first businesses in the country to secure a loan through a new government-backed financing scheme. Tees Solicitors, which has six offices across four counties, has obtained £2m from Barclays under the National Loan Guarantee Scheme announced ...