All articles by John Hyde – Page 353
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News
Small-claims threshold decision in autumn, Grant says
A government decision on the limit of the size of claims handled by the small-claims court will not be made until the autumn, justice minister Helen Grant revealed today. Grant (pictured) said the Ministry of Justice’s response to a public consultation, which closed in March, is ...
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Majority will avoid sanctions on compliance
Only a small minority of the 928 people or firms being investigated over compliance officer nominations will face sanctions, the Solicitors Regulation Authority revealed last week. Enforcement action is under way against those who either failed to nominate COLPs and COFAs before the deadline or where ...
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Saatchi promises safeguards in negligence immunity bill
Advertising magnate Lord Saatchi will today outline how he intends to protect doctors from negligence claims if they innovate in the treatment of cancer patients. In a speech to the Royal Society of Medicine, Saatchi will explain how doctors can be encouraged to innovate without being ...
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Our only certainty is uncertainty
Sado-masochism, that's the only possible answer. How else do you explain why so many solicitors line up for conferences about the future of the legal profession, like lobsters clambering to the front of the tank for a better view of the cooking instructions? I speak as ...
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PI firms can prosper with right skills, says Graves
Personal injury firms can survive and prosper in the new era of lower fixed fees if they upskill their workforce and filter out more profitable cases, a leading legal consultant has told the Gazette. Lesley Graves (pictured), founder of Citadel Law, said that up to 10% ...
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Society targets ‘special relationship’ with US visit
Closer links between UK and US law firms were the focus of a Law Society visit to Washington DC last week.
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Society warns against muddling funding for interventions
The Law Society has called for ‘proper transparency’ if regulators are to pay intervention costs out of compensation fund reserves. The Solicitors Regulation Authority confirmed on Wednesday it wants to cover an estimated £7m overspend on interventions this year by using money held in the compensation fund. The SRA says ...
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SRA getting better at complaints – independent assessor
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has ‘significantly improved’ how it deals with complaints about its service, an independent assessor has concluded. The Independent Complaints Review Service (ICRS) upheld or partially upheld 75 cases out of 245 separate complaints issued from October 2011 to the end of 2012. ...
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SRA wants compensation fund to cover intervention bill
The SRA has decided not to impose a one-off levy on solicitors to pay for the rising cost of intervening in failed firms, but wants the multimillion-pound bill to fall on the rapidly diminishing compensation fund instead.
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Society demands insurer title change
The Law Society is pressing regulators to drop the title of ‘qualifying insurers’ after the failure of a third professional indemnity insurer. The Society wants the Solicitors Regulation Authority to change the designation to ‘participating insurers’ to avoid perpetuating the misconception that insurers are vetted by ...
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Whiplash claims at five-year low, official figures reveal
The number of whiplash claims has fallen by almost 60,000 in the past year, according to the government’s own figures. A freedom of information request to the Department for Work and Pensions’ compensation recovery unit has revealed there were 488,281 whiplash claims in Great Britain in ...
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SRA right to raid compensation fund - for now at least
It all goes very quiet at the SRA board meetings when the subject of interventions comes up. Director Richard Collins updated the situation yesterday with the solemnity of a radio announcer reading out the names of kittens who have died that day.
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Lords fold on health and safety reform
The House of Lords has backed down over government plans to make it more difficult to sue employers for health and safety breaches at work. Peers were forced to vote for a second time last night on the aspect of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill ...
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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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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 ...