All articles by John Hyde – Page 355
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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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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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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 ...
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Compensation culture is ‘media-created’ myth - Dyson
Master of the rolls Lord Dyson has urged the government, courts and legal profession to educate the public to address some of the media-created myths of the compensation culture. Giving the Holdsworth Club lecture earlier this month, Dyson (pictured) said there had been no developments ...
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Judges ‘ill-prepared’ for Jackson
Judges in the vanguard of the post-Jackson costs management era will go into April armed with just 4.5 hours of training, a quarterly newsletter and a podcast. In a response to a freedom of information request, the Judicial College confirmed that all 728 salaried civil judges ...
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SFO questioned over use of Slaughter and May
Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry has raised questions about the Serious Fraud Office’s decision to retain a magic circle firm to defend potentially the most expensive case in its history. Attorney general Dominic Grieve confirmed earlier this month that the SFO had brought in Slaughter and ...
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Osborne imposes further £142m of cuts on MoJ
Chancellor George Osborne today imposed a further £142m of cuts on the Ministry of Justice, which will have to be implemented before the 2015 general election. The MoJ is one of the government departments required by Osborne’s budget to reduce its spending by 1% for the ...
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Fast-track for ‘lower-risk’ ABS applications
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has announced it will fast-track lower-risk applications for an alternative business structure licence. The authority has responded to criticism that the authorisation process takes too long with new guidance and a fresh approach to existing law firms. The ...
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Strike disrupts courts service as another walkout is planned
Thousands of court workers across England and Wales today walked out on strike as the union began a three-month programme of action. Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union took industrial action to mark budget day after talks broke down over cuts to pay, pensions, ...
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Budget fallout: running into a brick wall
Watching the fallout from every budget is like being transported into the Truman Show. Everyone says the same thing, moves in the same direction and ends up just where they started. Perhaps George Osborne’s tortured economic recovery will end, like Truman, running into a brick wall ...