All articles by John Hyde – Page 361
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News
Prepare for 50% fee cuts, says ‘end of lawyers’ professor
Rapid change in the legal profession threatens everyone from in-house lawyers to large City firms, according to IT consultant Professor Richard Susskind. The former IT adviser to the lord chief justice told the Law Society Management Conference last week that the economic climate will force clients to seek out these ...
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Serwotka threatens more disruption after ‘brilliant’ court strike
A union leader has threatened a further strike next month after industrial action by court workers across the country. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said yesterday’s one-day strike had received ‘brilliant support’ from members working in the courts service. The ...
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Future is fixed billing - Neuberger
Master of the rolls Lord Neuberger has warned that alternative business structures may sound the ‘death knell’ for hourly billing. Speaking at the Association of Costs Lawyers conference today, Neuberger said clients were increasingly put off by hourly billing and attracted by fixed fees. As well ...
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Twitter twits
Just why don’t lawyers get Twitter? This is a website with more than 300 million registered users worldwide, a figure that is growing all the time. It has extraordinary reach, allowing members to spread their own message or listen into what others are saying. It is, ...
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Solicitors could access fraudster register
Insurers have suggested they may be willing to accede to solicitors’ demands to share information on known fraudsters. Personal injury lawyers have urged insurers to give them access to records of people who have made false claims. The Association of British Insurers is preparing a new ...
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Crime and Courts Bill to create single county court system
The government has confirmed in the Queen’s speech that it will enact proposals for a single county court system in England and Wales. The move was mooted in March amongst a raft of other proposals following the report of a consultation into solving disputes in the ...
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Queen’s speech ushers in era of cameras in court
News broadcasters have hailed the permitting of cameras in court for the first time as 'an important step for democracy and open justice'. The lifting of the ban was confirmed as part of the Queen's speech today and allows for judgments to be filmed and broadcast. ...
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Chinese firm enters London with co-operation plan
The first top-tier Chinese law firm to enter the London market says it is looking to co-operate - rather than merge - with UK firms. Zhong Lun has built a formidable base in China in less than 20 years, with 150 partners and more than ...
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News
Solicitors have ‘duty’ to disclose funding options
A leading US litigation funder has claimed lawyers have a ‘legal and ethical duty’ to tell clients about alternative funding options. Selvyn Seidel, co-founder and chairman of Fulbrook Management, told the Gazette that there is still a lack of information about the industry, despite most of ...
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News
Spectator to face contempt charge over Lawrence trial article
The Crown Prosecution Service is to prosecute The Spectator magazine over an opinion column published during the Stephen Lawrence murder trial last year. The notice to prosecute is the first since the CPS published guidelines that called for prosecutors to assess whether the public interest outweighed ...
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TLT creates UK-wide practice
National firm TLT has announced plans to launch operations in Scotland and Northern Ireland to create a UK-wide practice. The firm has merged with Scottish practice Anderson Fyfe to create TLT Scotland, with the deal expected to be confirmed on 1 July. ...
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London courts to scale back for Olympics
Courts near Olympics venues and traffic hotspots will significantly cut their sittings from 27 July to 12 August, HM Courts and Tribunals Service said today. Officials are concerned that jurors and witnesses will be unable to attend hearings during a period when hundreds of thousands ...
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News
Strikes and work to rule will hit courts from Thursday
Hundreds of court staff will refuse overtime until August as the public sector pensions row threatens to create a backlog in the court service. Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union are due to walk out on Thursday for a one-day strike over cuts to ...
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News
Beware of identity thieves, SRA warns
Law firms could be held liable for losses caused by a fraudster stealing their identity even when they are innocent victims, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned. New guidance published today warns the profession on how to guard against falling victim to fraudsters. The regulator ...
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News
Italian firm applies to become an ABS
A leading Italian law firm has joined the race to become an alternative business structure as the number of advanced applications approaches 100. Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati, which has an annual turnover of €100m (£82m), could become one of the first non-UK law firms to ...
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Regulators agree to share data on ABSs
A cross-profession agreement should ensure that alternative business structures have to deal with only one regulator. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed this week by regulators from the legal, accountancy, financial and property sectors will enable more information to be shared, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) ...
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News
'Safe harbour’ compliance advice for whole profession
The Law Society has announced it will offer ‘safe harbour’ compliance advice to the whole profession. The move follows Chancery Lane’s launch last month of the Compliance Reference Group (CRG) pilot for enquiries on regulation from top-100 firms. The service will now ...
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News
Female partner boost at magic circle
The number of women promoted to partnership at magic circle firms has risen by 50% - but they still make up just a quarter of all the promotions. A total of 95 solicitors were this week elected to partnership at the leading five firms. Of these, 24 were women - ...
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Law firm trainee opportunities 'boosted by salary cut'
Removing the trainee minimum salary will increase training opportunities but at a cost of lower wages, a survey has found.
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Singapore move for College of Law
The College of Law (CoL) has formed a strategic collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Legal Education with a view to establishing a permanent presence in the state. The move is expected to be the first of many such projects made possible by the college’s new ownership structure. ...