All articles by John Hyde – Page 363
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News
Clifford Chance partner profits top £1m
Profits per equity partner (PEP) at magic circle firm Clifford Chance have topped £1m for the first time since the recession. The end-of-year figures released today by the Canary Wharf-based firm showed revenues were up for the last financial year to £1.22bn, up just 2% on ...
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Human rights lawyers warn against CFA reform
High-profile cases against multinational corporations may have to be scrapped under the government’s new litigation regime, lawyers suggested today. Human rights lawyers warned they will not be able to afford to take on as many cases in the world’s poorest countries without the Conditional Fee Arrangement ...
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Companies warned over Bribery Act
Companies have been warned there will be no ‘grace period’ after the Bribery Act comes into force from today. Strict new rules will reform the antiquated UK laws and clamp down on the bribery of public officials and corporate executives. Individuals found ...
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Student debt mountain a powerful deterrent to university
A survey of qualified lawyers has found that under half would have gone to university today, when aspiring solicitors can expect to wrack up massive debts. Legal recruitment firm Laurence Simons found that the majority of 224 respondents would have baulked at the total cost of ...
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Most courts operating ‘as normal’
Government officials insist that most courts are operating as normal today despite mass industrial action by public sector workers. Thousands of PCS members have staged a one-day walkout which the union claims is the ‘best supported strike we’ve ever had’. The tranquility ...
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Disability charity mounts court challenge to Jackson reforms
A disability charity has mounted a High Court challenge to oppose government plans to reform ‘no win, no fee’ arrangements. The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) says ministers have failed to consider properly the impact its proposals will have on the most vulnerable people in society. ...
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Bar Council stands firm on Bellfield trial backlash
The Bar Council has warned that defence lawyers may feel inhibited about taking on high-profile trials that could potentially see them vilified by the media, following coverage of the trial of Levi Bellfield last week. Jeffrey Samuels QC was subjected to a torrent of abuse on ...
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Axa says no to referral fees
Leading insurer Axa has said it will no longer accept referral fees from personal injury lawyers. The firm, which has 10 million customers in the UK, will no longer take the payments when it puts customers in touch with solicitors at the time of an accident. ...
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News
Late bid to amend Quality Assurance Advocacy Scheme
Talks will be held this week in an eleventh-hour bid to rationalise the scope of the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA). The scheme, which will accredit advocates at one of four levels, was approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority at the start of the ...
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News
Irwin Mitchell in financial advice tie-up
National firm Irwin Mitchell has linked up with a financial advice group to offer legal services directly to its customers. The law firm will offer a range of services for clients using the Guardian Wealth Management (GWM) group. Irwin Mitchell has already ...
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ABSs will tempt investors, top banker predicts
A leading banker has predicted that investors will be queuing up to enter the legal services market when alternative business structures (ABSs) come into force from October. Former barrister John Llewellyn-Lloyd, now head of mergers and acquisitions for Espirito Santo, said the market was an attractive ...
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News
Dianne Hayter resigns as chair of legal services consumer watchdog
The first chair of watchdog the Legal Services Consumer Panel has resigned after two years in the post. Baroness Hayter (pictured) has decided to step down because of her commitments in the House of Lords, the Legal Services Board said in a statement. ...
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News
Clyde & Co enters Canadian market with merger
City firm Clyde & Co has become the latest UK practice to move into the Canadian marketplace. The firm, which has 24 offices around the world, has confirmed a merger with Canadian insurance firm Nicholl Paskall-Mede (NPM). NPM’s 40-strong team, including 15 ...
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News
Firms failing on client needs, study reports
Law firms are failing to understand their clients’ needs, creating a significant expectations gap, a study has found. DLA Piper joint chief executive Sir Nigel Knowles said the findings should serve as a ‘call to arms’ to practices to improve in this regard. ...
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British businesses buried by European legal avalanche
Businesses are struggling to keep abreast of the hundreds of new laws published last year by the European Union. Legal information provider Sweet & Maxwell says 806 new laws impacting the UK were created in 2010. The majority of those were made ...
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UK's top law firms see fee income growth
The UK’s top 100 law firms achieved overall fee income growth of 3.9% in the last financial year - but the gap between top and bottom is continuing to grow. Deloitte’s latest Quarterly Legal Sector Survey shows top firms increased productivity by 1.6% up to the ...
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‘Big is not beautiful’ says LSB in report on smaller regulators
An independent report commissioned by the Legal Services Board into the future of the smaller regulators has stressed that they must not be forced into radical changes in response to the Legal Services Act. The report, by former Ministry of Justice official Nick Smedley, predicted there ...
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News
Government set to press ahead with legal aid cuts and Jackson reforms
The Law Society and legal profession this week vowed to continue campaigning against the government’s legal aid cuts, following publication of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill by justice secretary Kenneth Clarke. The bill, issued as the Gazette went to press, confirmed the ...
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News
Huge debt burden would have deterred most of today’s lawyers from university
A new survey of qualified lawyers has found that under half would have gone to university today, when aspiring solicitors can expect to wrack up massive debts. Legal recruitment firm Laurence Simons found the majority of 224 respondents would have baulked at the total costs of ...
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News
Elite blames SRA for decision not to enter indemnity market
A leading insurer has said that the SRA’s failure to implement reform more quickly has deterred it from entering the solicitors’ professional indemnity market. Elite Insurance said it will not join the market this year despite initial suggestions it would be writing premiums. ...