All articles by John Hyde – Page 364
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News
Legal services outperform groceries at the Co-op
Legal services provided a better profit margin than traditional retailing activities at the Co-op last year. The group reported this morning that operating profits from its legal services rose by 15% during 2011, far outperforming the business as a whole. Co-operative Legal Services (CLS), which ...
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Political split on Welsh jurisdiction
Welsh secretary Cheryl Gillan (pictured) has said there is ‘no need’ for a distinct Welsh legal jurisdiction as the country begins a debate on separation from England. The Welsh government began a consultation this week on creating a new legal system. First minister Carwyn Jones is ...
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ABS trailblazers revealed
The Solicitors Regulation Authority today announced the identities of the first three alternative business structures. The Co-operative Legal Services, John Welch & Stammers and Lawbridge Solicitors are the first to have their applications approved. They can now provide reserved legal activities while owned and managed by ...
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ABS day: who?
So how was it for you? The announcement we’ve all been waiting for, the culmination of near-on a decade of debate and argument. The moment when the Solicitors Regulation Authority finally told us who the first alternative business structures (ABSs) will be. Drum roll please… Co-op, ...
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Supreme Court opens the way to thousands of employee asbestos claims
Campaigners were today celebrating a UK Supreme Court ruling that insurance policies cover asbestos-related disease even after employees have left their job. Insurance companies had sought to limit their obligations to indemnify employers against liabilities towards staff who contracted mesothelioma. In effect, ...
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‘Difficult’ year ahead for ABS hopeful
One of the UK’s leading legal expenses insurers has predicted a ‘difficult’ coming year despite an impending move into the legal profession. Abbey Protection today reported 2011 pre-tax profits of £10.1m - 5% up on the previous year. The company had expected by now to have ...
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Britons will suffer from Clarke’s opt-out, says Brussels
Brussels officials have reacted with surprise and sadness after the UK government formally opted out of a six-year European Commission justice programme. Justice minister Kenneth Clarke confirmed last week that the UK would not take part in the €803m scheme. Clarke admitted that charities and organisations ...
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Consultation opens on jurisdiction for Wales
A public debate begins today on whether Wales should be a separate legal jurisdiction. The Welsh government will ask the judiciary, lawyers and members of the public whether they want a jurisdiction along the lines of those found in Scotland and Northern Ireland. ...
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Jackson says one-third of his clinical negligence proposals at risk
The architect of the government’s civil justice reforms has admitted the ‘jury is still out’ on a third of his proposals for clinical negligence. Lord Justice Jackson said there had been little progress on three of the nine recommendations made when his report on costs was ...
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News
New York wants to wake up in a city without ABSs
New York state legal authorities have reaffirmed their resistance to non-lawyer ownership of firms. In a decision likely to affect international firms, New York Bar Association this week ruled that lawyers cannot practise in the state if their firm is owned by non-lawyers, even if the owners are overseas.
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Claims portal won’t cope with expansion, say solicitors
Solicitors have warned the government there is no way to fast-track employer and public liability claims through the existing low-value scheme. The Ministry of Justice met key stakeholders yesterday for discussions on the proposed expansion of the road traffic accident (RTA) portal scheme. ...
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News
Manchester PI firm goes under
National firm Irwin Mitchell has agreed a deal to take on the files of Manchester personal injury firm Donns which went into administration today. Some 50 staff members are thought to have been made redundant. Irwin Mitchell confirmed this afternoon that an arrangement had been made ...
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News
Claimant firms warned of wind of change
A leading insurance solicitor has urged claimant firms to follow the lead of defendants and change their business model. Anthony Hughes, chief executive of national firm Horwich Farrelly, told the 2012 Claims Management Conference yesterday that change is inevitable in the personal injury market. ...
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Firms must cut staff, warns RBS
Law firms may have to cut thousands more solicitors to restore profits to pre-2008 levels, according to Royal Bank of Scotland’s 2012 review of the legal profession. The report says that at least 5% of fee-earners may have to be culled.
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News
'One-size' Jackson-style reforms wrong, Scots told
Scottish legislators have been warned not to simply ‘bolt on’ reforms from south of the border in their Jackson-style review of civil litigation. A public consultation closed last Friday on an 18-month review of the Scottish civil litigation system being carried out by Sheriff Principal ...
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Taking the PI
Toilet humour is not usually welcome at any time but it got a laugh on this occasion. As the men queued during a break in Wednesday’s Claims Management Conference in Manchester, one moaned about the length of the line. ‘Give it a year and there’ll be ...
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News
No referral exemption for charities, Lords rule
The House of Lords has blocked attempts to exempt charities and trade unions from the referral fee ban. The house was debating proposed amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill.
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Harvey Nicks owner gives £20m to law faculty
A Hong Kong businessman has given £20m to King’s College London in what the college says is the largest individual donation ever made to a European law faculty. Luxury goods magnate Dickson Poon will fund a recruitment drive for eight new chair positions over the next ...
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Stop assessing firms, Law Society tells the LSB
The Law Society has called for the Legal Services Board (LSB) to forget about regulating the legal market and begin downsizing. The Society says most of the reforms in the Legal Services Act are now coming to fruition, with the establishment of a Legal Ombudsman and ...
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‘Grossly overpaid’ interpreters to blame for courts fiasco, says minister
Justice minister Crispin Blunt has blamed the ‘grossly overpaid’ interpreters ‘taking advantage of the system’ for the need to outsource the court contract.