All articles by John Hyde – Page 366
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News
Lords may amend legal aid reforms, says top peer
One of the legal profession’s most distinguished peers has offered fresh hope that the House of Lords may yet drive through significant amendments to the legal aid and civil litigation reforms. Liberal Democrat Lord Carlile of Berriew QC believes there is enough support from all sides ...
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Income rises at top 100 but ‘nervousness’ remains
Fee income at the UK’s top 100 law firms increased by 4% in the first quarter of the financial year compared with the same period in 2010, according to figures from Deloitte. But the business advisory firm warned that the figures mask continuing weakness in the ...
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India's legal market set for reform
India’s £2.6bn legal services market moved a step closer to full liberalisation this week when professional bodies agreed a 'road map' for reform. Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke, the Law Society and the Bar Council spent three days in Delhi speaking with Indian lawyers, ministers and officials, ...
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Dowler family urges PM to halt ‘no win, no fee’ reforms
The family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler has written to David Cameron urging him to block ‘unjust and unfair’ civil justice reforms. In an open letter to the prime minister and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, the family said the reforms would ‘significantly weaken’ the ‘no ...
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Will the Dowlers make a difference?
Could this finally be the day that the government’s civil litigation costs reforms get the scrutiny they deserve? The letter sent by the family of Milly Dowler to prime minister David Cameron changes the picture completely. They claim that without the ‘no ...
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Olswang to pilot new training model targeting City firms
A groundbreaking solicitor training model has launched this week, targeting City law firms and in-house legal departments. The first non-legal services provider to be authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to take on trainees, Acculaw claims it will cut costs and improve efficiency for firms looking ...
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Medical accidents charity ponders judicial review bid
Opponents of the government’s Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill could launch another High Court challenge. Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) will decide this week whether to seek a judicial review to counter the removal of legal aid for clinical negligence cases. ...
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Bid to force ABS reform on US states
Final submissions will be made this week in a landmark legal action which experts believe could open up the US legal market to alternative business structures.
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Claimants will ‘never see’ ten per cent damages uplift
Government plans to introduce a 10% uplift on general damages have again been called into question, amid concern that they are reliant on the co-operation of insurers. The increase, recommended by Lord Justice Jackson in his review of civil litigation costs, was intended in part to ...
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News
Dundas & Wilson in merger talks
Edinburgh-headquartered Dundas & Wilson, one of Scotland’s so-called ‘big four’ law firms, has has begun merger talks with London-based Bircham Dyson Bell. In a joint statement released on Tuesday by the managing partners of each firm, the pair confirmed that talks have begun which may lead ...
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News
New solicitor training model could shake up the City
A groundbreaking solicitor training model has launched this week, targeting City law firms and in-house legal departments. The first non-legal service provider to be authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to take on trainees, Acculaw claims it will cut costs and improve efficiency for firms looking ...
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News
Clarke to promote UK legal services
Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke was preparing to update City lawyers on the government’s blueprint for promoting UK legal services abroad as the Gazette went to press. He was expected to reiterate the government’s opposition to European contract law harmonisation and reassure foreign markets that alternative ...
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News
Straw in line of fire over referral fee bill
Lawyers and medical experts have hit back at Jack Straw over comments he made yesterday while seeking to persuade MPs to criminalise PI referral fees. The former justice secretary introduced a ten-minute rule bill outlining proposals to make offering referral fees for victims’ details a criminal ...
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News
Bid to exempt Trafigura-type claims from reform fails
Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs have rejected an amendment to legislation that would exempt claims brought by foreigners against UK multinationals from civil litigation reforms. The Public Bill Committee debated the amendment to the Legal Aid, Punishment of Offenders and Sentencing Bill, tabled by Labour ...
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Clarke likens ABS revolution to financial ‘Big Bang’ of 1986
Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke has predicted that the advent of alternative business structures could have as dramatic an impact on legal services as the so-called ‘Big Bang’ of 1986 had on the financial sector. Speaking this morning at a conference on promoting UK legal services ...
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News
Government to ban referral fees in personal injury cases
The government has today announced that it will ban the payment of referral fees in personal injury cases. The Ministry of Justice said the current arrangements have led to high costs, encouraged a ‘compensation culture’ and led to the growth of an industry which pursues claimants ...
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News
Top firms sign up to new internship scheme
More than 20 leading law firms have signed up to a scheme that guarantees work experience for young people from less privileged backgrounds. The commitment, launched this week under the name of Prime, will see firms offer a minimum of 30 hours of work experience per ...
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Referral fee ‘witch hunt’ will ‘jeopardise thousands of jobs’
Ministers have been warned that banning personal injury referral fees will put thousands of jobs at risk and do nothing to reduce insurance premiums. Darren Werth, chairman of the Claims Standards Council, which represents claims management businesses, admitted he was shocked by the government’s announcement.
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News
Lack of detail in referral fee announcement
If the devil is in the detail, this government is starting to seem angelic. There was excitement unbounded in the newsroom on Thursday afternoon as the Ministry of Justice confirmed that referral fees will be banned for personal injury claims. But reading ...
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News
OFT probe of motor insurance welcomed by PI lawyers
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is to investigate recent sharp increases in motor insurance premiums. The competition watchdog has issued a call for evidence over the next five weeks to provide a clear picture on the hotly disputed topic. The insurance ...