All articles by John Hyde – Page 377
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News
Asbestos victims forum urges reforms veto
Campaigners for sufferers of asbestos-related disease have urged MPs to vote down civil litigation reforms. The Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum said its members’ compensation will be ‘wiped out’ if claimants have to pay legal costs from their damages. Currently, claimants must ...
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Consumer panel’s Hayter: solicitors 'in denial' over client views
Solicitors are ‘in denial’ about the way they are viewed by clients, the outgoing chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel told the Gazette in a parting shot at the profession this week. Dianne Hayter (pictured) said she regretted that too many lawyers were unwilling to ...
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Solicitor-advocates fear QASA disadvantage
Solicitor-advocates fear they will be marginalised by the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates, and have suggested that some judges may not take part in the scheme. Advocates looking to gain accreditation at the top-two levels of the four-tiered QASA process will need judicial evaluation as well ...
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Ministry of Justice could privatise enforcement work
The Ministry of Justice may seek a private contractor to provide criminal court enforcement services, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly has said. Last week, the Gazette revealed that outstanding fines had risen to £609m in the past 12 months, while enforcement staff numbers had dropped by 57, ...
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Solicitors from Hell founder ordered to pay £10,000 damages
The founder of the Solicitors from Hell website has been ordered to pay damages of £10,000 after publishing defamatory claims that a solicitor was dishonest. Rick Kordowski’s site published a complaint in March made by Tim Smee about Marlow firm Gabbitas Robins. ...
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News
Beachcroft and Davies Arnold Cooper confirm merger
Two of the UK’s leading insurance firms, Beachcroft and Davies Arnold Cooper, today confirmed that they will merge. DAC Beachcroft will have a combined turnover of £175m and will employ more than 2,000 staff in offices across the world. The firms said ...
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Solicitors do not deserve public humiliation
I received a poor service from my local library the other day. The woman in there was a bit abrupt and sent me to the wrong section as I searched for something to hold up on the Tube to prove how intellectual I was. I declined ...
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News
Anger over £600m in unpaid court fines
The government was accused of ‘economic illiteracy’ this week, as it emerged that the amount owed in outstanding court fines has risen to more than £600m in the past year, while the number of enforcement officers employed to collect them was slashed by 12%. Solicitors expressed ...
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News
Defamation lawyer: abuse victims need CFAs
A leading defamation lawyer has called for conditional fee agreements to be preserved to help victims of press abuse. Steven Heffer, chair of the Lawyers for Media Standards group, said individuals must be given the means to fight legal battles against media outlets that have acted ...
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News
NHSLA considers clinical negligence pilot
Claimant lawyers and the NHS Litigation Authority are working on a joint scheme for fast-tracking clinical negligence cases. The two groups will meet next month to examine a pilot for dealing with cases valued up to £25,000. The scheme will use a ...
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News
PII special: overview - taking cover
In the legal sector - and the insurance market for that matter - the summer of 2010 was a tipping point; a realisation that things had gone too far and action was a necessity. So what was the trigger for this sudden application of the brakes? ...
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News
Law firms plan for Olympics delays
City firms have already begun putting action plans in place to deal with the disruption caused by the London 2012 Olympics, the Gazette has learned. London 2012 organisers have written to all firms in the capital warning that capacity on rail and underground services will be ...
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News
A&O opens in Morocco
Magic circle firm Allen & Overy has announced its first move into Africa with an office opening in Casablanca. The firm is looking to build on a number of recent deals in the continent, focusing on the region’s emerging markets. The new ...
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Regulator clamps down on claims management companies
The regulator of claims management companies has reported a massive rise in the number of businesses refused authorisation. The Claims Management Regulation Unit warned there would be ‘no let-up’ in the coming year after seeing enforcement measures against firms leap from 35 in 2009/10 to 349 ...
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Should we have the right to know a partner’s criminal past?
If I want to buy a car I can see the history of everyone that has owned it. If I am buying a house I can request a surveyor’s report and check every last detail before I commit to signing the deeds. And yet, in choosing ...
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News
Solicitor linked to drug dealer jailed
Legal practitioners have been warned not to turn a blind eye to criminality after a solicitor with links to a drug dealer was jailed for 16 months. James Thorburn-Muirhead was sentenced last month to 16 months in prison after abusing his professional posititon. ...
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News
Regulator to miss October deadline for ABSs
The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that the Solicitors Regulation Authority will miss its 6 October deadline for an ABS licence.
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News
Ombudsman warns of ‘confusion’ over legal services
Confusion over regulation of legal services is leaving consumers vulnerable and exposed, the Legal Ombudsman concludes today. Adam Sampson will publish his first annual report to parliament later today, following the launch of the organisation in October 2010. Sampson said that despite ...
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News
Cameron supportive of referral fees ban
A ban on referral fees has edged one step closer with David Cameron admitting he is ‘sympathetic’ to the idea this week. The prime minister was drawn into the debate on the fees by a question from Liberal Democrat MP David Ward during PMQs on Wednesday. ...
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News
‘City firms don’t need capital’ - CLLS chair
The new chair of the City of London Law Society wants to see more lawyers in positions of power and influence, he said this week. Alasdair Douglas, speaking in his first major interview since taking over the role last month, told the Gazette he is determined ...