All articles by John Hyde – Page 378
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News
Magic circle firms post solid results
Three magic circle firms have posted steady but unremarkable financial results as testing market conditions continue to prevail. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Allen & Overy all released figures for the 2010/11 financial year. At Freshfields, revenue fell marginally on the previous year, with profits per equity partner down by ...
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News
Firms urged to donate unused client funds
Law firms are being urged by two of the country’s top legal figures to donate funds being held for untraceable clients or beneficiaries to support advice centres. More than 7,000 law firms will receive letters in the coming days signed by attorney general Dominic Grieve and ...
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News
Has the once weak SRA morphed into the Incredible Hulk?
Are we seeing some sort of metamorphosis over at the SRA? This week saw the kind of rhetoric that will put the frighteners on any law firm veering dangerously close to the red. The language used on a report into outstanding premiums ...
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News
ABS timetable in danger of slipping
The Solicitors Regulation Authority may not be ready to license alternative business structures from the target date of 6 October. SRA chairman Charles Plant told the regulator’s monthly board meeting today that the authority’s preparations for the change remain on schedule. ...
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News
Mid-market firms review strategy ahead of alternative business structures
More than a third of mid-market law firms have changed their business strategies in the last year in response to the Legal Services Act. A survey of 101 firms, commissioned by legal information provider Lexis Nexis, also found that a further quarter will alter their structure ...
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News
ARP firms still owe £8.46m
Law firms in the Assigned Risks Pool still owe £8.46 million in premiums, despite debts falling during 2011. Outstanding premiums have come down from £9.3 million at the end of March this year as regulators clamp down on non-paying firms. The Solicitors ...
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News
SRA braced for ABS interest from abroad
The SRA has been told to prepare for increasing interest from non-English law firms following the introduction of alternative business structures.
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News
Solicitor-advocates make final effort to halt scheme
Solicitor-advocates have made a final effort to stop a scheme that will see judges evaluating their competence, which they claim would discriminate against solicitors. The Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates (SAHCA) has written to Solicitors Regulation Authority board members and called on them to veto ...
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News
FSA finds no evidence of insurer bias against BME firms
An investigation by the Financial Services Authority has found no evidence that insurers discriminated against black and ethnic minority law firms during last year’s professional indemnity insurance renewal. Following interventions from the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Equality and Human Rights Commission, the FSA was asked to ...
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News
High Court backs children's guardian independence
A High Court ruling has reasserted the independence of children’s guardians from state control. In a landmark judgment, Sir Nicholas Wall said the court-appointed guardians were a vital element in protecting children. He told the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support ...
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News
Civil litigation reforms give carte blanche to exploit developing nations
You know, I have a lot of sympathy for you ambulance-chasing solicitors. There you are, hurtling down busy streets in pursuit of the big white van - without a siren or flashing lights but still expected to keep up. Perhaps we should ...
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News
Leading insurance broker predicts late entries in indemnity market
A leading insurance broker has predicted that there may still be late entrants to the solicitors’ professional indemnity market. Martin Ellis, director of Prime Professions, told the Gazette that some insurers had been interested in opening books for law firms until very recently. ...
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News
Top-100 firms concerned by Legal Services Act reforms
Top law firms are coming under increasing pressure from clients to reduce fees, a poll has revealed, while a growing number fear that Legal Services Act reforms will pose a risk to profits. Finance directors from the top-100 UK firms, surveyed by legal information provider Sweet ...
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News
Olswang to draft code of conduct for News of the World owner
Media law firm Olswang has been drafted in by News International to draw up a new code of conduct, it has confirmed. The media organisation, which owns the ...
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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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News
Legal Ombudsman publishes complaints against firms
The Legal Ombudsman has begun publishing anonymous case studies as part of a drive to improve client service and complaints-handling by law firms. The published complaints have been broken down into areas of law. Complaints revealed so far include a criminal defendant ...
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News
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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News
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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News
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
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 ...