All articles by Jonathan Rayner – Page 48
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News
South Korea ‘high growth market’ opens up for UK firms
The Law Society is to run a trade mission to the ‘high growth market’ of South Korea this month, after the signing of an agreement to liberalise legal services opened the way for UK firms to seek new opportunities in the country.
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Cap on contingency fees comes into force
Regulations which will impose a 35% cap on contingency fees in employment cases were approved by the House of Commons and came into force this week. Solicitors lambasted the new rules as a ‘dog’s dinner’ which threatens access to justice. The ...
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It’s time to put some balance back into journalism
When did reporters stop reporting the news and become political propagandists instead? We are not just talking about the tabloids here – although much more about them later – but about local newspapers, the regional backbone of the free press of which we were rightly proud.
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Pre-packaged insolvency proposals are ‘expensive duplication’
Proposals to boost confidence in the pre-packaged insolvency process published this week are ‘an expensive recipe for duplicating costs’, a City insolvency lawyer has warned. The proposals follow a recent report by the Insolvency Service which found that one-third of insolvency practitioners are failing to comply ...
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Women solicitors believe flexible working damages career
Many women solicitors believe their careers will be damaged if they take up more flexible working arrangements, a large-scale study has revealed. A survey of 800 women solicitors conducted by King’s College London together with the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) found that half of ...
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EC raps UK government over environment failure
The government is facing ‘costly and embarrassing’ legal action for not providing affordable access to justice for individuals seeking to challenge decisions affecting the environment, lawyers have warned. The European Commission has issued the UK with a reasoned opinion, or final warning, following its failure to ...
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Discrimination debate – the trials of being a woman
Three women have just been subjected to corporal punishment under sharia law in Malaysia for having sex out of wedlock. It takes two to tango, of course, and yet no man was punished. Discriminatory or what?
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Litigation solicitors targeted by money launderers
Litigation solicitors are being targeted by criminals attempting to launder the proceeds of crime, the Law Society has warned. Chancery Lane said that criminals are seeking to exploit what they perceive to be a ‘more relaxed approach’ to due diligence by lawyers when they are acting ...
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News
Eady claims libel tourism is a 'myth'
Libel tourism is a ‘myth’ spread by parties unhappy at the outcome of cases, Britain’s best-known media judge has claimed. Mr Justice Eady said it was a ‘myth’ that foreign nationals with no connection to Britain were allowed to take unfair advantage of the UK’s libel ...
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News
Assigned risks pool to remain open
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has agreed ‘in principle’ to scrap its plans to close the assigned risks pool (ARP), but will tighten the rules on eligibility and how long firms can stay in the pool. The SRA said the decision to retain the ARP, the ...
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Mental health programme following ‘political agenda’
A programme costing £60m a year to detain and treat 350 mentally ill offenders is following a ‘political agenda’ with no benefit to society or the detainees, a leading mental health lawyer has warned.
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Booming African economies offer lucrative opportunities for UK law firms
The booming economies of sub-Saharan Africa offer lucrative opportunities for British law firms, but only if firms engage with local lawyers on equal terms and are not there just to make a ‘quick buck’, leading African lawyers have warned. The average growth in gross domestic product ...
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News
Africa is where it’s at for British lawyers
There’s a new feel-good factor in Africa, a mingled sense of pride, optimism and confidence that the future is in its people’s hands. Its economy is booming and the ‘developed world’ is again beating a path to its door...
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News
MoJ consults on implementing Coroners Act
The Ministry of Justice has called for views on how it should implement reforms to the coroner’s service in a consultation paper. Responses will assist in the drafting of secondary legislation, with a final consultation to be held in 2011.
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Legal Complaints Service a ‘success story’ says commissioner
The body that handles complaints against solicitors is a ‘success story’ that has met all its performance targets, the legal services complaints commissioner declared last week. Releasing her sixth and final annual report before the new Office for Legal Complaints replaces the Law Society’s Legal Complaints ...
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Chancery Lane in China human rights protest
Lawyers in China are being detained on spurious charges and denied their right to legal representation, the Law Society’s international action team has warned. The volunteer team of human rights lawyers helped Law Society president Robert Heslett write four times to China’s prime minister Wen Jiabao ...
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Landmark Court of Appeal ruling on retainers
Solicitors who cease acting for a client where the case has no chance of success on points of law are entitled to be paid for the work done up to that point, the Court of Appeal has ruled. The Court of Appeal (pictured), in Buxton v ...
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News
Assisted suicide: a mercy killing charter?
The new policy on assisted suicide is not the mercy killing charter that some religious groups, charities and newspapers have painted it.
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News
In-house warning over City law firm skills gap
Solicitors from the ‘cosseted environment’ of top City law firms have been denied the skills and experience they need to make the transition to an in-house role, leading general counsel have warned. In-house lawyers have complained that they cannot recruit the right candidate from private practice ...
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Solicitor concerns over plans to scrap ARP
Solicitors have voiced concerns over ‘knee-jerk’ proposals to abolish the assigned risks pool (ARP) next year in their responses to a Solicitors Regulation Authority consultation on the issue. The Law Society said it did not support the SRA’s plan to scrap the pool, which it ...