All articles by Jonathan Rayner – Page 56
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News
Diverting mentally ill from criminal justice pays dividends
Diverting the mentally ill away from the criminal justice system and towards health services could save £20,000 per case, a report has claimed. The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health report, Diversion: A better way for criminal justice and mental health, compared the costs of criminal ...
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Warning over employment dispute resolution code
A senior employment lawyer warned that ‘common sense is not that common’ as the government revealed a new code for resolving workplace disputes. The new Acas code, which takes effect from 6 April, replaces the three-step grievance and disciplinary system of written statement, meeting and ...
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Office of Public Guardian launches lasting power of attorney guidance
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has issued new guidance about drafting lasting powers of attorney following criticism of delays, high prices and ‘daft’ bureaucracy (see [2009] Gazette, 29 January, 4).
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Society to help firms fight personal injury 'client capture'
Solicitors attacking the insurance company practice of ‘capturing’ personal injury clients have been promised the support of the Law Society. The Accident Compensation Solicitors Group (ACSG), which lobbies for the right of consumers to choose their own solicitor, has attended a meeting at the Law ...
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Domestic violence victims get banking help
Victims of domestic abuse can now bypass banks’ money laundering regulations under new measures to help them gain financial independence from their abusers. The Home Office and the British Bankers Association said last week that victims would be allowed to open accounts with only a ...
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Penalties for maintenance defaulters ‘draconian’
Civil liberties lawyers have dismissed as ‘disproportionate’ and draconian new powers to confiscate without a court order the driving licences and passports of parents who default on child maintenance. The Welfare Reform Bill, in the House of Commons committee stage this week, will allow the ...
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Graduate recruiters buck jobs trend
Law firms top the league for graduate starting salaries and are predicted to recruit more graduates this year than in 2008 - bucking the national trend. These are among the key findings of the bi-annual survey of the jobs market by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR).
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Lawyers blame NHS for soaring negligence bill
Clinical negligence lawyers have denied charges of profiteering following an National Health Service announcement that total claims could almost double to £713m next year. The NHS said the estimated £317m increase in the total bill for 2009/10 was the result of changes to ...
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Asylum laws putting women at risk
British immigration policy is putting female asylum seekers at risk of sexual assault, lawyers warned this week as the Refugee Council reported that three-quarters of women seeking asylum have been raped either in their country of origin or in the UK.
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Snow absenteeism creates legal headache
Weather-related absenteeism has brought fresh employment law headaches to firms struggling with redundancies and contract re-negotiations. Roger Byard, employment head at Kent firm Cripps Harries Hall, said where there is no good reason for missing work, managers should interview the individual and either ...
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Solicitors act against personal injury ‘capture’
A solicitor group fighting the insurance company practice of ‘capturing’ personal injury clients is to meet the Ministry of Justice next week.
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Phone-recording rule will hit tiny number of firms
Only a tiny number of law firms will be affected by a requirement to record telephone instructions from March, an expert has advised. Ian Muirhead, managing director of Solicitors Independent Financial Advice, said the new rule is aimed at curbing insider dealing and will affect around ...
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Firm puts staff on four day week to avoid redundancies
A well-known City firm has offered fee-earners and other staff four-day working weeks as the economic outlook for its business deteriorates. James Holder, managing partner at Charles Russell, said the scheme aims to keep the team together until the market picks up again. ...
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Lasting powers of attorney bureaucracy condemned
Probate solicitors have accused the Office of the Public Guardian of discriminating against the elderly through delays, high prices and excessive bureaucracy. The OPG’s function is to safeguard the interests of vulnerable people, including those who have lost mental capacity through old age or illness. ...
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Firm to pay price of trainee sacking
Firms that sack a trainee without the agreement of the Solicitors Regulation Authority could find themselves liable for hefty damages, a landmark employment tribunal decision suggests. Sheffield Employment Tribunal last week ruled that a Manchester firm, Express Solicitors, was in breach of the terms of ...
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Retreat over sole practitioner fee hike
Fierce protests have helped persuade the Solicitors Regulation Authority to ditch plans to charge sole practitioners an additional £300 on top of their practising certificates (see [2008] Gazette, 18 December, 1). The SRA had proposed £300 as an interim solution pending a comprehensive review of fees ...
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Family lawyers braced for surge in divorce cases
Family lawyers are bracing themselves for what looks set to be a rush of couples starting divorce proceedings next week. The first Monday after children return to school following Christmas is traditionally the busiest day in the divorce lawyer’s calendar. This year that day falls on ...
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Criminal defence lawyers call for all police forces to provide interpreters
Criminal defence lawyers have launched a campaign to ensure all police forces provide qualified interpreters to non-English speaking detainees at police stations. A 2007 national agreement on the use of interpreters – drawn up by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform in consultation with the Association ...
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Family courts opened up
Family court hearings are for the first time to be open to the press, Justice Secretary Jack Straw told the Commons on Tuesday. From April, accredited media will be allowed to report hearings, unless the child’s welfare requires them not to be admitted, he said. ...
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Sole practitioners condemn fee rise
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) will consider scrapping proposals to charge 4,500 sole practitioners an additional practising fee of £300 a year, the Gazette has learned.