Last 3 months headlines – Page 1209
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Aviva’s Dickensian justice
Aviva’s self-serving proposal that accident victims should go direct to the at-fault insurer without legal representation calls to mind memorable scenes from Oliver Twist.
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Note of realism on costs
For many years, insurers have issued press release after press release heaping the blame for rising motor insurance premiums on personal injury solicitors. At the same time, they have ignored their own dubious practices, which are now the subject of a referral to the Competition Commission. ...
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Grim legacy of funding cuts
Times of austerity provide good opportunities for governments to chip away at democratic rights. So workers’ rights are being cut back, with two years before they accrue unfair dismissal rights and fees being introduced which most employees (after being sacked) will be unable to afford. ...
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Don’t scoff at criminal law
Martin Maloney (letters, 18 February) considers extraordinary the proposition that ‘no one is a criminal until a court says so’. But within court proceedings, the proposition is a true one. To Mr Maloney it is ‘just the kind of nonsense that gets parroted when lawyers.... ...
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EU-US deal stirs lawyers’ primal instincts
In his recent state of the union address, president Obama said: ‘And tonight, I’m announcing that we will launch talks on a comprehensive transatlantic trade and investment partnership with the UK, because trade that is fair and free across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs.’ Except that he ...
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Fresh controversy over Cobbetts deal
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has rebuffed calls to review its approach to pre-pack sales, amid renewed controversy over the buyout of high-profile law firm casualty Cobbetts by DWF. Last Wednesday, the Gazette exclusively revealed that Cobbetts’ unsecured creditors are set to recoup just 2p in ...
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Knives smuggled into courtrooms
Knives were smuggled past security and into courtrooms on 10 separate occasions in the space of nine months last year, the Gazette has discovered. A freedom of information request has uncovered security breaches in courts across England and Wales between April and December 2012. ...
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Sixty suitors for troubled Yorkshire firm Atteys
Yorkshire firm Atteys – which last week announced it had given notice of intention to appoint administrators – is to be broken up and sold, the Gazette has learned. Interim chief operating officer Mark Feeney said more than 60 local firms have expressed an interest in ...
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MP accuses QCs on tax avoidance
MPs have turned their attention to lawyers who advise promoters of tax avoidance schemes. In a report examining marketed tax avoidance schemes, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) identifies ‘leading lawyers’, along with banks and accountancy firms, as supporting and advising on tax avoidance ...
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Lawyer jailed for £20m sham marriage scam
A London solicitor has been jailed for 10 years for running a £20m sham marriage scam. Tevfick Souleiman (pictured), partner at north London firm Souleiman GA Solicitors, and immigration advisers Cenk Guclu and Furrah Kosimov, were found guilty at the Central Criminal Court of conspiracy to ...
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IP ‘conflict of interest’ warning
Intellectual property lawyers have been warned to exercise care when claiming ownership of intellectual property from clients in settlement of outstanding bills. A practice note issued by the Intellectual Property Regulation Board, which regulates patent and trademark attorneys, warns practitioners to ensure that exercising a lien over IP in settlement ...
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Personal devices are weakest security link
The largest international law firms are among the UK practices that have a poor grip on the security of their data, according to research conducted among 200 firms. The widespread use of personal devices is the weak link in security, with an overwhelming majority of professionals ...
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New order at Barclays
In the world of banking and financial services, 1999 was another age. Back in the day, as bankers and regulators grizzled with age may one day recall, international finance was able to weather storms such as the Asian financial crisis, a fall in confidence in Russian investments, and a burst ...
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Nature of Cobbetts deal does raise wider questions
The SRA is not alone in possessing a focus and principles that originated in the good times. Remember when the Financial Services Authority was keen not to hamper financial ‘creativity’?
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Pre-pack process is unfairly maligned
by Lee Manning, president of insolvency trade body R3 For a legal insolvency process sanctioned by government, pre-packs have copped a lot of flak; although accusations that they are being marketed as a way of dumping debt tend not to be accompanied by evidence.
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My legal life: Gordon Turner
I sat my law degree in Newcastle, though I didn’t fancy being a lawyer at first. Then my sandwich business, ‘The Great North Bun’, flopped so I came to London and found myself in Shelter’s legal department. Once I saw the law being used in real situations I started to ...
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Up against it
Conspiracy theorists may want to take a seat for this one. The Association of British Insurers hosts its annual motor conference next month, with some eye-catching people on the agenda. Chair of the event is Susanna Reid, co-presenter of BBC Breakfast. No doubt she will recuse ...
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Off his own bat
On the subject of ministerial perks, you may recall Obiter asked earlier this month where the hospitality register for justice ministers had disappeared to. Well, now it’s up – from July to September 2012. Largely it’s a list of ‘nil return’ next to a bunch ...
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Consultation on rights to light
The Law Commission is seeking views on proposals to simplify the law on rights to light. These include introducing a statutory notice procedure. This would require landowners to tell potential developers within a specified time if they intend to seek an injunction to protect their right to light. ...
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India trade mission boosts contacts
The prime minister has returned from India after a three-day trade mission which included international firm DLA Piper and southern England firm Dutton Gregory. Dutton Gregory head of India group Amarjit Singh said: ‘The size and scope of the delegation was unprecedented and significantly strengthened ...