Last 3 months headlines – Page 1398
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E-petition lodged calling for tighter tenant deposit protection
A solicitor has lodged an e-petition urging the government to strengthen the law protecting residential rent deposits paid by tenants to landlords. Tenancy deposit protection legislation, introduced by the Housing Act 2004, was designed to protect tenants against unscrupulous landlords who refused to return deposits at ...
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Tragedy of council legal head ‘unable to cope’
A senior local authority solicitor committed suicide because he was unable to cope with the demands placed on him following a 30% cut to his department’s budget. In the wake of the tragedy, the chair of Solicitors in Local Government (SLG) has warned that redundancies in ...
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Legal training falls short on will drafting
We are fortunate to have had some extremely competent trainees in recent years. However, even those who have taken the wills option at law school come poorly prepared to advise a client and draft their will. A current trainee has shown me ...
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Let go of the dead hand of regulation
I have just read Ronnie Fox’s piece ‘Strangulation by regulation’. How right he is. The dead hand of regulation is burdensome and unthinking changes bring little benefit and great aggravation. The Solicitors Regulation Authority should think again and the Law Society should do more to challenge ...
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From clients to ‘consumers’?
I read the article by Charles Plant with a sinking heart as I found the repeated reference to ‘consumers’ depressing. I was brought up to believe that solicitors belonged to a profession that provided a service. I try to provide such a service, from which I ...
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Apprenticeships make sense
If the cost of being a law student is as high and burdensome as people say it is; and if sitting the LPC is an expensive ‘punt’ at a career, why not introduce a solicitor apprenticeship (‘student solicitor’) scheme? This might copy the FILEX programme, ...
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Taking responsibility for our brand
Shalaleh Barlow correctly identifies the need to emulate the service ethic in retailing, but misses the point of the Solicitors from Hell website. This attacks the brand of ‘solicitors’. I have spent three decades trying to market this brand only for it to be tainted time after time by the ...
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Established procedure was simply ignored during riot hearings
by Joseph Wright, a solicitor-advocate at Hodge Jones & Allen This is not an article on the law of bail and sentencing guidelines; just my experience of the night of 11 August.
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The right to televise court hearings - is it in the public interest?
The Sun King’s crown may be tarnished, but the influence of Rupert Murdoch’s empire continues to weigh on government policy. That’s one interpretation of Ken Clarke’s announcement that cameras will be allowed into courts. It came less than 24 hours after Sky News renewed its demand for court proceedings to ...
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OPG fees set to increase sharply
The government is to press ahead with proposed increases to Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) fees. In its delayed response to a consultation exercise which finished in May, the Ministry of Justice said it will increase the application to register fees for a lasting ...
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Labour’s legal aid bill amendments fail
Opposition amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill have been rejected by a committee of MPs. The Legal Aid Committee has voted to turn down a series of changes put forward by Labour to the bill. Opponents wanted ...
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Record numbers of children subject to care applications
The numbers of children subject to applications to be taken into care climbed to record levels in 2011, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) announced today. Cafcass received 885 applications last month, the highest number ever received in August since it began ...
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‘Solicitors from Hell’ owner gets bankruptcy order
The owner of the Solicitors from Hell website, Rick Kordowski, was made the subject of a bankruptcy order on 7 September 2011, the Gazette can confirm. The petition had been supported by a number of solicitors with damages and costs awards against him. In ...
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Alternative business structures 'some way off' in Scotland
Alternative business structures are unlikely to become a reality in Scotland until well after they are sanctioned and operating in England and Wales, it has emerged. The Law Society of Scotland said this week that the latest legislative timetable from Holyrood indicates a start date ...
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OFT probe of motor insurance welcomed by PI lawyers
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is to investigate recent sharp increases in motor insurance premiums. The competition watchdog has issued a call for evidence over the next five weeks to provide a clear picture on the hotly disputed topic. The insurance ...
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Stephen Mayson - ABS licensing is a 'shambles'
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s failure to meet the 6 October target date for licensing alternative business structures was branded a ‘shambles’ by a leading market commentator this week. Professor Stephen Mayson (pictured), director of the Legal Services Policy Institute, told delegates at a Westminster Legal Policy ...
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Brands and the market share land grab
As the holiday season comes to an end and we face the autumn of change in the legal services market it is worth having a brief review of the announcements that will affect how you plan your firm’s marketing. These are key moves that will ...
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You’re on candid camera, M’learned friend
And so it begins. Cameras will soon be allowed into court, according to justice secretary Ken Clarke, beaming judges’ verdicts into living rooms like a horror version of Jackanory. Opponents to change will mourn the announcement like Luddites watching the machines start up, raging against the ...
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Claimant lawyers blast ABI claims over compensation
Claimant solicitors have hit out at claims by insurers that consumers get more compensation when they avoid dealing with solicitors. The Association of British Insurers suggested yesterday that the number of personal injury claims received by insurers leapt by 72% between 2002 and 2010. ...
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MoJ overturns ban on cameras in court
Justice secretary Ken Clarke has confirmed the blanket ban on filming in law courts will be overturned ‘to improve public understanding’ of the justice system. Broadcasting will initially be allowed from the Court of Appeal before expanding to include the Crown court. ...