Last 3 months headlines – Page 1502
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Lawyers put forward alternatives to legal aid cuts
The Law Society has warned the government against hitting the most vulnerable by making legal aid bear the brunt of the Ministry of Justice cuts. The warning follows newspaper reports that the MoJ budget will be slashed by 30% in the chancellor’s spending review on Wednesday. ...
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The Big Four audit firms under the spotlight
As part of its ongoing review of regulation following the economic crash in 2008, the European Commission has just published a review into auditors, their structure and practices.
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Lawyers issue warning over Young’s proposals
The government must not hinder access to justice for personal injury victims as it takes forward Lord Young’s report on the so-called ‘compensation culture,’ lawyers’ groups have warned. In his report released on Friday, Young (pictured) acknowledged that ‘the problem of the compensation culture prevalent ...
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Personal injury sector - don't let cowboys ruin reputation
By Janet Tilley, non-executive legal director of National Accident Helpline The publication on Friday of Lord Young’s review of health and safety laws and the alleged ‘compensation culture’ once again brings the personal injury sector into the spotlight.
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MoJ budget slashed by 30%
The Ministry of Justice is to cut its budget by 30%, according to documents leaked to the Observer newspaper. The cuts are expected to be announced on Wednesday this week, when the government reveals the outcome of its spending review. ...
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Law firm cashier jailed for stealing £1.6m
A former cashier at a Midlands law firm has been jailed for five years for stealing £1.6m from her employer to fund a luxury lifestyle. Louise Martini, 36, from Solihull, pleaded guilty at Gloucester Crown Court to charges of money laundering and theft of £1.6m from ...
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SRA appoints former Linklaters partner as chief City adviser
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has appointed a former magic circle lawyer to advise it on the regulation of City law firms. The SRA also announced today that six firms of various sizes will take part in its pilot of outcomes-focused regulation. Nick Eastwell, a former partner ...
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Lord Young has contradicted himself over the ‘compensation culture’
Politicians often evade questions – it’s part and parcel of the job – but it’s rarer for them to contradict their own work. At a press conference on Young’s report at 10 Downing Street last week, Lord Young managed to both contradict and evade.
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Lawyers suffer from ‘information overload’
‘Information overload’ is causing UK lawyers to under-bill for the work they do, a new survey has suggested. Research at work is now taking so long that 45% of UK legal professionals sometimes do not bill for the time they spend on it, according to the ...
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Consumers ‘crowded out’ of small claims process
Businesses are monopolising small claims courts and crowding out the people the courts were designed to help, a consumer watchdog has warned. A report by national consumer champion Consumer Focus warns that business is ‘clogging up’ the small claims courts and causing delays for individual claimants. ...
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Consumer’s voice in legal reforms under threat
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned the government against pressing ahead with its ‘surprise’ plans to merge it with campaigning group Citizens Advice, at what it said was a ‘crucial period in legal services reforms’.
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Why are lawyers worried about probate rights for accountants?
As it is now less than a year until the non-legal big brands are permitted to begin their grab for high street legal services next October, those areas of work that are reserved (more or less) exclusively for solicitors are beginning to seem increasingly precious in the eyes of the ...
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Young report seeks to curb ‘compensation culture’
The volume and content of personal injury advertising should be controlled, but there will be no outright ban, Lord Young (pictured) has recommended in his report on the ‘compensation culture’ published today. In Common Sense, Common Safety, Young also proposes that the road traffic accident (RTA) ...
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Legal services reforms will create ‘tougher market’, says LSB
The ‘competitive effect’ of new players coming into the market from October next year will mean that ‘existing firms need to improve their levels of service [and] focus on consumers, to be able to compete in a tougher marketplace’, Legal Services Board chairman David Edmonds has said.
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Environment
Planning – Authorisations – Inspectors – Waste disposal Berry & Marshall (Bolton Wood) Ltd (claimant) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (defendant) and (1) Environment Agency (2) Bradford Metropolitan Borough Council (interested parties): QBD (Admin) ...
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Local authorities and surveillance
For the first time in its history, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) has published a ruling concerning a local authority’s use of surveillance powers under part 2 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).
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Court of Appeal confirms limits to legal professional privilege
The Court of Appeal today unanimously confirmed that legal professional privilege (LPP) only applies to qualified lawyers – solicitors and barristers. The decision was welcomed by the Law Society as giving certainty to solicitors and their clients.
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Read all about it
False modesty can become so tiring that Obiter found it somewhat refreshing to receive the paperback edition of Richard Susskind’s The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services. Any readers in possession of the hardback edition only will not have seen his introduction to the paperback. During the ...