Last 3 months headlines – Page 1507
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LSC announces defendant legal aid sanctions
The Legal Services Commission has announced that financial sanctions will be imposed on defendants who fail to provide evidence of means when applying for criminal legal aid in the Crown court. The Crown court means-testing scheme was rolled out nationally earlier this year. The sanction for ...
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A coup for Chancery Lane – but what happens now?
Last week’s High Court judgment that the Legal Services Commission’s family tender process was unlawful railroaded a process which would have reduced the number of family providers from 2,400 to 1,300 and led to the demise of many experienced firms.
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3,000 high street firms could disappear - Clarke
Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke yesterday warned lawyers to prepare for changes as far reaching as the ‘big bang’ proved to be for the financial sector. Clarke told members of Birmingham Law Society that alternative business structures (ABSs) would herald a ‘whole new world’ for lawyers. From ...
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A Tanzanian teaching experience
One of the greatest rewards for any coach, mentor or trainer in the development process is to be able to help individuals and teams realise their potential and develop their talent. The ‘dream’ scenario is that, before your eyes, skills are gradually mastered, performance improved and confidence built and sustained, ...
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After PQE: wise beyond years?
Some law firms, having moved partners away from lockstep towards a more strict merit-based system, have now turned their attention to the way they price and reward assistants and associates. Unpicking the use of PQE to decide on fees and reward is a logical step, but as a piece of ...
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Financial crisis: are regulators asking the right questions?
We have just passed the second anniversary of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Of course, the financial crisis it caused, in which we are still immersed, has given rise to a flurry of activity by regulators around the world. We are all agreed upon one message: NEVER AGAIN. ...
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LSC hit by £300,000 legal bill over tender
The Legal Services Commission faces a £300,000 bill for the Law Society’s legal costs, after losing a High Court battle over its family tender process. The LSC said it could not disclose how much it had spent on its own legal fees in defending the action, ...
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Court figures show rise in FTSE 100 litigation
The number of High Court cases involving FTSE 100 companies has risen 16% in the last year, research from legal information provider Sweet & Maxwell has revealed. In the year to 30 June 2010, the study shows there were 179 cases involving the FTSE 100, ...
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Firms make applications to assigned risks pool
Some 409 firms applied to enter the assigned risks pool (ARP) on 1 October, the deadline for professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewal, according to figures released by the Solicitors Regulation Authority today. The SRA said this is roughly the same number of deadline day applications as ...
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Mayer Brown outsources secretarial practice
The London corporate group of US firm Mayer Brown has outsourced its entire secretarial practice, the firm announced today. Corporate administrative outsourcer TMF Group, which runs 87 corporate administration companies in 67 countries, has acquired the practice. Peter Dickinson, head of the ...
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Small conveyancers still have weaponry against big brands
The Gazette reported recently on some figures released by Contact Law showing the level of anxiety among the profession over the ‘threat’ of alternative business structures.
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A change in direction on electronic disclosure
The introduction of Practice Direction 31BOn 1 October 2010, a new practice direction, 31B on the disclosure of electronic documents comes into effect. The new practice direction is designed to encourage and assist the parties to reach agreement on the disclosure of electronic ...
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Civil procedure
Insurance – Conflict of laws – Applicable law – Choice of law Stonebridge Underwriting Ltd v Ontario Municipal Insurance Exchange: QBD (Comm) (Mr Justice Christopher Clarke): 10 September 2010 The ...
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Local government
Employment – Equal pay questionnaires – Statutory grievance procedures DM Birch and 99 others v (1) Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (2) Housing 21 Ltd (3) Sodexo Healthcare Services Ltd (4) Pinnacle Housing Ltd: EAT (Mrs Justice Cox): 10 September ...
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Employment
Discrimination – Comparators – Reasons – Unfair dismissal JP Morgan Europe Ltd v R Chweidan: EAT (Judge Serota QC, A Gallico, K Mohanty): 26 August 2010 The appellant employer (M) ...
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Negligence
Contractual liability – Exclusion clauses – Liability insurance – Burden of proof Omega Proteins Ltd v Aspen Insurance Uk Ltd: QBD (Comm) (Mr Justice Clarke): 10 September 2010 The claimant ...
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Legal advice
Equal treatment – Legal Services Commission – Legitimate expectation – Tender period Azam & Co Solicitors v Legal Services Commission (2010) CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justices Pill, Rimer, Sullivan): 10 September 2010 ...
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Terminating agency agreements – watch your language
The court in Stephen Gledhill v Bentley Designs (UK) Limited [2010] EWHC B8 (Mercantile) considered whether the principal (the defendant) had lawfully terminated the agency agreement on grounds that the agent’s (the claimant) purported abusive conduct had amounted to a fundamental breach of contract and thereby justified the termination.
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What a HIP-free property landscape will mean for conveyancers
Jan Boothroyd considers the new HIP-free property landscape and what this will mean for conveyancers