Last 3 months headlines – Page 1544
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Sentencing
Criminology – Long-term prisoners – Rape – Release on licence R (on the application of Webb) v Secretary of State for Justice: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justices Pill, Wilson, Sullivan): 8 September 2010 ...
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Not right to reply
It’s fair to say that, what with the mayhem that is the civil legal aid tender and the recent debacle over late payments (to cite but two examples) the Legal Services Commission cops a fair amount of stick from the Gazette and its readers at times. It does seem reasonable ...
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Words of warning
On the subject of semantics, a group of international law experts has claimed that the use of ‘unclear language’ by lawyers and other professionals was to blame for the recent economic meltdown. Clarity, the association of lawyers, judges and lay people which promotes the use of plain legal language, said ...
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Grammar, we love you
Every year, when a fresh intake of students begin their law degrees, British legal academics quietly shake their heads and mutter to one another about the poor standard of written English of many of their new charges – and they are not talking about the foreigners. So it’s always comforting ...
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The Audit Commission and legal professional privilege
On 13 August 2010, communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles announced the Audit Commission’s forthcoming demise. He claimed that the commission had ‘lost its way’, moving from being a watchdog championing taxpayers’ interests to a ‘creature of the Whitehall state’.
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Corporate governance and coping with visits from the FSA
The telephone rings. It’s reception. Financial Services Authority investigators are downstairs with a search warrant. How prepared are you to respond to such a knock at the door? That question has been put high on the agenda of in-house lawyers as the regulatory and business crime regime becomes ever more ...
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How to construct the foundations
In the article How Leeds law firms are battling the downturn, Karen Eckstein says: ‘There’s not a comprehensive handbook which tells you how to do it’ (set up a law firm). This ex-Leeds solicitor turned to the excellent Setting Up and Managing a Legal Practice by Martin Smith, published by ...
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Baroness Prashar steps down as chair of the JAC with a parting shot
by Baroness Prashar It is a testament to the cooperative approach shown by the Law Society and the hard work of commissioners and staff at the Judicial Appointments Commission that the Society now has confidence in the openness and fairness of our selection process.
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Culture clash and compensation
Below is a brief note addressed to Lord Young in relation to a story in last Saturday’s Telegraph. Dear Lord Young I ...
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Beware of rising pension charges
I have just received notification from the NHS that, provided my Pension Share Order is received by 31 December 2010, the implementation charge will be £393.62, including VAT. If it is received after 1 January 2011, the charge will be £2,760, including VAT. I calculate ...
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Migration limits threaten UK's position as a prominent legal centre
A welcome schism has opened up in the coalition; welcome to City law firms, at any rate. Vince Cable, whose increasingly Eeyore-like deportment has not gone unnoticed among political scribes, has hit out at proposed limits on non-EU highly skilled migration. In a Financial Times interview, he claimed that companies ...
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Eschig ruling and non-panel firms
The article FSA underlines policyholder right to choose solicitor could leave some readers with the impression that the Eschig judgment has in some way affected the position of already-compliant legal expenses insurers, which is not the case.
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Vulnerable people will find it harder to access good legal advice
Hugh Barrett’s reply to John Ford’s concerns about the allocation of low-volume category legal services is inadequate. Mr Barrett’s letter explains that in most low-volume categories, the tender process was ‘non-competitive with matter starts awarded to all organisations that met our essential criteria’. ...
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Working party plea for costs rules to be liberalised
A working party led by a senior judge has called on the government to liberalise the costs rules to make it easier for parties to make challenges under environmental law.
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Recession fuels ADR rise
The financial crisis triggered a surge in the number of disputes resolved by arbitration and mediation, with the UK performing well as a venue for hearing international cases, a study published this week found. The study, by membership body TheCityUK, discloses that the number of arbitrations ...
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Fall in cases handled by magistrates
The number of cases handled by magistrates has fallen by 16% in a decade as more defendants are dealt with out of court, according to a report published this week. The report for the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies shows that around 1.64 million cases ...
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Law firms and insurers join forces to fight Jackson reforms
Five law firms and two insurers have set up a pressure group with the aim of preventing Lord Justice Jackson’s proposed reforms to the funding of personal injury and clinical negligence claims, which they claim will leave victims ‘at the mercy’ of large insurance companies. The ...
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Immigration cap poses ‘threat’ to UK legal sector
The Law Society has made a submission to the Home Office warning that its proposed limits on non-EU highly skilled migration could damage the legal sector. The submission follows concerns voiced by Liberal Democrat business secretary Vince Cable that immigration limits are damaging British industry. ...
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LCS chief executive Deborah Evans reflects on achievements
by Deborah Evans Since 2006, the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) has delivered substantial improvements for both consumers and law firms, whether they are users of the service or beneficiaries of its advice.