Last 3 months headlines – Page 1547
-
News
Appeal court upholds ruling that CPS case was abuse of process
A prosecution for possession of indecent images of a child has been stayed as an abuse of process after the Crown Prosecution Service refused to make copies of the images for the defence, claiming that to do so would lead CPS staff to commit an offence. ...
-
News
Duncan Lewis boosts turnover by 56%
London legal aid firm Duncan Lewis aims to consolidate its position over the coming year after bringing in more than 100 new staff and upping its turnover by 56%, according to the firm’s recently published accounts. The firm, the largest civil legal aid practice in the ...
-
News
Chancery Lane welcomes coalition government proposals
The Law Society welcomed the new coalition government’s pledge to seek a better balance between state surveillance and privacy this week, while legal aid lawyers said they hoped Kenneth Clarke’s appointment as justice secretary will spell good news for access to justice. Among the proposals set ...
-
News
LSC payment delays spark bankruptcy fears
Delays by the Legal Services Commission in paying solicitors could lead to some firms becoming insolvent, lawyers warned this week. The LSC wrote to firms in March informing them that it would not be making payments on time that month, and payment delays have continued since, ...
-
News
Claims begin to filter through RTA claims portal
Low-value road traffic accident personal injury claims sent through a new electronic data exchange launched three weeks ago have begun hitting insurers’ desks this week, figures show. Of the first 617 claims submitted as the Gazette went to press, liability had been admitted in 386 cases ...
-
News
FSA fines anti-money laundering officer £14k
The Financial Services Authority has imposed a £14,000 penalty on an individual money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), in a case that is likely to raise concerns among those fulfilling the role at law firms.
-
News
Exclusive: QualitySolicitors launches high street network
Law firm marketing alliance QualitySolicitors has launched a national high street branch network in a bid to become the first ‘household name’ legal brand, the Gazette can exclusively reveal. Today sees the opening of the first 15 QualitySolicitors branches across the UK, in a strategy described as a ‘game changer’ ...
-
News
Home information packs suspended
After a week in office, the new coalition government today announced that the requirement for home sellers to provide home information packs will be suspended pending primary legislation to abolish them entirely. The suspension of the controversial sellers packs will take effect from midnight on Friday ...
-
News
The end of lawyers? Pah! This is the time of the 'super lawyer'.
In March, Alastair Moyes stated that 'law firms need to work hard in the face of commoditised legal providers'. Last month he bravely stuck his neck out and suggested that we, today's lawyers, need to embrace radical change...
-
News
The four-year prison term that became a life sentence
The hanging’s-too-good-for-them school of thought on penal reform will probably be unsympathetic, but a recent case shines a spotlight on how inadequate medical care in prison can lead to jail sentences that never end.
-
News
Neuberger calls for curb on legislation
The master of the rolls has called for fewer and more carefully drafted laws to avoid handing too much power to the judiciary. Speaking at the annual conference of the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) last week, Lord Neuberger (pictured) said: ‘Poorly drafted legislation risks giving more ...
-
News
Lawyers getting connected in the EU
The cliche brands of Facebook, Skype and Google tell us how we have become intimately interconnected, wherever we live on the planet. There will obviously be more of it in the future. One of the great, unsung advantages of the EU is that it is preparing us – not for ...
-
News
Public funding for representation at inquests: equality of arms?
The charitable organisation INQUEST has criticised the current inquest system because ‘there is no equity of arms in terms of legal funding’...
-
News
Referral fees do not harm consumers, LSB research shows
There is no evidence that referral fees have caused consumer detriment in either the conveyancing or personal injury market, according to an economic analysis commissioned by the Legal Services Board which was published today. However, there is concern that a focus on profitability causes some criminal ...
-
News
Ministry of Justice appoints City lawyer as minister
A former City solicitor has been appointed a junior minister in the Ministry of Justice’s new line-up. Jonathan Djanogly, a former partner at SJ Berwin, has become a parliamentary under secretary. The Conservative MP for Huntingdon was previously the shadow solicitor general and a shadow minister ...
-
News
New ministers appointed to Ministry of Justice
The Liberal Democrat’s leader in the House of Lords has been appointed as a minister in the Ministry of Justice. Lord McNally, who is also the Lib Dem spokesman on constitutional affairs, has been appointed a middle-ranking minister. The 67-year-old peer is a former Labour MP ...
-
News
Asian lawyers recognised in awards
The Society of Asian Lawyers (SAL) has announced the winners of its annual awards to recognise the exceptional achievements of Asian solicitors and barristers practising in the UK. The award winners were: Young lawyer ...
-
News
Cameron McKenna signs deal to outsource ‘middle office’ functions
City firm CMS Cameron McKenna is to outsource a substantial part of its non-legal office functions in a deal valued by outsourcer Integreon at £583m over ten years. Much of the firm’s non-billable ‘middle office’ functions including accounting and finance; human resources and training; marketing and ...
-
News
Chancery Lane highlights the importance of legal professional privilege
The Court of Appeal’s decision to give the Law Society permission to intervene in Prudential PLC and Prudential (Gibraltar) Limited v Special Commissioner of Income Tax and Philip Pandolfo (HM Inspector of Taxes) is a crucial step in our efforts to defend the principles of legal professional privilege (LPP). LPP ...
-
News
Local government: council of war
‘Phoney War’ was the term used to describe the early months of World War II. Between the formal start of hostilities in September 1939 and Spring 1940, things seemed relatively quiet – at least in Western Europe. After that, of course, the dogs of war were let slip, furious and ...