Last 3 months headlines – Page 1344
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Zero support
Jonathan David tells an all too familiar story about criminal legal aid in 2011. It gets more demoralising every day. Last week we represented a vulnerable client for child abduction. Two visits to the police station - over seven hours in all - for £180. That was the high point.
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Keep an open mind
Edward Foster has assumed that in all mediations, or perhaps in most of them, the result is a 50/50 settlement. From 35 years’ experience of mediations as a solicitor, and 12 years’ experience as a mediator, I have to say that is simply not the case.
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Lesson in dollars
I write regarding last week’s letter, ‘Costly T&Cs’. I have just bought property in the US. On the closing statement, in addition to the attorney’s fee, is an item ‘Title Insurance’ - a further $350, which I was informed was indemnity insurance in case he got anything wrong. It appears ...
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Wrong presumption
Criminal practitioners should be aware that in January the Stop Delaying Justice Scheme will take effect. The aim of this apparently is to achieve disposal of criminal trials in two hearings - first appearance and trial date. In a letter to practitioners in London, the chief ...
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Does Sumption appreciate the constraints of new role?
Herbert Smith hit the bull’s eye with its FA Mann lecture this year. So many turned out for lecturer Jonathan Sumption QC that there was no room at Lincoln’s Inn for a number of hopeful, but disappointed, potential members of his audience. Happily, the speech of the Supreme Court Justice-elect ...
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Jurisdiction
Conflict of laws - Challenge to jurisdiction - Pre-trial or post-judgment relief - Freezing order Madoff Securities International Ltd and another v Raven and others: QBD (Comm) (Mr Justice Flaux): 25 November 2011 ...
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Criminal bar in dock for solicitor-advocate ‘turf war’
The criminal bar stands accused of using the planned quality assurance scheme to wage a ‘turf war’ on solicitor-advocates, following the circulation of a letter calling on barristers to engage with the scheme. In the letter, sent to all members of the Criminal Bar ...
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Role of solicitors' charity is more important than ever
Two key charities that support solicitors and their dependants have seen their workload increase significantly as a troubled economy continues to place strain on the finances and private lives of many lawyers. The number of enquiries for support received each month by SBA The Solicitors’ Charity (formerly the Solicitors Benevolent ...
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Jackson reforms will 'encourage third-party funding'
A leading insurer has predicted that the Jackson reforms will encourage a flood of third-party litigation funders to enter the UK market. Peter Smith (pictured), managing director of after-the-event (ATE) insurance firm Firstassist, spoke this week after clinching the sale of the company by Equistone Partners (formerly Barclays Private Equity) ...
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Intestacy law reform to help cohabitants
The children, spouses and cohabitants of people who die intestate could benefit from proposed changes to inheritance laws, published yesterday. New proposals published by the Law Commission include giving more rights to the surviving partner and children of unmarried couples and removing complex and costly ‘life ...
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Crisis, what crisis? Number of solicitors soars to all-time high
The number of practising solicitors hit a record high last month, despite the parlous state of the economy, according to figures released by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. By the end of November there were 125,473 PC-holders, a rise of 462 on the previous month and of ...
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CPS solicitor faces disciplinary action
A Crown Prosecution Service solicitor is facing disciplinary proceedings over failings in the treatment of evidence from an undercover police officer in trials of environmental activists. An inquiry by retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Christopher Rose into the CPS’s handling of cases against campaigners ...
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PI lawyers risk conflict claims under ABS
The legal profession is unprepared for conflicts of interest in personal injury law that will occur from 2012, the Gazette has been told. Such conflicts could leave PI lawyers open to negligence claims and increase professional indemnity insurance premiums. The problem arises from the willingness ...
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Queen unveils renovated Rolls Building
The Queen has officially opened the newly renovated Rolls Building, the £300m centrepiece of UK ambitions to become the world centre of dispute resolution. The development brings together the Chancery Division of the High Court, the Admiralty and Commercial Court, and the Technology and Construction ...
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Jackson and the beanstalk
Cast Jackson: a doughty, hard-working lad.Widow Ken: his jazz-loving mum. Prone to dozing off.Highstreet: an elderly cow, mainstay of the farmyard. Greatly put-upon and underappreciated.Old Straw: a ...
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Law firms warned on text-generated referral 'spam'
Law firms have been reminded to check the origins of referrals to ensure they were not generated by unwanted text messages, after investigations uncovered widespread anger at such ‘spam’. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said this week it is working with mobile phone networks to study ...
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Employment law reforms are 'unworkable', say lawyers
Proposed employment law reforms are unworkable, according to a survey of employment lawyers. More than three quarters (78%) of lawyers polled by solicitor network Contact Law said reforms announced last month by business secretary Vince Cable would lead to a ‘hire and fire’ culture. Only 8% of respondents were in ...
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It was a dreadful 12 months for legal aid lawyers, with the government impervious to reason on swingeing cuts
It’s impossible to precis the events of 2011 in a manner that is of universal relevance to an ever more polarised legal profession. So much has happened; so much has still to happen. Clearly, it was a dreadful 12 months for legal aid lawyers, with an ideologically driven government impervious ...
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Addressing solicitors’ concerns about the new regulatory regime
by Michael Garson, chair of the Law Society’s Regulatory Affairs Board The past 18 months have seen intense activity, as the Regulatory Affairs Board and Law Society policy teams have responded constructively to the programme of change proposed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and challenges from ...
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A Christmas carol for solicitors
It was Christmas eve and I had invited the staff to have a festive drink with me. Sadly those who were still left in the office seemed to want to go as soon as possible so I decided not to waste the cooking sherry, and instead had value packets of ...