Last 3 months headlines – Page 1479
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Big majority backs free legal advice
More than eight out of 10 people believe civil legal advice should be free for people on average earnings or below. This conviction is consistent across all social classes, a nationwide opinion poll has found, raising fresh questions over the government’s mandate for swingeing legal aid cuts.
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Miners’ compensation claims website under investigation by MoJ
A no win, no fee website set up to farm former coal miners’ undersettlement claims is being investigated by the government claims regulator, the Gazette has learned. The Ministry of Justice is investigating justiceforminers.org.uk after Kevan Jones, Labour MP for North Durham, complained to the claims ...
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Neuberger endorses accreditation scheme
The master of the rolls has given judicial backing to the proposed quality assurance for advocates (QAA) scheme, saying judges are the ‘ultimate consumers’ of advocacy services and are well placed to assess quality. Speaking at the Bar Council’s annual conference, Lord Neuberger defended the proposal ...
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ProcureCos could earn bar ‘millions’ in new work
The bar is in ‘rapid change mode’ and could secure ‘hundreds of millions of pounds’ of work through its new ProcureCos, Nick Green QC told the bar’s annual conference. But the bar’s chairman said that despite a ‘jockeying for position’ with solicitors, the two professions would ...
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Virtual court pilot in ‘chaos’
Efforts by the Ministry of Justice to increase use of the virtual court at Camberwell Green magistrates’ court in London have led to ‘chaos’ because the court list is overloaded, criminal solicitors allege. For the last fortnight all overnight remands from the 20 London police ...
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GC100 rejects government's disclosure proposals
General counsel at Britain’s biggest companies have rejected government plans to force companies to disclose more information about corporate social responsibility and risk. The GC100, the association for general counsel and company secretaries in FTSE 100 companies, said the requirement might leave companies vulnerable to legal ...
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Judicial Appointments Commission survives quangos cull
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) and the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman will not fall victim to the government’s ‘bonfire of the quangos’. Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke (pictured) told parliament today that the two bodies will remain ...
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Consumer panel wants lawyers to undergo ‘regular MOT’
Lawyers would have to demonstrate at regular intervals that they are competent to practise under radical proposals from consumer watchdogs for beefing up quality. The Legal Services Consumer Panel has today called for the introduction of ‘periodic validation’ – a review of permission to practise after a fixed time – ...
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QualitySolicitors opens first ‘legal store’
National legal services brand QualitySolicitors today launched its first ‘legal store’ in a shopping centre in London, offering ‘instant wills while you shop’, and late evening and weekend opening. QualitySolicitors Freeman Harris, based in the Lewisham Shopping Centre, is one of 54 new franchises opened by ...
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Top-50 firms see revenues grow
Top-50 law firms have successfully grown their revenues in the first half of the financial year, figures released by firms this week suggest. Among City firms, Norton Rose posted a 9% rise in fee income for the six months ending 31 October, indicating fee income of ...
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New legal aid court challenge set to proceed
A High Court judge has refused an injunction that could have further delayed the start of the new mental health and public law legal aid contracts – but awarded a protective costs order to enable a legal challenge to the two Legal Services Commission tender processes.
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LSC facing court challenge over immigration contracts
The future of the Legal Service Commission’s new immigration and asylum contract could be in doubt after the High Court gave South Manchester Law Centre (SMLC) permission to challenge the outcome of the tender process. The law centre challenged the lawfulness of the tender process in ...
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Mid-tier firms appear set to fall further behind
The UK’s top 10 law firms have shaken off their hangover from the recession – but the chasing pack are still nursing sore heads, if recent numbers are anything to go by.
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‘Sluggish’ justice must be faster and cheaper
The criminal justice system is ‘sluggish’, stifles innovation, and is both fragmented and bureaucratic. Agencies including the Crown Prosecution Service need to share resources and innovate to shorten the time between arrest and sentencing, and increase the number of early guilty pleas. These are among ...
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The future is (almost) here
Last week I wrote about the role that automation could play in delivering legal services to the public, using products that firms of all sizes could buy in.
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Indemnity insurance bill falls to three-year low
Solicitors paid less to insurers for professional indemnity insurance (PII) this year than they did in the previous two years, Solicitors Regulation Authority figures revealed today. The cost of insuring the profession on the open market this year was £214m, down from £241m in 2009/10 and ...
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EU’s own Mama Grizzly
Forgive me for being a cultural slave of the US, but the US mid-term elections have coloured my thinking this week of developments here in Europe.
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Revenues rise at Allen & Overy
Half-year turnover at magic circle firm Allen & Overy have risen by 3% on last year, the firm reported today. For the six months ending 31 October, turnover at the firm rose to £526m, up from £511m over the same period in 2009. The firm said ...
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National Pro Bono Week gets under way
National Pro Bono Week begins today with events marking the donation of hundreds of millions of pounds worth of free legal advice over the last 12 months. Sponsored by the Law Society, Bar Council and Institute of Legal Executives, the NPBW highlights the broad range of ...
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Hammonds agrees latest transatlantic merger
Partners at national firm Hammonds and US firm Squire Sanders & Dempsey have approved a merger of the firms, creating a 1,275-lawyer transatlantic practice with $625m (£387m) in combined revenues. The new firm, which will span 17 countries and 37 offices, will be named Squire Sanders ...