Last 3 months headlines – Page 1494
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There are many reasons for wanting to join the legal profession
‘It is no part of my function to defend lawyers’ fees,’ Lord Neuberger said recently, ‘although, unless you pay lawyers properly, you won’t attract able people to the legal profession, and if you don’t attract able people to the legal profession, you will undermine the rule of law’.
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Legal aid cuts 'to hit 150,000 more'
The government has underestimated the number of people who will be denied legal aid funding because of its reforms by more than 150,000, according to research published today by campaign body the Legal Action Group. LAG said the government’s prediction that 502,000 people would lose access ...
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Magistrates fight planned court closures
The first two judicial review actions seeking to prevent magistrates’ court closures were issued last week, the Gazette has learned. The proceedings seek to challenge the planned closure of Sedgemoor Magistrates’ Court in Somerset and Barry Magistrates’ Court in the Vale of Glamorgan. ...
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Consumers want clarity over law firm charges
Consumers want to see charges that are easy to understand, and a ‘solicitor who remembers their name’ when they use a law firm, according to research commissioned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. A study based on interviews with 40 recent purchasers of legal services found that ...
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Motor insurers 'should reveal referral fee arrangements'
Motor insurers should publish on their websites the names of law firms with which they have referral fee arrangements, and indicate the level of fees paid, a House of Commons inquiry recommended last week. Policyholders should be sent this information with their insurance documents, and when ...
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Judge slashes success fee in Trafigura dispute
A senior costs judge has cut the £105m costs claimed by London firm Leigh Day & Co following its action against oil company Trafigura. In a preliminary judgment last month, Master Hurst reduced the success fee that the firm can claim under the conditional fee agreement ...
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High Court dismisses LSC bid to recoup £100,000
The High Court has dismissed an attempt by the Legal Services Commission to recover more than £100,000 of payments on account (PoA) to a barrister, ruling that the LSC’s delay of almost 20 years in starting the action was an abuse of process. The LSC had ...
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Compliance rules may hit sole practitioners
Proposed changes to the way sole practitioner firms are authorised could see many forced to stop practising due to the ‘unique problem’ they will face meeting new compliance requirements, the Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) has warned.
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Hudson issues warning on ABS crime risk
The Solicitors Regulation Authority must ensure that solicitors do not end up picking up the bill for inappropriate claims on the compensation fund made by alternative business structures, the Law Society chief executive said this week. Desmond Hudson (pictured) also warned that the SRA’s proposed rules ...
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Call to sue councils that are 'failing the vulnerable'
The case of a mentally ill man who attempted suicide after being discharged from hospital to a park bench has prompted mental health solicitors to call on lawyers to sue local authorities that fail to provide adequate healthcare for some of society’s most vulnerable members.
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Conveyancing firms alerted over CQS 'risk consultants'
The Law Society has warned conveyancing firms seeking to join its Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) not to incur unnecessary costs by hiring unauthorised risk and compliance consultants to help with their applications. The CQS has received 633 applications from firms since the scheme’s launch in January ...
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Law Society of Scotland members stage mass revolt
More than 160 members of the Law Society of Scotland have called for the body to be abolished in its present form, citing their ‘complete lack of confidence’ in its ability to represent the interests of the profession north of the border.
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Nexus Professional Network launches
A new service that matches lawyers who have qualified with large firms with companies seeking temporary legal work for specific contracts or projects launched this week. Nexus Professional Network, which has been set up by a group of current and former partners at large accountancy ...
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Government unveils new immigration rules
The government unveiled new immigration rules today that will give wealthy entrepreneurs a ‘fast-track’ route to settling in the UK. It also published a policy statement outlining how the new 'exceptional talent' route under Tier One of the points-based system will operate from April this year. ...
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Low marks for OPG review panel
It was with some optimism when, in September 2010, we learnt that the Office of the Public Guardian was reviewing its panel of deputies after 10 years. The aim, according to the OPG, was to revitalise the panel to ensure that it represented the many ...
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Don't worry about swear fees
I cannot agree with R M Napier . The reality is that swearing documents is now an anachronistic process that should be consigned to the dustbin of legal history. Few documents now need to be sworn and, where they do, it serves little purpose and is very inconvenient for ...
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Misleading picture
The President’s Podium gave a very misleading impression of the position regarding the question of free choice of lawyer under a legal expenses insurance policy. The right of free choice, when it arises, was introduced by the 1987 European Directive and has nothing to do ...
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Local government
Education – Social welfare – Looked-after children R (on the application of O (by his litigation friend Andrew Burton)) (Appellant) v East Riding of Yorkshire County Council (Respondent) & Secretary of State for Education (Intervener) (2011): CA (Civ Div) ...
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Employment
Civil procedure – Industrial action – Interim injunctions National Union Of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers v Serco Ltd (T/A Serco Docklands): Associated Society Of Locomotive Engineers & Firemen v London & Birmingham Railway Ltd (T/A London Midland): CA ...
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Legal funding
Legal advice – Local government – Insurance D Sousa v Waltham Forest London Borough Council: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justices Ward, Moore-Bick, Etherton): 3 March 2011 The appellant local authority ...