Last 3 months headlines – Page 1504
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High street firms ‘fear for the future’
The future of many high street firms could be in jeopardy unless they adopt a more customer-friendly approach to business, according to a new study. Some 87% of lawyers in sole practitioner and small firms already fear for their future, the analysis found, with many ...
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The coming regulatory revolution
The European Commission is concerned at the take-up of electronic commerce in the EU.
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Immigration cap will ‘strangle’ City law firms, Chancery Lane warns
The government’s plan to impose an annual cap on immigration will ‘strangle’ City law firms, the Law Society warned today. The cap will ‘severely restrict’ firms’ ability to conduct overseas work; prevent firms from attracting overseas lawyers and moving employees to London from their international offices; ...
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Lloyds’ hidden agenda
Despite 26 years of good service, we have recently suffered the blow of withdrawal of our conveyancing panel membership by Lloyds Banking Group. We are obviously taking immediate steps to seek the rescission of this decision. It is important for firms to appreciate ...
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Duty solicitors are not ‘overpaid’
I was surprised to see Mr Edwards’ claim that many duty solicitors are ‘overpaid’. When one considers the hours worked, experience gained and education obtained in the pursuit of duty solicitor status, duty solicitors are in the main underpaid. If one compares a duty solicitor’s salary to that ...
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Big is not better
On 10 February 2010 several large legal aid fims met Jack Straw and discussed the future. The MoJ has disclosed the names of the firms which attended but has indicated that the agenda and minutes are secret. I wonder if Tony Edwards' recent comment in the ...
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Unrealistic deadlines
I am primarily a conveyancing solicitor and have recently been dealing with a number of purchases whereby I have been given 10 working days to exchange contracts from receipt of the papers. Do solicitors not realise when placing these deadlines that the solicitor acting for purchasers needs to apply for ...
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Green nightmare
Department of Energy and Climate Change documents have reportedly revealed that the much-vaunted Carbon Reduction Scheme will be enforced against company executives and employees with the sanction of heavy fines and even imprisonment if there is perceived to be any failure to provide ‘assistance’ and so on. This revelation is ...
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The age of criminal responsibility is much too low
Following the sentencing of two 11-year-old boys at the Old Bailey for the attempted rape of an eight-year-old girl, the Law Society has called for the age of criminal responsibility to be increased.
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Challenging arbitration awards
One of the fundamental policy reasons behind the enactment of the Arbitration Act 1996 was the need to allow parties to resolve their disputes through arbitration and without judicial intervention.
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Insolvency
Administration – Insolvency practitioners’ proposals – Law firms – Pre-pack administrations In the matter of Halliwells LLP sub nom Halliwells LLP v (1) Shay Bannon (2) Dermot Power (administrators): Ch D (Mr Justice Kitchin): 30 July 2010 ...
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Real property
Agency – Equity – Professional negligence – Estoppel by representation Jean Sarah English v (1) Colin English & Yvonne English (2) Hodge Jones & Allen (a firm) (3) Swift Advances plc: Ch D (Judge David Cooke): 3 August 2010 ...
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Criminal law
Acquisition of criminal property – Fraudulent dealing – Mens rea – Money laundering R v Michael Geary: CA (Crim Div) (Lord Justice Moore-Bick, Mrs Justice Rafferty DBE, Judge Gilbert QC): 30 July 2010 ...
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Establishing causation when an injury has more than one cause
Where an injury could have had more than one cause, what must be proved to establish causation? This issue has engaged the House of Lords on several occasions, and two differing answers have been forthcoming. The differing and inconsistent tests are categorised as the ‘material contribution’ test and the ‘but ...
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Penny-pinching
Times are tight at the moment, so you would expect the Legal Services Commission to be doing all it can to maximise its income. But Obiter had to chuckle at two letters received this week which reveal the full extent of penny-pinching at the legal aid body. A letter from ...
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Decimal point
Obiter was taken aback by readers’ reaction to the Gazette’s recent front-page headline, ‘Family law "decimated" by LSC tender’. Quite right, you might think – after all, it is appalling that so many firms should have lost their family legal aid contracts. But ...
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Summing up
The age of the alternative business structure is nearly upon us. In this utopia, lawyers and accountants will work in perfect harmony to provide a seamless client service. That’s the theory, at any rate. But, as one source who used to work for Garretts, once the law firm arm of ...
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Nude of the world?
When out and about in the company of solicitors, as Obiter often is, it is not uncommon for members of the profession to suggest improvements to this publication. Obiter is duty bound to listen, of course. But a suggestion made at a drinks party this week caught us rather by ...
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Obiter dictaphone
Criminal defence solicitor Jeremy Leaning cc’d Obiter on this letter to justice secretary Ken Clarke. He promises to keep us posted of the minister’s response. Dear SirPermission to bring a handheld voice recorder/dictation machine into courtOn 4 August I attended East Cornwall Magistrates’ Court at Bodmin ...
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What is going on?
I read with interest the interview with the new LSC chief executive Carolyn Downs. I am very sorry to hear that she is upset by what she sees as aggressive and adversarial behaviour on the part of legal aid providers. Unless she masters the facts of her brief rather than ...