Last 3 months headlines – Page 1527
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Amend the brothel closure laws now
by Nichi Hodgsonan editorial assistant on the Gazette/sections magazines publishing team Changes to the laws on prostitution that were intended to make life safer for women sex workers have actually made matters worse.
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High street firms ‘can survive’ in post-Legal Services Act market
High street solicitors can survive in the post-Legal Services Act market, but need a more creative approach to pricing, branding and service delivery, according to a group of key industry figures. At a roundtable debate last week marking the launch of Shopping Around, a report published ...
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Michael Mansfield QC honoured at Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards
Civil rights barrister Michael Mansfield QC received the outstanding achievement accolade at the eighth Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards last week. Mansfield, who retired from practice last year, was honoured for a career that spanned 40 years, during which he acted in high-profile cases ...
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SRA drafts rulebook for new regulation regime
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued a first draft of the 10 new principles which will form the basis of a new ‘outcomes-focused regulation’ regime. The broad principles are contained in a simplified handbook published for consultation by the SRA last week. ...
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European Commission to split justice department in two
The European Commission (EC) is set to transform the way justice is administered across member states, it has emerged.
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Call for new litigation funding model
A new model of litigation funding is needed to secure access to justice for people of limited means, academics said this week. A joint study by the University of Oxford and the University of Lincoln suggested that, while third party funding has improved access to justice ...
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RTA claims portal ‘progress’ – but 50 firms still without login details
Some 50 law firms were still awaiting delayed login details for the new road traffic accident (RTA) claims exchange as the Gazette went to press because of a ‘processing error’. In addition, some firms were still unable to plug their case management systems into the RTA ...
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Luton solicitor jailed over £158k fraud
A Luton solicitor has been jailed for 12 months for falsely claiming more than £150,000 from the Legal Services Commission. Najaf Shah, who worked at Alexander Solicitors and Advocates in Luton, submitted fraudulent legal aid bills totalling £158,000. In one instance he claimed for 101 prison ...
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Lord Lester’s bill a ‘catalyst’ for libel reform
Liberal Democrat peer and barrister Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC has introduced a private member’s bill to reform the country’s ‘archaic’ libel laws. The peer’s Defamation Bill is designed to clarify and modernise the law of libel, protecting both the rights to reputation and freedom ...
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MoJ admits drafting error in fee-capping regulations
Acquitted defendants can claim the full cost of private legal fees, after the Ministry of Justice admitted there is a drafting error in the regulations intended to implement its controversial policy to cap awards. The admission came in documents submitted by the MoJ in connection ...
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BME solicitors and Chancery Lane devise plan to halt PII discrimination
The Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Forum of solicitors has put into action a ‘five-step plan’ together with the Law Society, which is designed to protect BME lawyers from discrimination when renewing their professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover. Law Society head of equality and diversity Pat ...
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LSC accused of squandering millions on VHCC tender process
Legal aid lawyers have accused the Legal Services Commission of wasting ‘millions’ on the tender process for the very high cost cases (VHCC) litigator’s panel. The LSC announced last week that the panel will be scrapped in July, after being in place for only two years. ...
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No way through the RTA portal
The MoJ RTA web portal continues to suffer from bad planning, implementation and a failure to consult. One legal software company has sent this communication to its clients: ‘We are pleased to announce that we can now provide Phase 1* ...
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City lawyer acquitted of insider dealing
A City lawyer accused by the financial services watchdog of insider dealing was today acquitted by Southwark Crown Court. Michael McFall, a former partner at US firm McDermott Will & Emery, was acquitted of eight counts of insider dealing by the Financial Services Authority (pictured). Finance ...
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Online reviews – part of the reputation management landscape
Having gone to the trouble and expense of obtaining a High Court injunction¸ Scott Eason has succeeded in having allegedly defamatory allegations removed from the Solicitorsfromhell website.
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In-house salaries fall for newly qualifieds
Average salaries for newly qualified in-house lawyers in the north-west of England fell from £40,000 to £37,000 last year, a new survey by Manchester recruitment consultancy BCL Legal has revealed. More experienced in-house lawyers, however, saw their pay remain unchanged at £43,000-£60,000 for one to ...
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Clarke urged to save cash-strapped immigration advice provider
Charities, faith leaders and human rights experts are calling on new justice secretary Kenneth Clarke (pictured) to save the UK’s largest immigration advice provider, which is facing closure because of delays in receiving legal aid payments. In an open letter to Clarke and home secretary ...
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Where will the spending axe fall next?
The new justice secretary’s in-tray is bulging. He has already found his department fighting judicial review proceedings; dealing with a drafting error that has rendered new defence costs rules...
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A day in the life of an international legal conference attendee
The flowering season for that most exotically located of plants, the international legal conference, has begun. It runs from May to October. It does not mean that there are no legal conferences outside those months...
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HIPs and consumer protection
Now that the home information pack regulations have been effectively scrapped, the unintended consequence is the loss of any consumer protection for the supply of CON29O and R and CON29DW standards searches. HIPs set out, for the first time, clear standards for the conditions upon which searches should be provided, ...