Last 3 months headlines – Page 1536
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RTA portal launch runs into trouble
The new road traffic accident (RTA) information exchange, which is designed to handle hundreds of thousands of low-value RTA claims, has been dogged by problems since its belated introduction last week, the Gazette has learned. Many solicitors have still not received access codes for the new ...
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Quality and competence are not the same
Diane Hayter, chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel, is right in saying that ‘CPD is an insufficient check of quality’ 1 April). In the eyes of the client...
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Law Society seeks to block privilege for non-lawyers
The Law Society has been granted permission to intervene in a Court of Appeal case that could see legal professional privilege (LPP) extended to non-lawyers. In his High Court judgment in Prudential v Special Commissioner of Income Tax and Philip Pandolfo (HM Inspector of Taxes) in ...
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Why are councils and unions cross with a certain lawyer?
There is a long tradition of lawyers being unpopular. Take the jokes: What’s the difference between a catfish and a lawyer? One is a slimy, bottom-feeding, slippery creature and the other is just a fish. Or what’s the difference between a dead rat on the road and a dead lawyer? ...
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Spike in mergers predicted in 2010
The year ahead is likely to see a spike in mergers and team hires among the top 100 law firms, with 20% looking to expand overseas, according to research published this week. Sweet & Maxwell’s annual survey of law firm finance directors reveals that 40% of ...
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Solicitors to launch scheme to drive down PI referral costs
National law firm network QualitySolicitors is to launch a new personal injury scheme designed to target claimants from higher socio-economic groups and drive down the cost of referrals, the Gazette can reveal. QualitySolicitors Personal Injury (QSPI) is a members-only claims management-style company which will be launched ...
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Child care lawyers are qualified
I do not recognise the picture presented in your article entitled ‘Fears over child care lawyer shortage’ (see [2010] Gazette,15 April, 1).
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Reinstate income threshold for PC fee
I read with interest your Opinion column about whether there should be discounts on the PC fee for part-time workers and your request for readers' views (see [2010] Gazette, 29 April, 10).
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Firms ‘bucking recessionary trend’, says survey
Law firms are ‘bucking the recessionary trend’ and proving particularly resilient to the current economic climate, research has suggested. Two in five law firms increased their turnover last year, according to a survey of 69 firms conducted by accountants BDO Stoy Hayward. ...
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Law Society calls for greater protection of client money
Client money deposited in a bank account by a solicitor must receive better protection under European law in the event that the bank collapses, the Law Society has warned the European Commission. In a letter to the European commissioner for the internal market and services, Law ...
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Give a little whistle!
I am playing Jiminy Cricket this week, trying to keep you on the straight and narrow – in relation to views about the European Union: 'If you start to slide, give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!'
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Research shows fall in in-house salaries
In-house lawyers in the north-east have seen a drop in salaries over the past year, research has shown. A survey of 100 in-house lawyers by legal recruiters BCL Legal found that senior lawyers in Yorkshire and the north-east have seen salaries drop an average of £10,000 ...
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Solicitors could face serious competition from the bar
There are many who have been critical of the bar for being slow to respond to the challenges or opportunities presented by the Legal Services Act.
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Children ‘at risk’ over expert witness fee cuts
Vulnerable children will pay the price if social workers are excluded from being expert family court witnesses, family practitioners have warned the government. Child care professionals met government representatives last week to educate them on the work done by independent social work experts (ISWs) and warn ...
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Quinn Group to ‘consider selling’ its insurance business
Quinn Insurance, the Irish insurer currently in administration, looks destined to be sold following a statement from its parent company Quinn Group issued today. Quinn Group said it had concluded that it ‘should consider selling Quinn Insurance’ in the interests of Quinn Insurance employees and ...
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What the legal services reforms could mean for how bar does business
The Legal Services Act, in combination with changes to the bar’s Code of Conduct agreed last month by the Bar Standards Board, herald a historic sea change for the bar. They give barristers the opportunity to practise in new ways that could radically change the relationship they have with solicitors. ...
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Dispute resolution: reasonable settlement and third parties
Where a defendant settles a claim with the claimant and then seeks to recover his losses from a third party, the third party may attempt to challenge the settlement on the basis that it was unreasonable. What approach, therefore, would the courts take in assessing whether a settlement was reasonable?
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Criminal law
Affray – Bystanders – Threatening to kill – Public Order Act 1986 Carol Leeson v Director of Public Prosecutions: DC (Lord Justice Pill, Mr Justice Rafferty): 16 April 2010 The ...
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Family law
Human rights – Local government decisions – Placement orders – Risk to children Re A (children) sub nom EH v (1) X London Borough Council (2) AA (3) Rea & Rha (by their guardian) [2010] EWCA Civ 344: ...
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Data page for April 2010
The data page is the financial rates and data compiled for the Law Society Gazette by MoneyFacts group, the UK's largest supplier of savings and mortgage data. DownloadsDownload the data page for April 2010 below. ...