Last 3 months headlines – Page 1537
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Will parliamentary privilege protect ex-MPs from prosecution over expenses?
In a month’s time, lawyers for three former Labour MPs will try to persuade Mr Justice Saunders that he has no jurisdiction to try them on charges of false accounting.
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Bubble trouble
They say that even bad publicity is better than no publicity. As far as Jeremy Betts, managing director of My Brief in Kent is concerned, that is fortunate. Betts has got himself into a spot of bother over a cartoon (see below) which he has been using to promote his ...
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The truth about meetings
Obiter was intrigued by an insight into the workings of the Crown Prosecution Service, gleaned from an article in last week’s Guardian about the futility of meetings. A CPS ‘senior manager’ who (wisely) asked not to be named, is quoted as saying: ‘Don’t ...
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To tee or not to tee?
An unearthly hush fell over the 300-plus diners in the packed room. The chime and clink of glasses was stilled. Nobody laughed or heckled. It was what literary types like Obiter call a pregnant pause. The occasion was the black tie dinner at the annual weekend school for local government ...
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It’s a fair cop guv
Prison law associate Mike Pemberton (pictured), of Manchester firm Stephensons, went above and beyond the call of duty to try to empathise with his clients last week. He got himself banged up for half a day in a Victorian cell at the Manchester Police Museum. The heinous crimes for which ...
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Insult to injury
This year’s annual conference of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) was held at the decidedly swish Celtic Manor hotel in Cardiff. After witnessing a thoroughly satisfying day of insurer barracking, Obiter was honoured to attend the association’s gala dinner as a guest. Upon arriving in a bustling dining ...
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Solicitors need to communicate with authority on immigration questions
by Mark Phillipschair of the Law Society’s immigration law committee. He writes in a personal capacity If freedom of movement may be described as one of the most ancient and least protected customary rights, in the context of migration it must be recognised as one of ...
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Should the SRA provide discounts on PC fees for part-time workers?
Diversity considerations have occupied a fair chunk of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s time in the last couple of years, and will clearly continue to do so. Certainly, the Association of Women Solicitors’ claim that the proposed flat-rate practising certificate fee for individuals potentially discriminates against ...
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Conveyancing discrimination
I was unable recently to act on behalf of a client in a conveyancing transaction because my firm was already acting on behalf of her seller.
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Solicitors beware
The HomeBuy Direct Scheme assists first-time purchasers with government grant delivered by the Homes and Communities Agency via housing associations.
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Quinn advice
I refer to your article ‘Quinn could reopen in UK’ (see [2010] Gazette, 22 April, 2). You assert that the Law Society has advised solicitors currently insured with Quinn ‘... not to take any action’.
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Full disclosure required
Gillian Phillips is absolutely right in calling for claimant libel lawyers to disclose the outcomes of their CFA-funded cases (see [2010] Comment, 15 April, 10). CFAs and the accompanying high success fees genuinely have a ‘chilling effect’ on freedom of expression. As my firm represents the ...
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Nominations sought for Law Society Council
Elections for new Law Society Council members have now opened, with 17 seats up for grabs across 15 constituencies. The deadline for nominations is 6 May, and successful candidates take office on 15 July. The term of office is four years, and for the casual vacancy ...
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Big brands will ‘drive small personal injury firms out’
Small ‘pure play’ personal injury law firms will become extinct once ‘big brands’ can offer legal services, Richard Langton, partner at national firm Russell Jones & Walker, told the conference. Langton predicted that personal injury firms with fewer than 30 fee-earners will be driven out of ...
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Third-party capture is ‘legitimate’ , says Association of British Insurers
Third-party capture is ‘legitimate’ and ‘in everyone’s interests’, Nick Starling, director of general insurance and health at the Association of British Insurers, told delegates at last week’s conference. In a number of heated exchanges, Starling was grilled over the practice of third-party capture – also known ...
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Rising cost of PI claims against the NHS ‘cannot continue’
The escalating cost of personal injury claims against the NHS ‘simply cannot continue’ and lawyers must advise the government on a remedy, the incoming president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) said last week. Muiris Lyons (pictured), partner and head of clinical negligence at ...
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Firms shrug off disruption caused by Iceland’s volcanic eruption
Hundreds of City lawyers were stranded across the globe by flight disruption caused by Iceland’s volcanic eruption this month. However, firms played down disruption to clients, noting that solicitors were able to make use of remote working or overseas offices. ...
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Law Society unveils new online resource with details of CPD courses
The Law Society has launched a new online resource with details of hundreds of CPD courses from leading suppliers, and a free CPD planning and recording tool. The new CPD Centre, which aims to be the portal of choice for all CPD requirements, takes solicitors through ...
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Warning that local solicitors will become an ‘endangered species’
Support group the Lawyers Defence Group (LDG) has called on the next government to legislate to protect access to justice and high street firms by imposing marketing restrictions on alternative business structures. The group has warned that local solicitors will become ‘an endangered species’ if ...