Last 3 months headlines – Page 1542
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Lawyer issues libel claim against 'solicitorsfromhell' website
A north-east solicitor has instructed libel lawyers Carter-Ruck to bring a claim for damages against the owner of a website that blacklists solicitors and law firms. Scott Eason, principal at Eason Law, is pursuing a claim for damages of between £50,000 and £100,000 and seeking a ...
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McGrigors chief offers ‘Tesco law’ rift solution
The head of Anglo-Scottish law firm McGrigors has put forward a proposal that could prevent the full implementation of ‘Tesco law’ in Scotland and heal a damaging rift over the future of the nation’s solicitors’ profession. Managing partner Richard Masters wants the majority ownership of a ...
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Baker & McKenzie using external firms to recover unpaid fees
US and City firm Baker & McKenzie is to instruct external law firms to recover any unpaid legal fees owed to it by clients, the Gazette has learned. It is understood the firm, in an unusual move, has instructed each of its practice areas to pay ...
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Fears over child care lawyer shortage
A shortage of child care solicitors has led to a rise in the use of unqualified paralegal staff to present cases on behalf of local authorities, the Gazette has learned. Jordan Gooch, public sector consultant at recruiters Badenoch & Clark, said there has been a significant ...
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Manifestos pledge to abolish HIPs
A small correction to your article on the main parties' approach to legal issues, in connection with home information packs. In fact, there is a Conservative Party manifesto commitment to ‘abolish home information packs...
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President's ill-informed claims over equal pay cases
The Law Society president is guilty of making extremely derogatory and ill-informed claims about the role of trade unions in equal pay cases.
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LibDems propose to scrap HIPs
A Liberal Democrat government would scrap home information packs, ID cards and the Labour Party’s prison building programme, according to its manifesto published yesterday. Nick Clegg’s party said its core aim is to ‘hard-wire fairness back into national life’. Like the ...
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Permanent administrators appointed to Quinn Insurance
The status of the professional indemnity insurance (PII) policies of more than 2,900 law firms and sole practitioners has today been thrown into uncertainty after the Irish High Court appointed permanent administrators to Irish insurer Quinn Insurance. The Law Society said that its advice to Quinn ...
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Immigration rules ‘poisoned chalice’, warn lawyers
The government’s decision to add a new ‘highly trusted sponsor’ category to the points-based immigration system is a possible ‘poisoned chalice’ for education providers, immigration lawyers have warned. Educational institutions, such as language schools, can qualify for the new sponsor category, which came into force on ...
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Should legal aid be given to MPs to defend expenses charges?
The news that the Labour MPs accused of fiddling their parliamentary expenses, David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine, have been granted legal aid to defend the charges against them sparked an outcry, with the leaders of all three major parties falling over themselves to denounce it.
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How does your firm manage online enquiries?
When law firms first started to promote themselves online, their websites were little more than brochures: ‘This is who we are, this is where to find us and you can phone or email us for more information.’ Many firms have at least moved on to a more interactive experience for ...
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Labour manifesto targets legal aid to safeguard ‘frontline services’
Labour will implement more cuts in the legal aid budget if re-elected next month and also plans to increase the use of ‘virtual courts’ in criminal cases. The party has also pledged to press ahead with ID cards and continue to make ‘full use’ of CCTV and DNA technology to ...
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Future of Quinn Insurance cause for concern but don't panic
Your article last week (‘Quinn’s future hangs in the balance’, [2010] 9 April, 1] is likely to have caused significant anxiety within the profession, particularly for those currently insured with Quinn.
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‘Good firms’ should offer online services, say consumers
More than half of consumers expect ‘good law firms’ to offer their services online, research has suggested. A survey of 2,266 people carried out by YouGov and commissioned by Epoq Legal found that 56% of consumers said they expected good firms to offer services online. ...
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Conservative manifesto promise to ‘rebuild confidence’ in justice system
A Conservative government would carry out a ‘fundamental review’ of legal aid, and introduce measures to ‘rebuild confidence’ in the criminal justice system, it said in its manifesto published today. The manifesto, An invitation to join the government of Britain, promises to look at alternative ...
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PC fee help for small firms and legal aid practices
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is consulting on a proposal to lessen the impact of its practising certificate fee reforms on small firms and legal aid practices for this year’s renewal. The proposal could mean around 3% of the profession would have the fee payable under the ...
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Europe and the law – an embarrassment at election time
I have read that UK citizens are already bored by the general election. Before you have glazed over entirely, let me offer some insights into the corner that concerns me: the junction of law and Europe.
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Solicitors in limbo as Quinn ruling adjourned
The concerns of 2,911 law firms and sole practitioners who took out professional indemnity insurance (PII) policies with Quinn Insurance are set to continue this week after the Irish High Court adjourned a hearing on the fate of the Irish insurer. The court will now decide ...
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It’s time to put some balance back into journalism
When did reporters stop reporting the news and become political propagandists instead? We are not just talking about the tabloids here – although much more about them later – but about local newspapers, the regional backbone of the free press of which we were rightly proud.
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Race disparity
I am writing in respect of recent articles on the issue of diversity and race in the legal profession.