Last 3 months headlines – Page 1569
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A long shot?
At first glance, the invite to this year’s Serious Fraud Office annual press shindig sent an icy chill down Obiter’s spine. Being one to have a firm grip on important events – thanks to a trusty iPhone calendar rather than photographic memory (yes, times have moved on) – the date ...
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Thought police
It was a bright cold day in June and the clocks were striking 13. Obiter Smith needed to find a study of local legal aid commissioned by the last government and published last year. However a search by the document’s title on the Ministry of ...
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Will rising student debt lead to a 'lost generation' of solicitors?
Lawyers unite on 3 July to join the Pride London Parade, celebrating and promoting diversity in the profession. It is just 15 years since the Law Society added sexual orientation to its code of practice in respect of discrimination, which illustrates just how contemporary the diversity debate remains in so ...
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Competence powers and school exclusions
‘Under new management’ signs are festooned across the variegated organs of government, from Whitehall to town hall. The new coalition government has not been slow in charting new ground.
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MPs' expenses abuse case raises issues fundamental to the rule of law
Three former MPs and a peer will ask the Court of Appeal next week to rule that the Crown court has no jurisdiction to try them on charges of false accounting. Elliott Morley, David Chaytor, Jim Devine and Lord Hanningfield deny supplying false information in support of their expenses claims. ...
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Former Mishcon partner in court
A former partner at City firm Mishcon de Reya last week appeared in court charged with using falsified bank documents to obtain a €22m (£18m) loan. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) alleges that between 1 July 2008 and 22 August 2008, Kevin James Christopher Steele, 50, ...
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European Parliament backs equal treatment for suspects
The European Parliament has backed proposals that will, for the first time, set common standards to secure rights for suspects in criminal proceedings. It voted last week to approve plans from the European Commission to ensure translation and interpretation rights. The ...
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Human rights test case call for sharia law
A ‘parallel’ system of justice based on Islamic law should face a test case under the Human Rights Act, a group campaigning against religious laws said this week. The One Law for All Campaign called for a case to be initiated to determine whether Muslim arbitration tribunals and sharia councils ...
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‘Data corruption’ blamed for duty solicitor rota errors
The Legal Services Commission has blamed ‘data corruption issues’ for errors in the duty solicitor rotas published last week. Following publication of the new rotas for the six-month slots running from July to December, firms across the country found themselves on rotas in the wrong areas, or missed off the ...
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Fees up at top 50 law firms
Solicitors at top 50 law firms are earning nearly 20% more in fees than they were a year ago, new research has found.On average, each fee-earner in the top 50 firms brought in £77,000 in the quarter ended 30 April, compared with £65,000 over the same period in 2009, according ...
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ABI launches third-party code for insurers
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has launched a voluntary code of practice for insurers taking part in so-called third-party capture. The practice, referred to by the ABI as ‘third-party assistance’, involves an insurance company settling a claim directly with a personal injury victim of a policyholder, without the victim ...
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‘Collapse of representation’ fears over LSC’s mental health tender
The ‘extraordinary’ results of the Legal Services Commission’s mental health tender have left established firms facing bankruptcy and could trigger the ‘collapse of representation’, solicitors have warned. The tender outcomes, which were published to providers last week, have resulted in many experienced providers being given less ...
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Smaller firms to collaborate in north-west
An innovative project to help smaller law firms work together to become more competitive has been launched in the north-west. The initiative could involve around 10 Greater Manchester firms setting up a single management company to manage shared support services to help them prosper in the post-Legal Services Act environment. ...
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FSA chief warns over enforcement disruption
The scrapping of the Financial Services Authority must not disrupt a pipeline of pending insider dealing and market abuse cases, its enforcement chief warned this week. Margaret Cole (pictured), the FSA’s director of enforcement, said it is ‘vital that the momentum of enforcement activity is ...
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Legal aid payment regime blamed for RMJ collapse
The Law Society has hit back at government claims that inefficiencies at legal advice charity Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) led to its collapse – while third sector groups have warned that all legal aid suppliers are facing funding difficulties. The charity, which was one of ...
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Regime change
The coalition government is scrapping the Financial Services Authority as a result of the latter’s comprehensive failure to provide effective regulation.
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Unethical earnings
The commercial debate about referral fees overlooks one simple fact – a referral fee is the purchase price for a client.
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Wake-up call
I cannot help but comment on the relative health of the legal profession compared with the medical profession.
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National disgrace
On 16 June Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ), one of the largest legal aid providers in the UK for refugees and migrants, went into administration because of cashflow problems caused by a legal aid contracting regime which prevents us from billing our work in progress until the closure of cases.