Last 3 months headlines – Page 1589
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Publishing SRA charges ‘discriminates against those with unusual surnames’
by Gregory Treverton-Jones QC, a barrister at 39 Essex Street chambers, London, and co-author of The Solicitor’s HandbookI recently represented an Iranian-born solicitor – let us call him Mr Zadini – in disciplinary proceedings at the SDT. Some of the allegations against Mr Zadini were very serious, but he ...
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Rising material inequality is hindering access to the legal profession
Rising university costs are a hindrance to aspiring black lawyers, the Law Society announced at the conclusion of Black History Month. A timely observation, though Chancery Lane might have gone further. With annual tuition fees predicted to rise to £7,000, an issue that this week is viewed through the prism ...
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Airport sale, media refinancing and fashion moves
Taking off: Freshfields, alongside City firm Herbert Smith, advised airport operator BAA on its £1.5bn sale of Gatwick Airport to infrastructure asset investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners. Magic circle firm Slaughter and May advised Global Infrastructure Partners, while magic circle firm Allen & ...
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Transport secretary grilled over Freshields fees in Metronet collapse
Legal and professional advisory fees were cast into the spotlight as MPs picked over the bones of Metronet, the collapsed London Underground upgrade consortium whose failure cost the taxpayer up to £410m, at a public accounts committee hearing last week. Magic circle firm Freshfields was the ...
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Recession litigation boom fails to arrive
City litigators have been ‘surprised’ that an expected wave of post-credit crunch disputes has not yet materialised, according to two groups monitoring financial services litigation and dispute resolution.
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Fixed fees rate cuts will drive profession away, say family lawyers
Family law groups have warned that new fixed fees which will slash legal aid rates for some private law cases by up to 50% will drive lawyers away from legal aid and undermine access to justice. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) published the new fee structures ...
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APIL rejoins talks on extending fixed fees regime
The Association of Personal Injury lawyers has rejoined talks on extending the fixed fees regime in personal injury cases.APIL had walked out of the talks last month in an unprecedented move for the organisation. The Civil Justice Council is conducting a mediation process to produce industry-agreed ...
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Court case results recording review shows error rate of 25%
HM Courts Service needs to improve the accuracy of its recording of case results ‘as a matter of urgency’, a report by HM Inspectorate of Court Administration (HMICA) found last week. The inspectorate said the Courts Service was not recording case results on the courts register ...
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Conveyancers must enact 'radical' change to survive, says Chancery Lane
The Law Society has warned conveyancing solicitors that they will need to consider ‘radical’ change – such as increasing their liability – to ensure they retain a ‘sustainable commercial role’ in the property market. Pledging Chancery Lane’s support for conveyancing solicitors, chief executive Des Hudson questioned ...
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Top solicitor jailed for cash theft
A former deputy coroner and high-profile probate solicitor has been jailed for stealing more than £43,000 from a charitable trust. Alan Benstock, 51, a former deputy coroner for West Yorkshire and former vice-chairman of the Law Society’s probate section, was sentenced to 22 months for thefts ...
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Human rights record
Jason McCue of H20 Law became the third human rights lawyer in three years to be named practising Solicitor of the Year in the annual Law Society Excellence Awards. McCue followed in the footsteps of Phil Shiner, who won the accolade in the inaugural year ...
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Recession to blame for rise in law firm investigations
Regulatory investigations into law firms have increased steadily over the lifetime of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, parliamentary statistics show. SRA figures requested by justice minister Bridget Prentice in answer to a parliamentary question show that the SRA handled an average of 574 cases per month in ...
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Aspiring will-writing regulator's colourful past revealed
A new will-writing organisation is lobbying the Legal Services Board for will writing to become a regulated activity and, if successful, will apply to become a will-writing regulator. The company behind the Fellowship of Professional Willwriters and Probate Practitioners (FPWPP), which launched this week, has previously ...
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Solicitors join with bar to fight plans to cut advocacy rates
The government could face legal action by the Law Society and Bar Council as the professions unite over plans to cut criminal defence advocacy rates by 23%. The two representative bodies are taking advice on a potential judicial review action based on the lack of clarity ...
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European Commission criticises lawyers over lobbying
Law firms that carry out EU lobbying work have been criticised by the European Commission for failing to enter their clients’ names on its voluntary lobbying register. The commission said that law firms, in arguing that they would breach professional conduct rules by revealing clients’ names, ...
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Lovells moves closer to transatlantic merger
City firm Lovells and US firm Hogan & Hartson moved closer to a transatlantic merger today as management at each firm agreed to recommend the tie-up to partners. Information on the proposed merger will be sent to partners at each firm late next week, before a ...
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Solicitors overpaid millions by LSC for legal aid work
Solicitors have been overpaid nearly £25m for legal aid work, public spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) reported today. The NAO said solicitors overclaimed for legal aid work to the tune of £18.3m in 2008-09, while £6.4m was erroneously paid to solicitors who provided legal ...
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Code of Conduct - several important areas in need of greater clarity
by Tony Guise, partner at Guise and a member of the Solicitors Assistance Scheme and the duty solicitor rota at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Though the new Code of Conduct has been updated, it is still unclear in its wording and could lead unwary solicitors into ...
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Barnetts launches iPhone application
Conveyancing firm Barnetts has launched an iPhone application that allows clients to get an instant quote and follow the progress of their case via their phone. The in-house IT team at Barnetts developed the software, which other firms will be able to licence and use. ...