Latest news – Page 565
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Exclusive: 400,000 personal files stolen in court closure
Computer equipment storing more than 400,000 confidential court files was stolen from a court - and the theft only discovered months later when it appeared for sale on eBay, the Gazette can exclusively reveal. The network server, which contained personal details of victims and witnesses, was apparently stolen by a ...
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Insurer calls on government to look again at whiplash awards
A leading figure at Britain’s biggest car insurer has urged the government to consider looking again at compensation awards for whiplash injuries. Tom Woolgrove (pictured), managing director of personal lines at Direct Line, said it was ‘obvious’ car insurance premiums had fallen following reforms of ...
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New government strategy for professional services
Boosting exports and improving skills levels in professional firms are the key priorities of the government’s industrial strategy for professional and business services, published today. The 48-page document, from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, highlights the importance of broadening higher apprenticeship routes in the professions, in particular the ...
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MoJ contracts reviewed as G4S referred to SFO
Justice secretary Chris Grayling has asked the Serious Fraud Office to investigate contractor G4S after telling parliament that it and rival Serco had overcharged the government by ‘tens of millions of pounds’ for tagging criminals. Grayling said the firms had charged the government for tagging people who were in prison, ...
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LawWorks warning over pro bono surge
Demand for pro bono legal advice has leapt by almost a third in the past year, pro bono ‘brokers’ LawWorks and the Bar Pro Bono Unit have revealed. But LawWorks warned that the true scale of unmet need has been masked by the ‘desperate state’ of frontline services. The monthly ...
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McNally under fire over Lips claim
Justice minister Lord McNally is facing criticism from lawyers over a claim that cases involving litigants in person (LiPs) are ‘normally’ completed more quickly than those where parties have legal representation. The Liberal Democrat peer was responding to a report by a judicial working group calling for new measures to ...
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Lack of demand shuts first one-stop shop for offenders
England’s first ‘all in one’ court and offender treatment centre is set for closure due to under-use, the justice minister announced today. Helen Grant announced a six-week consultation on plans to shut North Liverpool Community Justice Centre and move its work and the principles of its problem-solving approach to Sefton ...
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Bar’s disciplinary system on trial in High Court
The legality of the bar’s disciplinary system has been called into question this week as the High Court hears three claims for judicial review. The cases have been brought by three barristers in relation to charges of professional misconduct brought by the Bar Standards’ Board. In each case the charges ...
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Further grilling for Chris Grayling over PCT
Justice secretary Chris Grayling will be summoned to be appear before the House of Commons justice committee for a second time to examine the government’s proposed cuts to legal aid, it was revealed today. Publishing a report on the evidence it had heard on the Transforming ...
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Lobby law loophole for lawyers
Law firms that lobby on behalf of their clients will escape the provisions of the government’s lobbying bill, transparency pressure group Unlock Democracy said today. The group said plans to force firms to declare whom they represent would exempt 80% of the lobbying industry, including law ...
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DPP to meet judge following prosecution ‘farce’ in murder trial
Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions (DPP), is to meet Richard Griffith-Jones, the judge who made a scathing attack on the Crown Prosecution Service after a murder trial descended into farce last month.
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JK Rowling’s solicitor apologises for leak
A London firm has ‘apologised unreservedly’ for accidentally revealing that Harry Potter author JK Rowling (pictured) was writing under a pseudonym. Russells Solicitors, which describes itself as ‘one of the leading firms in the entertainment industry’, has admitted it was the source of the leaked information ...
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Accountants challenged by Society over ‘flawed’ application
The Law Society has condemned the ‘seriously flawed’ application by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales (ICAEW) to become an approved licensing body for the grant of probate, it emerged last week. In a letter to Legal Services Board (LSB) chief executive Chris Kenny, the Society accuses ...
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Marching for Legal Pride
The legal profession came out in force to celebrate Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) diversity for Legal Pride 2013. Legal bodies marched in London under the banner ‘Equality under the Law’ to promote LGBT rights. Members of the Law Society, Bar Council, Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, Interlaw Diversity ...
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Lawyer’s bank warning ‘ignored’
Lawyers at the Financial Services Authority ignored a finance lawyer’s written warnings over the alleged inappropriate sale of derivatives products to small and medium-sized businesses two years before accusations of widespread mis-selling amounting to billions were made public, a Gazette roundtable was told this week. Stuart Brothers, founder of SRB ...
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Private equity firm hires planning team as ABS total hits 160
A law firm backed by James Caan’s private equity investment company has announced the appointment of a team of six town planners. Knights Solicitors, which secured an alternative business structure licence in January, will incorporate the new additions into its real estate team. ...
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Modest profit increases at Linklaters and Freshfields
Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are the latest magic circle firms to post a modest increase in profits for 2012-13. Freshfields recorded an increase in profits of 2.4% to £548m. Turnover grew by 7.2% to £1.221bn. Profit per equity partner climbed 7.6% to £1.39m. ...
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Quality mark to boost solicitor brand in wills market
The Law Society today announced the creation of an accreditation scheme for firms providing will-drafting, probate and estate administration services to enable solicitors to ‘stand head and shoulders’ above competing providers. Desmond Hudson, chief executive, told the Society’s private client conference that the Wills and ...
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Ashurst, Norton Rose Fulbright and Eversheds post results
Ashurst, Eversheds and Norton Rose Fulbright were the latest top-100 firms to post financial results for 2012-13 today. Profits at City firm Ashurst fell 6% to £105m, as market conditions in Europe and the weakening euro had a ‘marked impact’. Turnover at the firm was flat ...