Latest news – Page 602
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News
Show us more red tape, SRA asks firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has identified nine unnecessary regulations affecting law firms – and has appealed to solicitors to identify more for simplification or abolition. Announcing the next phase of the authority’s Red Tape Initiative, Charles Plant, the SRA’s chair, last week appealed to the profession ...
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Bill of rights commission splits
The prime minister’s plans for a ‘British bill of rights’ are in tatters today as the commission he formed to tackle the issue publishes its final report with two commission members dissenting from its contents. Lady Kennedy (Helena Kennedy QC) and Philippe Sands QC have written a dissenting argument. Speaking ...
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PC renewals ‘relatively trouble free’ but 4,500 short
The deadline for solicitors to renew their practising certificates has passed with an estimated 4,500 applications still outstanding, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said today.
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Power of attorney applications lead MoJ’s digital dash
Applications for lasting power of attorney will be available on the web from next April as one of a batch of digital services, the Ministry of Justice revealed today. The service is one of four picked by the department to meet central government’s call for ‘digital by default’ public services ...
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Stress tops lawyers’ concerns in 2012
Stress was the main reason lawyers called legal helpline LawCare in 2012, the charity’s statistics for the year revealed today. LawCare opened 378 case files last year, slightly down on the 392 opened in 2011. Stress continued to be the most common issue reported, cited by ...
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PI sector predicts jobs haemorrhage
Three-quarters of personal injury firms are planning to cut staff numbers in the near future unless the government pulls back from plans to reform civil litigation. A survey carried out by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers found that 118 of the 155 firms questioned ...
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Society adds voice to India rape trial concerns
The Law Society has called on the Indian authorities to protect the lawyers who will represent five men charged with the rape and murder of a 23-year-old medical student in Delhi in December. Local lawyers have refused to represent the suspects. ...
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We’re still on course for referral fee ban, says SRA
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will not ask for a delay to the imminent ban on referral fees, despite warnings that the timetable is being rushed. The SRA board will meet on 23 January to finalise the SRA Handbook’s wording on the ban, which comes into force for personal injury claims ...
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Birmingham Law Centre faces the axe after a century
Britain’s second biggest city could be without a law centre by the end of this month unless funding can be found to keep it afloat. Birmingham Law Centre is descended from bodies that have offered free legal advice and representation for nearly 100 years. ...
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Regulator approves bar’s client money scheme
The Financial Services Authority has given the go-ahead for the bar’s scheme that will allow barristers to hold client money through a third party, enabling clients to bypass solicitors and instruct barristers directly more widely. The FSA has granted regulatory approval under the Payment Services Regulations ...
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Law firms defy City gloom with 20,000 new hires
Employment at City law firms has grown by 20,000 in the space of a year, according to a new report. The annual health check on the UK’s financial and professional services industry by City cheerleader TheCityUK reveals that 339,700 people are now employed in legal services, ...
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High street PI giant announces redundancies
A personal injury firm claiming to have the biggest high street presence in the UK has announced up to 13 redundancies. Forster Dean began consultation with the affected staff members, including 10 solicitors, this week as a direct response to the government’s civil justice reforms. ...
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City and in-house summit calls for gender targets
Gender targets and embedding flexible working practices in corporate culture are among recommendations by over 130 senior City partners and in-house counsel to increase the number of women partners. The proposals, outlined in a report published today, follow an international summit attended by delegates from top ...
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2012 ‘record year for mergers’
More than a quarter of top-100 firms were involved in a merger in 2012, in what has been described as a record year for deals. Research by Jomati Consultants has found that 26 deals were announced by top-100 firms during the past 12 months. ...
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Plea over fixed costs for mesothelioma cases
Asbestos campaigners have warned the government it would be a mistake to introduce blanket fixed costs for all mesothelioma cases. Justice minister Helen Grant confirmed last month that a consultation will start in the spring on reform of mesothelioma cases. Proposals will ...
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Council defers defamation move
A local authority has decided to defer acting on lawyers’ advice that recent changes in policy allow it to sue critics for defamation. Rutland county council said today that following a council meeting last night ‘the option of taking legal action for defamation is not being pursued at this time’. ...
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Judiciary publishes guide for litigants in person
The judicial office has today published a self-help guide for litigants in person presenting cases to the interim applications court. The 16-page guide, penned by High Court judge Mr Justice Foskett, takes litigants through each stage of the process, from giving notice and presenting documents to ...
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QASA start delayed
The introduction of the controversial quality assurance scheme for advocates (QASA) has been delayed. The Joint Advocacy Group (JAG), made up of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and Ilex Professional Standards (IPS) issued a statement today following consideration of the responses ...
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AWS to join Law Society’s Women Lawyers Division
The Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) has voted to join the Law Society’s new Women Lawyers Division (WLD) in order to give women solicitors a ‘stronger, louder and unified voice’, it emerged this week. The vote, held on Monday evening at Chancery Lane, followed two years ...
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Interpreter contract failings revealed
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has exposed the full failings of the Ministry of Justice’s contract for court interpreters, branding it ‘an object lesson in how not to contract out a public service’. A report published today details the flaws in the procurement process and operation ...