Latest news – Page 612
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US plea to curb third-party funding
A US lobby group has called for immediate government regulation of third-party litigation funding. The increasing influence of third-party funders has caused controversy on both sides of the Atlantic. Both the US, and England and Wales, currently have voluntary regulation, but there have been repeated calls ...
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Divorce ruling branded ‘cheat’s charter’
Lawyers have branded as a ‘cheat’s charter’ a Court of Appeal landmark ruling that an oil tycoon need not hand over to his wife £17.5m in assets held by his companies. In Petrodel Resources Ltd & Ors v Prest & Ors [2012] EWCA Civ 1395 the ...
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Goldsmith warning on confidentiality
Lawyer-client confidentiality is under authoritarian attack on several fronts, threatening the future of the profession, the secretary general of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe has warned.
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Mediators go for ‘gold’ in Hong Kong
Demand for mediation services in Hong Kong – which adopted Woolf-style obligatory mediation in 2010 – has prompted the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) to create a panel of 22 mediators in the region. Mark Side, partner and head of dispute resolution at Tanner ...
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SRA ‘confident’ over PC renewals
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has expressed ‘confidence’ that this year’s practising certificate renewal season, which began today, will pass more smoothly than last year’s troubled process. 2011 was the first year that the SRA attempted online renewal and payments, through its mySRA portal. Well-publicised difficulties with ...
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Lyons Davidson looks to capitalise on ABS status
Lyons Davidson has been granted alternative business structure (ABS) status, which the national firm hopes will help it capitalise on changes in the UK legal market. Managing director Mark Savill told the Gazette that the move is key to its strategic relationship with insurers in preparation ...
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Disappointment at costs council decision
Costs lawyers have expressed disappointment at the government’s decision not to create a costs council as recommended in Lord Justice Jackson’s civil justice reforms. On Monday this week, the Ministry of Justice announced in a written statement that the work of the disbanded Advisory Committee on ...
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Leniency for legal whistleblowers
Whistleblowers involved in misconduct will face more lenient penalties under proposals being considered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The regulator today launched a consultation on the introduction of co-operation agreements, under which solicitors who may have been involved in misconduct or failed to report it, but ...
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Grayling promises clampdown on unrecovered legal aid
Wealthy defendants will have their cars seized and sold under a government plan to claw back £10m a year in contributions to legal aid. Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, will today publish a consultation on measures to ensure defendants co-operate with means testing and make ...
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Bar broadside on referral fees ‘confused and self-serving’
The Law Society today rebutted bar claims that solicitors are putting pressure on barristers to enter referral fee arrangements that damage the interests of clients. Chancery Lane accused the Bar Council of ‘confusing the public interest with barristers’ interests’ in new advice to the bar which ...
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Applied founder blames ‘intimidation’ for court interpreter debacle
The founder of the company at the centre of the court interpreting debacle today blamed ‘intimidation’ and ‘quite horrendous’ threats by interpreters boycotting his company for its failure to meet targets.
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ABSs still a minority interest in flat market, says PwC survey
Alternative business structure status remains of interest only to a minority of big firms as a way of building business, according to a long-established annual snapshot. In the Law Firms Survey 2012, compiled by consultancy PwC, 11% of top-100 firms see ABS status as one of ...
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Citizens Advice can bid for Lottery cash
Citizens Advice bureaux and law centres can bid for a share of £65m promised by the Big Lottery Fund on condition that they prove they can modernise their approach and improve collaboration. Advice providers and community-based organisations will be in contention for the funds if they ...
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Repeat medical errors fuel NHS legal bill
Errors in maternity care that landed the NHS with a £3.1bn legal bill over 10 years are still being repeated, a new report has warned. The study by the NHS Litigation Authority found there were 5,087 maternity claims between 2000 and 2010. It was the most ...
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Council fined for lawyer’s error
A city council has been fined £120,000 after one of its solicitors sent a series of emails relating to a child protection legal case to the wrong address. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found Stoke-on-Trent Council in serious breach of the Data Protection Act after 11 ...
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Bar regulator confirms move into ABSs
The Bar Standards Board has confirmed it will apply to the Legal Services Board (pictured) to become a licensing authority of alternative business structures in the new year, and could approve its first ABS in early 2014. At a board meeting last week, the bar’s regulator ...
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Salford claims centre rates poorly with solicitors
Almost two-thirds of users of the Salford civil claims centre rate the service as poor, according to a survey reflecting continued frustration with the new central facility. The figure is among the findings of a poll of 47 legal firms, 40 of which ...
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Court interpreter mess ‘led to custody’, MPs told
Defendants are being remanded in custody solely because court interpreters have not been sent by the company contracted by the Ministry of Justice to provide them, a parliamentary committee heard this week. Giving evidence to the Justice Committee, the chair of the Law Society’s criminal law ...
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PPI text spammers face £250k fines
Originators of spam text messages soliciting PPI and personal injury claims are in line for £250,000 fines. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) will announce this week whether it will issue the penalty – the first for spam texts – against two individuals who it believes are responsible for millions of ...
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Todner legal aid fear
Gary McKinnon’s solicitor has described the future for criminal legal aid firms as ‘very scary’, amid swingeing cuts and payment problems. Karen Todner, who was last week named the Gazette’s Legal Personality of the Year, said: ‘The system is so restrictive in terms of running a business.’ ...