Latest news – Page 618
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News
Motor insurers face competition probe
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) today referred the motor insurance industry to the Competition Commission after finding that motorists are being charged too much after an accident. The OFT provisionally decided to refer the market in May this year after a study found evidence that ...
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Court of Appeal ruling in 'whistleblowing' case
Members of limited liability partnerships are not ‘workers’ under employment legislation, the Court of Appeal ruled this week dismissing a whistleblowing claim made against City firm Clyde & Co. English qualified solicitor Krista Bates van Winkelhof alleged that she had been sacked by the firm in 2011, after she made ...
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Top 25 firms 'eclipsed' in growth figures
Law firms outside the top 25 in the UK are growing at a faster rate than those inside the top 25, new figures have revealed. Research by Deloitte into the first quarter of 2012/13 found firms between 26 and 50 grew fee income by 4.5%, whilst ...
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College of Law orders exam resits
The College of Law has ordered that 18 students retake two exams after papers were left overnight in a car that was then stolen. The scripts were driven off-site by a tutor from the Birmingham centre on August 29 but taken after burglars stole her handbag ...
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Warnings needed on ‘redesigned’ judicial pension scheme
I am a salaried judge of the First-tier Tax Tribunal and a solicitor. It is a matter of common knowledge that the judicial pension scheme is currently being ‘redesigned’. The leaflet published by the Judicial Appointments Commission in connection with the pension scheme reform (which was highlighted in your recent ...
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Conscience call
The impugners of conscientious objection in the case of Ms Ladele were allowed more than 500 words in which to express their illiberal opinions; Mr Davis’ letter contains about 50, and, though well-intentioned, scarcely touches the heart of the matter.
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BarCo escrow scheme ‘levels the playing field’
The Bar Council has developed a scheme to allow barristers to hold client money through a third party, a move that its chair says will create a ‘level playing field’ with solicitors. Today it launches BarCo, a third-party escrow account which holds client money, allowing barristers ...
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Law firms blamed for claim delays
Law firms are delaying the processing of thousands of claims at the new centralised facility in Salford by stopping cheques and sending duplicate documents, the centre has complained. In the six months to 7 September, firms stopped 872 cheques, worth £167,140, that they had sent to ...
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Judge speaks out on pensions
A solicitor judge unhappy with pension reforms has warned lawyer colleagues to ‘think carefully’ before ‘burning their bridges’ in private practice to join the bench. In a letter to the Gazette published today the judge, whose name is withheld on request, says they ‘no longer feel ...
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Mutiny on Merseyside over weekend courts
The Ministry of Justice has denied reports it has ditched or delayed plans to open courts at weekends. But the ...
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Family lawyers call for more ADR support
A leading family lawyer has called for more government and judicial support to encourage separating couples to resolve disputes out of court. Jo Edwards, vice-chair of family lawyers’ group Resolution, made the plea following a survey that showed a lack of awareness among the public of ...
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Will-writing should be reserved, super-regulator recommends
Will-writing, estate administration and probate should only be carried out by regulated legal professionals to give greater protection to consumers, the Legal Services Board has proposed. Following a consultation, the board said today that it will recommend to the lord chancellor that the services should be ...
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LCJ voices new fears over rise in litigants in person
The lord chief justice today expressed concerns that litigants in person will increase further when legal aid cuts come into force next year.
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SRA talks tough on COLPs and COFAs
Six hundred law firms had failed to nominate compliance officers by mid-September, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed. The organisation this week warned firms they could have their licences revoked if their officers for legal practice, and finance and administration (COLPs and COFAs) are not in ...
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Court privacy ruling on divorce
Divorcing couples have been given reassurance that their private financial affairs will remain confidential even when the media attend court, following a recent judgment from the family court. In the anonymised case ...
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Black History Month set to launch
Law firms seeking to grow their business in emerging markets should ‘tap into the cultural acumen’ of the UK’s black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, the organisers of a month-long event to celebrate black achievement said today. The Law Society’s Black History Month starts on 3 ...
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Judicial appointment reforms ‘sideline’ Wales
Coalition plans to abolish permanent Welsh representation in the judicial appointments process will lead to an even more ‘England-centric judiciary’, Wales’ top lawyer has warned. The government proposes scrapping the requirement for a Welsh commissioner on the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) as part of a drive ...
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Iraq executions heighten justice fears
A spate of executions in Iraq has raised new fears about the conduct of justice in the strife-torn country. The country’s justice ministry has announced nearly 100 hangings so far in 2012, including 26 in two days in August alone. According to campaigners Human Rights Watch, all the executed were ...
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‘Clear risk’ of negligence claims if IFA referral is liberalised
Solicitors will be vulnerable to negligence claims if they are allowed to refer clients to financial advisers who are not wholly independent, the Law Society has warned. In its response to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s consultation on financial advice, the society pointed to the danger of ...