Latest news – Page 630
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No costs savings
Since 19 March we have been required to send all CPR Part 7 designated money only claims to the County Court Money Claims Centre at the Salford Business Centre. The goal is to reduce costs and processing time.
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Rise in NHS negligence claims expected
Claims against the NHS are likely to rise this year as cases are pushed through ahead of funding reforms, according to the new head of the NHS Litigation Authority.
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No extra pay for ‘speedy’ justice
Solicitors could end up working seven days a week without extra pay to cover anti-social hours under government plans to extend court sittings. Proposals to introduce early morning and evening sittings and Sunday courts were among measures set out last week in a white paper ...
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Turn to arbitration and slash costs, town halls told
Local authorities could save 95% of the typical cost of taking cases to court by turning to specialist arbitration, according to a not-for-profit organisation providing such services. The London-based Centre for Justice said public bodies are losing up to 10% of their budgets annually in ...
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‘Frumpy legal profession’ in need of revolution
The threats and challenges faced by lawyers can be blamed on the ‘egregious failure of a frumpy profession’ to reform itself in line with the rapidly changing legal landscape, a Canadian law professor told the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) Symposium in Manchester last week.
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Courtroom interpreter 'savings' evaporate
The Ministry of Justice has admitted that £12m of savings predicted for the first year of controversial new arrangements for courtroom interpreting ‘will probably not be achieved’. The announcement, by justice minister Lord McNally, came as the ministry declined to reveal the cost of the ...
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Sixth annual bar placement scheme
The Bar Council hosted its sixth annual bar placement scheme last week, in conjunction with the Social Mobility Foundation. The scheme encourages talented children to aim for the bar regardless of their social or economic background.
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Barclays’ Libor fixing ‘voided’ swaps deals
Barclays’ manipulation of the London inter-bank offered rate (Libor) may have rendered tens of thousands of customer agreements that reference Libor ‘void’, according to a £12m claim against the bank. The case could open the way to claims for sums far exceeding direct losses incurred through Libor manipulation, admitted in ...
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European court in judicial selection crisis
The crisis in Europe’s top court was set to escalate this week, with the 27 EU member states arguing over how to select 12 more judges to help handle a mounting caseload. The president of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which is ...
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MoJ ‘hell-bent’ on expanding RTA process
The government this week rejected calls to tear up its timetable for boosting the role of the RTA portal for low-value claims - despite a call by its own expert adviser for a pause. In a long-awaited report published on the day before parliament’s summer recess, ...
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Lloyds deal opens way to Co-op expansion
The Co-operative Group could sell legal services from almost 1,000 bank branches, giving it an outlet on nearly every high street in the country following a deal to buy 632 Lloyds TSB and Cheltenham & Gloucester branches. The group announced this morning that it had agreed ...
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Appeal to test article eight right over private property
Squatters occupying the likely site of Heathrow’s proposed third runway were yesterday given a six-week stay of eviction to appeal under article eight of the Human Rights Act, the right to home and family life. The site is privately owned and this will be the first ...
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MPs slam Cameron’s shared parenting plan
The chair of the commons Justice Select Committee has written to the prime minister expressing ‘great concern’ over plans to change the Children Act to promote shared parenting. In a robust letter Sir Alan Beith sets out the cross-party committee’s opposition to the government’s proposal ...
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Legal framework for immigration ‘collapses’
The legal framework for UK immigration policy is in disarray following today’s Supreme Court ruling that UK Border Agency (UKBA) policies on corporate immigration are unlawful. The court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that much of the UKBA’s practice and policies for corporate immigration are unlawful ...
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MPs to probe interpreter deal
A high-profile parliamentary committee has launched an inquiry into the controversial deal between the Ministry of Justice and the private company contracted to provide court interpreters. The Justice Select Committee today launched a call for written evidence to examine the service provided by Applied Language Solutions ...
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Society agrees PII deal with Aon as AmTrust enters market
The Law Society has signed up PII broker Aon to provide professional indemnity insurance to members of its Conveyancing Quality Scheme and Lexcel quality marks. The broker has an exclusive arrangement with two of the largest A-rated qualifying insurers, QBE and XL, for one-to-10 partner ...
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Expert report warns government to hold off RTA portal extension
Government plans to extend the RTA portal from next year were today dealt a blow by one of its own advisers.
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Friends and family 'favourite source of legal advice'
Most consumers do not turn to a solicitor when first confronting a legal need, according to new research published by the Legal Services Board. The report says satisfaction with solicitors is high, with those using solicitors likely to get a better result than those who sought advice from other providers. ...
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Clarke presses on with judges’ pension cut
The lord chancellor has confirmed government plans to cut judges’ pensions to bring them in line with other public sector workers. In a written ministerial statement yesterday Kenneth Clarke said that the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne had confirmed to the House that the government ...
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‘Cut partner bonuses for diversity failures’
Law firm partners who fail to take ‘robust measures’ to meet diversity targets should be financially penalised, according to a leading pro-diversity group. A report from the InterLaw Diversity Forum for LGBT Networks argues that the profession remains ‘stuck culturally in the mid-20th century’. ...