Latest news – Page 672
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Lawyer search website ready to launch
A website that introduces clients to solicitors and public access barristers along the lines of services set up to source tradespeople is ready to go live this autumn. MrLawyer.co.uk is the brainchild of London barrister Jasvir Degun (pictured, right) and two of his friends, property ...
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August sees spurt of ABS activity
More than a dozen alternative business structures were approved in August in the busiest period of licensing activity yet. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has approved 13 new ABSs since 1 August, taking its total up to 27. Irwin Mitchell was the highest-profile new entrant. The ...
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Society warning over conveyancing
Separate legal representation for homebuyers and mortgage lenders could reduce solicitors’ share of the conveyancing market and hand work ‘on a plate’ to other sectors, the Law Society has warned.
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Snooping bill ‘not thought through’
Proposals in draft legislation would let the government conduct the ‘mass surveillance of innocent people’ under the cloak of investigating terrorist and criminal organisations, the Law Society has claimed.
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New public service ABS seeks investors
A niche London legal practice styled as the only UK firm focusing on public service delivery is seeking external investment after becoming an alternative business structure (ABS). TPP Law Limited, based in Bankside, central London, was founded over a decade ago by current managing director Mark ...
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Restrictive preventions
Alasdair Lewis, director of legal services at the Land Registry, is imprecise when he states in his letter from July that 'earlier this year [the Land Registry] launched a restriction aimed at owners who do not live at the registered property which has proved extremely popular with our customers’.
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Title teaser
I rather liked the proposal of Sandie Graff that solicitors should have ‘SSC’ after their names. This would be highly appropriate and would give the profession a bit of a boost as most practitioners one speaks to appear thoroughly fed up. Why ...
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Mediation deflation?
Is the government really serious about mediation? As one of the largest family law practices in Bristol, we have encouraged the use of mediation and collaborative law wherever possible. One of the unexpected consequences of the abolition of legal aid for family law from April 2013 is that the use ...
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SRA courts BME solicitors and sole practitioners
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has invited black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors to attend a workshop on outcomes-focused regulation (OFR) as part of its programme of ‘constructive engagement’ with stakeholders.
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Money launderers set sights on new targets, Chancery Lane warns
The Law Society has warned litigation practices that money launderers are targeting matrimonial law and debt recovery. Guidance to help firms avoid being the victim of fraudsters has been reissued by Chancery Lane.
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Fee-earners shed at Addleshaw Goddard
National firm Addleshaw Goddard has made 24 fee-earners redundant following a two-month consultation. Jobs will be affected at the firm's three UK offices – in London, Leeds and Manchester - and in Singapore.
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Olympic fast-track justice declared a ‘success’
Fast-track procedures to deal with offences committed during the Olympics were today declared a success by the government, even though the Ministry of Justice revealed that they were used in fewer than 100 cases. Since the procedures came into force on 1 July, 84 cases have ...
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Dyson to succeed Neuberger as master of the rolls
Supreme Court judge Lord Dyson will succeed Lord Neuberger as master of the rolls when the latter becomes president of the Supreme Court, the government announced today. The appointment had been widely expected. Neuberger will take over from current SC president Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers ...
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MoJ pledges claims management clampdown under ombudsman
The government today sets out a long-expected plan to give the Legal Ombudsman responsibility for complaints about claims management companies (CMCs). The move, reported in the Gazette in February, will take place in April next year, the Ministry of Justice will announce.
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Society cancels Law Conference 2012
The Law Society has postponed its national conference aimed at corporate-focused lawyers, it announced today. The event, which was to have been held next month, will now take place in 2013 in London. Law Conference 2012 was scheduled for 20-22 September at Celtic Manor, Newport. ...
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Profits fall as Baker & McKenzie reports record turnover
Global giant Baker & McKenzie has reported a 2.1% rise in its fee income, taking its turnover to a record US$2.3 billion (£1.5bn) for the financial year ending 30 June 2012. However net income fell by 34%, from $1.2bn (£0.7m) to $790m (£506m). Profit per equity partner was down 9% ...
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Private equity marches in to ABSs as Parabis application cleared
City-backed Parabis Law has become the first firm owned by private equity to be licensed as an alternative business structure (ABS). The announcement today brings to 20 the number of ABS applications to be cleared by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
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Oral contracts to be banned in claims clampdown
Claims management companies (CMCs) will be forced to end oral contract arrangements under rules proposed by the Ministry of Justice today. The MoJ’s Claims Management Regulator (the regulator) will insist that CMCs have to agree contracts with clients in writing before any fees can be taken. ...
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Santander puts panel review on hold
Santander has agreed to pause the ongoing quarterly review of its conveyancing panel and postpone the next review as talks with the Law Society over the process continue. The Society contacted the bank earlier this month seeking an urgent meeting to raise concerns over the review. ...
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Investment drive hits profits at Co-op Legal
Operating profits for Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) fell year-on-year by 63% during the first half of 2012, the organisation revealed today. In its half-year financial report, the Co-operative Group says its legal services arm made a profit of £700,000 as it spent heavily on recruitment and expansion. ...