Latest news – Page 675
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News
Strike action disrupts courts nationwide
Courts across England and Wales suffered disruption today as the public sector endured the biggest walkout for a generation. The Ministry of Justice said key services such as family courts and custody proceedings were prioritised following action by the PCS union. Picket lines appeared at ...
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Ken Clarke postpones legal aid reforms and tendering
The government has postponed the implementation of its legal aid reforms by six months and its consultation on price-competitive tendering for crime work by two years. In a written ministerial statement today, justice secretary Kenneth Clarke said the government will push back a consultation on ...
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Family division head seeks ‘immense’ culture change
Family judges need to undergo an ‘immense’ cultural change to help tackle delays in the family justice system, the head of the family division said this week. Giving the Bar Council’s Law Reform Committee lecture, Sir Nicholas Wall (pictured) said that ‘active case management and judicial ...
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Regulator will accept ABS applications from new year
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will begin accepting licence applications for alternative business structures from 3 January, it has announced. The order designating the SRA as licensing authority was laid before parliament today and will come into force on 23 December. The authority ...
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Firms merge to create new £30m practice
City firm Sprecher Grier Halberstam has announced a merger with national firm Martineau after months of talks. The new business - SGH Martineau - will create a team of 360 staff members, of whom 200 are fee earners and 62 are partners. The two firms had ...
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Jury system is under threat from irresponsible press, says Grieve
The press testing the boundaries of reporting in criminal cases could undermine the jury system, the attorney general has warned. In a speech at City University on contempt and balancing the freedom of the press with the fair administration of justice, Dominic Grieve QC said he ...
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Legal aid cuts a ‘false economy’, warns Supreme Court justice
Supreme Court justice Lady Hale (pictured) has warned that the government’s planned legal aid cuts are a ‘false economy’ that will have a ‘disproportionate impact upon the poorest and most vulnerable in society’. Hale told the annual Law Centres Federation conference last weekend that while ...
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Health and safety review shifts liability ‘onus’
Employers who comply with health and safety rules should not be held legally responsible for all workplace accidents, according to a government-sponsored review. Commissioned by employment minister Chris Grayling, the report recommends an end to strict liability for bosses and shifting the onus onto employee responsibility.
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DAS takes 'leap forward' in online legal push
Legal expenses insurer DAS has taken a step towards offering online legal services after buying web-based Everything Legal. The insurer, which has long held ambitions to become an alternative business structure (ABS), announced the acquisition of the Bristol-based company this week.
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‘Alternative’ litigation funder to invest £100m in smaller-scale disputes
A new-style litigation funder seeking to invest in high volumes of lower-value commercial cases launches today. Caprica, which styles itself as an ‘alternative litigation funding company’, said it would make third-party funding available to a ‘much-expanded’ range of cases, providing access-to-justice for smaller businesses in ...
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‘Few’ solicitors understand e-disclosure, says Jackson
Lord Justice Jackson has warned that ‘huge’ sums of money will be wasted if the legal profession gets electronic disclosure wrong. Delivering the seventh lecture on implementing his civil litigation reforms, the judge said effective training is ‘essential’ for solicitors, judges and counsel if the practice direction issued a year ...
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Lords revolt raises legal aid concessions hopes
Hopes are emerging that the government will amend at least some of its legal aid reforms after peers voiced overwhelming criticism at the bill’s second reading. The Daily Mirror reported last week that justice secretary Kenneth Clarke has ditched the proposal to remove legal aid for clinical negligence claims. ...
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Youth Justice Board reprieved
The government has abandoned plans to scrap the Youth Justice Board. Its demise was outlined in the Public Bodies Bill as part of the government’s ‘bonfire of the quangos’, but the plan faced strong opposition in parliament, and had threatened to derail the passage of the ...
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Brooke gets double in PI awards
Retired judge Sir Henry Brooke (pictured) won a double honour at the Personal Injury Awards last night. Brooke received the Lifetime Achievement Award to mark his 40-year career in law, as well as being named mediator of the year. Phil Shiner, from Public Interest Lawyers, ...
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SRA will license ABSs by the end of 2011
The statutory barrier to the Solicitors Regulation Authority gaining a licence to authorise alternative business structures has been lifted. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice told the Gazette: ‘We expect the Solicitors Regulation Authority to become a licensing authority by the end of this year. ...
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Expert witnesses could challenge fees cap
Expert witnesses in family courts are considering legal action over a new cap on experts’ fees in legally aided cases, which can be much lower for witnesses based in London than elsewhere. Dr Judith Freedman, convenor of the 500-strong Consortium of Expert Witnesses in the Family ...
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Court workers set for strike
Record numbers of court workers will walk out as part of nationwide public sector strikes next Wednesday, union leaders have claimed. The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union says around 15,000 members employed by the Ministry of Justice - most working in the courts service ...
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Clarke outlines judicial diversity push
Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke has unveiled proposals to improve the diversity of judicial appointments by extending flexible working arrangements to include High Court and Court of Appeal judges. The aim is to see more women appointed to senior judicial roles.
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Backlog drives up value of compensation claims
The value of outstanding claims to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s compensation fund has jumped by 27% in a year. Figures released by the SRA show the value of claims in progress was £214m at the end of October, compared with around £170m 12 months previously. ...
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HighStreetLawyer.com doubles in size
Legal franchising brand HighStreetLawyer.com has doubled in size by signing up five new firms. The venture, launched in September last year, aims to have around 100 members by the end of 2012, founder Gary Yantin (pictured) told the Gazette.