Latest news – Page 682
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News
Man shot in solicitors’ office
A man is in a life-threatening condition after a shooting at a solicitors’ office in Wiltshire. The victim suffered serious head injuries after a single shot was fired at Morris, Goddard and Ward in Devizes on Monday afternoon, a police statement said. He was airlifted to ...
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Profits leap at Clifford Chance
Magic circle firm Clifford Chance says it has defied market uncertainty to post a ‘strong performance’ for the last financial year. The firm today said that its 2011/12 profits leaped by 13% to £431m while revenues rose by 7% to £1.3bn. Profit per equity partner was ...
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High court slams means-test delays
The High Court has condemned the current system of means testing in magistrates’ court and called on the Ministry of Justice to take urgent action to cut ‘unacceptable’ delays. In a strongly worded judgment in relation to two European Arrest Warrant (EAW) cases, the president of ...
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Three-way split for European patent court
A long battle over the jurisdiction and location of Europe’s new patent court appears to have been settled with a decision to split the court’s operations in three and separate it from the European Court of Justice. Ministers at last week’s Brussels summit agreed that the seat of the Unified ...
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In-house growing in appeal, says survey
Nearly two-thirds of private practice lawyers would consider moving in-house, according to research published today. The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Law Department Study, responded to by 114 legal departments at companies in 17 countries, found that 53% had recruited lawyers during the first quarter ...
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Prisoners to be liable for victim surcharge
The government has outlined plans to fine all convicted criminals, including those jailed, to raise funds to help victims. It is already owed almost £600m in unpaid fines. The justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, today announced plans to increase the amount paid by offenders to victims through ...
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Steer clear of CMCs, financial watchdog warns bank litigants
City regulator the Financial Services Authority has cautioned small business owners against using claims management companies (CMCs). The warning comes at the end of a damning report on the mis-selling of interest rate hedging products which highlighted banks’ ‘poor sales practices across a number of products’.
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20 sign up to composite form as PII renewal gets under way
The Law Society has published a list of brokers and insurers accepting its composite proposal form for professional indemnity insurance as brokers warned solicitors to start sorting out cover early. So far brokers Aon, Bar Professions, Brunel, Giles Insurance, Hera Indemnity, Howden, Marsh, Prime Professions, QPI ...
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Land Registry promises fee cut after taking axe to costs
Land Registry fees will fall by an average of 10% next year thanks to savings made over the past five years, according to the agency’s latest annual report. However the registry said it could not say exactly which fees will be cut and by how much until a fees order ...
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A retrograde step: scrapping trainee minimum
Charles Plant, chair of the board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, says that the trainee solicitors’ minimum salary was introduced by the Law Society in 1982 ‘to prevent exploitation and attract high-calibre entrants. However, there is little evidence that it meets these aims effectively’ (By the Book).
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Do the admin
I have been reading with interest about the trainee situation in law firms, including the minimum wage issues. I was a mature student who took an LLB honours degree with the Open University, while holding down a full-time legal secretarial position in a high street firm and bringing up three ...
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Cheap labour
I am astonished by Charles Plant's article. I became a trainee in September 1982 and was one of the first to benefit from the minimum salary, which was then about £3,000. This was at a time when it was difficult to find traineeships and I was ...
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Law centre stage
We were delighted by the recognition of pro bono work with law centres at the LawWorks pro bono awards, as reported by the Gazette. The prizes provided a good snapshot of the variety of ways of working pro bono: as individuals (Sheena Teli, North Kensington Law Centre), in-house groups (Virgin ...
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Growing schism
Max Hill QC’s recent letter to the Gazette in reply to comments made by solicitors’ representatives highlights the schism between the two branches of a single profession.
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Soundbite propaganda
It would be helpful if those who believe they are entitled to instruct others on policy paid attention to their own words. Dr Peter Swinyard - no doubt an esteemed professional - being one such individual (‘Top GP backs checks on whiplash claims’).
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Court flaws
The new procedure for issuing money claims out of Salford Business Centre makes no provision for proceedings which are up against the limitation date.
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Private investors back comparison site
A Hertfordshire solicitor says he has secured £500,000 of private investment for a website that enables consumers to compare law firms’ prices, in the latest move to stake out territory in the fast-developing sector. The announcement, by CompareLegalCosts.com, was made in the week that the Law ...
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Law Society vice-president's firm applies to be ABS
A virtual law firm set up by the incoming president of the Law Society has applied to become an alternative business structure, so that its lawyers can share profits without the regulatory burden of becoming a partner or director.
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CML moves to pool data on mortgage lender panels
Work is under way on the development of a system for sharing data about members of mortgage lenders’ conveyancing panels, to ease the administrative burden on solicitors, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed last week. Paul Smee, the CML’s director general, told a Conveyancing ...
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Hart waves Welsh flag to boost legal jobs
The Welsh government will today launch a long-term strategy to attract thousands of new legal jobs to the country. Business minister Edwina Hart is targeting international, London-based law firms, which she will urge to consider Wales as the ‘business location of choice’ for expansion and ...