Latest news – Page 712
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News
Clarke mulls privacy law
Ministers, newspaper editors and celebrities will turn their attentions to the Royal Courts of Justice later this week for a landmark development on injunctions. On Friday Lord Neuberger (pictured), master of the rolls, will issue a report on the use of injunctions by a committee of ...
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No win no fee agreements are blamed for rise in medical negligence claims
No win no fee agreements have been blamed for a sharp rise in the number of medical negligence claims. The Medical Defence Union says claims increased by almost 20% in 2010 after several years of stable figures. More than half of the ...
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BLG announces profits boost
City firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) has this week announced significant end-of-year profits. The firm recorded a 17% increase in turnover for 2010/11, and saw profits rise by 35% across the board. That figure took into account performance in both the ...
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MoJ publishes action plan to strengthen UK’s legal services position
Plans to strengthen the UK’s reputation as a global leader in legal services were unveiled by the government yesterday. The new action plan sets out how the Ministry of Justice and UK Trade & Industry aim to promote the UK as a centre of legal excellence, ...
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Legal Walk raises £500,000 for advice centres
Legal workers came out in force across the country yesterday for this year’s Legal Walk. More than 5,000 people joined in the event on Monday evening to raise £500,000 for free legal advice centres in London. The Gazette acted as media ...
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Court upholds right to bring judicial reviews ‘in the public interest’
A civil liberties campaigner has won a judicial review of the government’s attempt to remove legal aid for cases brought ‘in the public interest’. Maya Evans, represented by Birmingham firm Public Interest Lawyers, challenged amendments made to the Legal Services Commission’s funding code that meant ...
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Concessions expected in legal aid bill due next month
The bill to implement the government’s legal aid reforms is to be published next month, and is likely to contain some key concessions, the Gazette has been told. Sources within Parliament have indicated that the rules for funding in private family cases, where there is an ...
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Sky News launches live Supreme Court coverage
Sky News has today launched live coverage of proceedings in the UK’s Supreme Court. The court’s hearings and judgments can now be ...
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Onside Law advises on Ryder Cup
Sport specialist firm Onside Law has taken a major role in the destination of one of golf’s biggest tournaments. The firm advised on all aspects of the bid process to host the 2018 Ryder Cup, with a decision expected to be announced tomorrow. ...
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Hogan Lovells facilitates deal to save fashion group
City firm Hogan Lovells has helped to facilitate a deal to save fashion chain All Saints and secure hundreds of jobs. The firm has advised Lloyds TSB on its ongoing financing of the company, which was this week bought by private equity investors Lion Capital and ...
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Families bereaved through crime face £37,000 costs
Families bereaved through serious criminal acts face average costs of £37,000 in the wake of their loss, according to figures released this week. The commissioner for victims and witnesses, Louise Casey, published the results of a survey of 36 families who had been bereaved through murder, ...
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Make Registry records strictly confidential
It seems that every other piece of paper I read these days warns me of the increasing incidence of identity theft. According to a CPD conveyancing course I attended last month, mortgage and other frauds involving the Land Registry are running at record levels. ...
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Claim caveat
Due to the imminent closure of our local court, claims sent there for issuing are forwarded to Salford Business Centre for processing. I do not have a problem with this, as the case file stays with the local court. It is merely the issuing of ...
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Profits rebound as legal firms slash overheads
Law firms are slowly rebuilding profitability and beginning to hire again, according to a respected annual bellwether of the sector’s financial health. Support staff numbers remain under pressure, however, and practices are bearing down heavily on non-salary overheads to boost the bottom line. ...
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Solicitors from Hell to face legal action
The Law Society is set to launch legal proceedings against the owner of Solicitors from Hell, the website that blacklists law firms and solicitors. Chancery Lane will seek two injunctions against the site and its owner Rick Kordowski: one on behalf of solicitors and firms named ...
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SRA urges solicitors to report rivals' malpractice
Solicitors are being urged to ring in and report any rival local firms they suspect of wrongdoing. The Solicitors Regulation Authority said doomed business plans drawn up by rogue firms are taking millions of pounds from the compensation fund, and ruining the reputation of the legal ...
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Mixed reaction to Theresa May's charging switch
Criminal law solicitors have given a cautious welcome to the home secretary’s decision to transfer charging powers from the Crown Prosecution Service to the police. Earlier this week, Theresa May outlined plans for what she called a ‘radical leap forward in policing’, aimed at reducing bureaucracy ...
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Pro bono lessons
I read with interest your leader. You are right to point out that reducing and, in some cases, removing public funding from legal services may create a pro bono default position. That said, the educational and social justice agendas involved in ...
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Fixed fees could spark legal aid 'exodus', says top family lawyer
A leading family lawyer has warned that the new fixed fees regime for private family cases, which came into force this week, could lead to a ‘significant exodus’ of firms from family legal aid. Christina Blacklaws, Law Society Council member for child care, said the ...
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Insurer blames personal injury solicitors for whiplash claims
A leading UK insurer has blamed claimant personal injury solicitors for a rise in whiplash claims despite a fall in the number of collisions. Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, also suggested that law firms are partly responsible for spiralling motor insurance premiums. The Law Society has hit back at ...