Latest news – Page 724
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Liberal Democrats call for legal aid impact assessments
Liberal Democrats have called for a properly funded legal aid system to be protected, as the government considers the responses to its controversial reform proposals. At their annual spring conference, the coalition partners backed plans to protect access to justice for the most vulnerable by ensuring ...
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Ruling ‘sets precedent for thousands of asbestos cases’
A person exposed to even tiny amounts of asbestos who then contracts mesothelioma can claim compensation from those who caused the exposure, the Supreme Court has ruled. In Sienkiewicz v Greif and Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council v Willmore, all seven judges agreed that unless reasonable steps ...
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Government words are hard to stomach
I read with interest your excellent feature 'War of the words'. For some time, I have been criticising the manner in which government departments and regulators use language that is intended to mislead.
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‘Glass windows’ are not for everyone
I doff my cap to Tania Jeffery and Kellie-Jayne Cox, who have recently opened a new practice in Hampshire. It is particularly noble in these difficult days. I think, however, that the ‘glass window’ policy may be questionable, and a grumpy old gaffer like me would ...
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Strength in numbers?
Does it really take the nine senior judges of the Supreme Court to decide an issue of housing law, albeit an important one (Manchester City Council v Pinnock (No.2). In the same issue of the Gazette, Lord Phillips is reported as berating the government over the ...
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Who says mediation is a panacea?
I have got a lot of time for Christina Blacklaws and agree with much of what she has to say about the lack of joined-up thinking in government family law policy. However, I was disappointed with the article’s headline, ‘No panacea for family problems’.
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Tell the litigant if he is likely to win
Stephen Trahair is a tad unfair to Lord Justice Jackson and his attempt to deal with the costs issue. Two factors are in play: 1. Reconstructing events and arguing over them with indemnity-insured trained legal representation costs money;2. All any solicitor should want is to be ...
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Pay up or stay behind bars
I refer to your Opinion ‘The unanswered question of fines’ . Like everybody else, apart from those who prefer not to pay, I am appalled at the sum unpaid.
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LSC debt collection tactics criticised
Delays in granting legal aid by the Legal Services Commission and ‘aggressive’ enforcement by its debt collectors of legal aid contributions are causing anxiety for clients and have driven some to attempt suicide, the Gazette has learned.
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Gender gap closes but progress is slow
The ‘gender gap’ within the profession is closing, but disparities still exist in pay and partnership prospects, the latest Law Society figures have suggested. Speaking at an event to celebrate International Women’s Day this week, Law Society president Linda Lee revealed that the proportion of ...
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Four Cumbria law firms say no to referral fees
Four Cumbria law firms have declared their practices to be ‘no-go areas’ for referral fees to estate agents. Wigton firm Beaty & Co; Penrith, Keswick and Carlisle firm Scott Duff; Carlisle and Wigton firm Atkinson Ritson; and Carlisle, Penrith and Brampton firm Cartmell Shepherd said ...
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CLA telephone helpline survey results questioned
A survey of users of the Community Legal Advice (CLA) telephone helpline has called into question government claims that ‘many vulnerable groups’ prefer telephone advice. In its legal aid consultation, which proposes making the CLA compulsory for most areas of civil work, the Ministry of Justice ...
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Viva Las Vegas
I have just received notification of a proposed order of the District Court of Nevada and been advised that a class action has been brought on behalf of people who rented cars at Las Vegas and Reno airports between 3 June 2007 and 30 September 2009, on the basis that ...
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Civil legal aid cuts will increase tribunal workload
Cuts to civil legal aid will leave people unable to pursue their rights and increase the workload of the tribunal system, the senior president of tribunals has warned. In his 2011 annual report, Robert Carnwath highlighted the likely effect of the proposed cuts on the ...
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Ideology explains legal aid cuts
Having read the letter from Dan O'Callaghan on the article by shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan MP, I cannot help feeling it is somewhat misguided. The Law Society and solicitors generally need all the support they can get, politically and otherwise, in respect of legal aid cuts. It matters not ...
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Self-preservation society plea
Many of your correspondents state that the level of service provided by lending institutions is deplorable. However, of greater concern is their prospective elimination (in concert with the estate agency fraternity), of the high-street solicitor’s practice. In 1984, my then senior partner, William Heath, and I ...
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New 'behaviour committee' to police RTA portal
Disputes between solicitors and insurers over alleged abuses of the new road traffic accident (RTA) claims portal are to be dealt with by a special ‘behaviour committee’. The RTA Portal Company, a collaboration of representatives from the insurance and legal industries that oversee the portal’s operation, ...
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Why firms would be foolish to ignore ABSs
I was pleased to see that your recent critique of our draft business plan and our aspirations for a vigorous and competitive legal services sector demanded action over rhetoric from the Legal Services Board. I agree and we have spent the last two years doing just that by ensuring the ...
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Russia pressured on Sergei Magnitsky death
Prime minister David Cameron has thrown his weight behind a campaign to expose the truth behind the death of a lawyer investigating an alleged £142m fraud against a UK company in Russia. Sergei Magnitsky (pictured) was working for UK investment firm Hermitage Capital when, after alleging ...
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Government to amend 'crucial error' in retirement age plans
The government has promised to amend a ‘crucial error’ in its transitional provisions for abolishing the default retirement age, following Law Society warnings that the current drafting could put employers at risk of unfair dismissal claims.