Latest news – Page 725
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News
Defence solicitors warn MoJ over interpreter outsourcing
Criminal defence solicitors have urged the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the standard of interpreters does not deteriorate as a result of cost-cutting plans to outsource translation services across the criminal justice system.
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Overseas employees tribunal ruling could affect international firms
A Court of Appeal ruling on the right of overseas employees to bring tribunal claims in the UK could have implications for international law firms, an employment lawyer suggested this week. The court ruled that a group of British Airways air stewardesses who are based in ...
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Women lawyers believe they are paid less than male peers
Most women lawyers believe their male colleagues earn more than they do, research has suggested. A survey of 200 UK lawyers by jobs board twosteps showed that 61% of women lawyers thought they earned less than men, while 100% of those earning £95,000 or more ...
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Legal bodies fear government interference
The independence of the legal profession is being threatened by government ‘diktats’ ordering that the websites of three legal quangos be closed, the chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) told a House of Lords debate this week. Baroness Hayter said that the Legal Services ...
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Leading judge was libelled
A Court of Appeal judge has today received a libel apology and damages from a daily newspaper. Lord Justice Sedley, represented by London firm Bindmans, has accepted an apology and damages, which will be paid to charities, from the ...
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‘More needs to be done’ to address inequality in the profession
The Law Society is ‘making strides’ to promote equality and equal practice in the legal profession, Law Society president Linda Lee said today as the Society marks the global centenary of International Women’s Day. Lee, who will host a roundtable discussion on women in the ...
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Firms make ‘initial contact’ with external investors
More than two-thirds of law firms would be ‘comfortable’ securing funding from an external investor when Alternative Business Structures are introduced in October, and 30% have already made initial contact with potential investors, according to research released today. A survey of 200 solicitors carried out for ...
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College of Law launches part-time BPTC programme
The College of Law in Birmingham is to offer a part-time Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) beginning September 2011. BPTC course leader Paul Shoulders said: ‘The new part-time course, subject to validation by the Bar Standards Board, will open up the potential rewards of a career ...
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Disability hate crime victims ‘let down’ by system, says DPP
Victims and witnesses with disabilities have been let down by the criminal justice system, the Director of Public Prosecutions said this week as he called for a change in society’s attitude towards disability hate crime. Keir Starmer QC said victims and witnesses with disabilities ‘have not ...
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Neuberger warns against mediation and defends legal aid and Jackson
The Master of the Rolls warned against mediation being used as a replacement for the courts, defended the cost of legal aid, and voiced strong support for Lord Justice Jackson’s civil justice reforms in a speech earlier this week. Giving the annual Bentham Lecture, Lord Neuberger ...
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Crown Prosecution Service misdirection
The government has no money. Legal aid is under threat. The Law Society strategy for savings takes a broader view of the legal system than government is capable of doing because of departmental and executive agency demarcations. As a result, ...
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Fees in deep freeze
I long ago came to the conclusion that the last government did not like solicitors, presumably because we were the point of contact for members of the public who were dissatisfied with the actions of the executive and wished to turn to the judiciary for redress. ...
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Get off the bandwagon
Should you really be congratulating Lawrence Davies in Lawyer in the News for jumping on the political correctness bandwagon, championing the rights of a Mexican national with a sense-of-humour failure? My own experience of the profession is that too many members take themselves too seriously. ...
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Legal small-business bashing?
Ken Clarke should not judge all lawyers by the standards of the few. Perhaps the statute-chasing, ambulance-following, human rights adherents he so loathes are indeed lurking in huddles just waiting to make millions out of every piece of small business-crushing legislation created by the 1,300 ...
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A professional menace
Paul Davidoff’s letter strikes a chord with me. The problem of poorly drafted wills (whether made by solicitors or unqualified individuals) is of general application. Where I differ from Mr Davidoff, however, is in his reference to Will Aid, where the implication is that these ...
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Landmark judgment highlights retainer letter lapse
A High Court judge warned solicitors of the need to be clear in retainer letters, as he ruled that a firm had breached its contract by refusing to carry out further work for a client until he had paid his bills, in a ...
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UK borders ‘less secure’, say Home Office immigration staff
UK immigration staff charged with policing the nation’s borders believe that borders have become less secure as a result of government changes to immigration law, Home Office research has indicated. A study ...
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National Approved Letting Scheme quality mark deal
Landlord and tenant solicitors can become affiliated to the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS), following an agreement with the Law Society announced this week. NALS represents landlords ...
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Mediator shortage looms, says family lawyers' group
Separating couples may ‘escape’ the new requirement to consult a mediator before going to court because of a shortage of properly accredited mediators, family lawyers’ group Resolution has suggested. The group’s chair Dave Allison also warned there was a risk that members of the public may ...
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Insurers back Law Society call to scrap ARP
The insurance industry has lent its support to the Law Society’s proposal for an alternative to the assigned risks pool (ARP), as a Solicitors Regulation Authority consultation on reforms to the professional indemnity insurance (PII) market closed this week.