Latest news – Page 729
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News
Protection of Freedoms Bill ‘disappointing’, says Law Society
The new Protection of Freedoms Bill fails to live up to government promises and instead hints at a ‘growth of the surveillance society’, the Law Society has warned. The Society said the legislation, which the coalition claims will scale back on Labour’s ‘intrusive’ policies, will take ...
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SRA streamlines staff levels in move towards risk-based regulation
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to reduce its staff levels by 12.5% by the end of the year, in an organisational restructure announced today. The reduction in staff numbers forms part of the regulator’s transition to outcomes-focused regulation and the licensing of alternative business structures, which ...
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Butler-Sloss issues warning over legal aid cuts
The government’s planned legal aid cuts will have a ‘serious adverse long-term effect’ on the justice system, a former president of the family division of the High Court has warned. In a speech to the Society of Conservative Lawyers, Baroness Butler-Sloss said that the plans would ...
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Bar Council cautions against ‘DIY litigants’
The government’s ‘crude and brutal’ legal aid cuts will trigger a surge in ‘DIY litigants’ that risks ‘gridlock’ in the courts, the Bar Council has warned. Responding to the government’s consultation on legal aid, which closes today, the bar’s representative body said the cuts, which are ...
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Stoke personal injury firm launches iPhone app
Stoke-on-Trent personal injury firm Attwood has launched an iPhone app that allows users to upload images of their injuries prior to launching a claim. Launching the app today, which allows users to value and make a claim, the firm said that uploaded information can be downloaded ...
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Law academics slam Jackson’s civil justice proposals
An independent panel of law academics has branded Lord Justice Jackson’s proposals to reform civil litigation costs as ‘misleading and ‘inconsistent with a fundamental principle of civil justice’, as it published a report today. The 11-strong panel, chaired by Bristol University tort law professor Ken Oliphant, ...
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Government faces intense pressure over legal aid cuts
The government faced intense lobbying over its legal aid reforms this week, as the Law Society put forward a raft of alternative measures to preserve the legal aid budget, and the shadow legal aid minister warned that the government’s cuts will ‘destroy’ civil legal advice. The ...
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Pro bono thrives in private practice
The value of pro bono work provided by private practice solicitors has reached £475m, according to Law Society research. The figure represents a 19% annual increase and is equivalent to an estimated 2% of the total gross income of private practice. The ...
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Legal services comparison website launched
The latest legal services comparison website to enter the market was launched by a Hertfordshire solicitor last week. Michael Welsh has launched fixed costs comparison site comparelegalcosts.com, which offers consumers a choice of three firms based on their postcode.
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Supreme Court ruling puts children first in immigration cases
A landmark Supreme Court ruling has put the ‘best interests of the child’ at the centre of decision-making in immigration cases involving the deportation or removal of their parents. Giving judgment last week in the case of ZH, a Tanzanian woman who had made three failed ...
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Supreme Court gives green light for courtroom tweeting
The Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for people to ‘tweet’ from inside the courtroom last week. The court issued guidance on the use of live text-based communication from the courtroom by legal teams, journalists and members of the public. Since the guidance ...
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Research highlights gender differences in legal profession
An in-depth study by the Law Society’s strategic research unit has revealed a picture of a profession in which there is a high level of disparity between the sexes; a tendency to remain in the same job; and a high value placed on flexible working. The ...
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QualitySolicitors in settlement over copyright infringements with BPO
Law firm network QualitySolicitors has paid money out of court to settle a copyright infringement dispute with professional services consultancy Best Practice Online (BPO). BPO alleged QualitySolicitors infringed its copyright in relation to more than 100 articles published on the QualitySolicitors website in 2009 and early ...
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Solicitors warned on stamp duty land tax avoidance schemes
Conveyancing solicitors are being pressured to become involved in stamp duty land tax (SDLT) avoidance schemes that cost the public purse around £35m, the Gazette has learned. To protect solicitors and help them challenge requests from clients or third parties to become involved in such schemes, ...
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Free national debt advice service set to close
The Financial Inclusion Fund’s (FIF) free national debt advice service is set to close after the government axed its £25m-a-year funding. Last month, the financial secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban, confirmed that funding for the free face-to-face advice service, which has operated since 2005, will ...
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ProcureCo fears
Thirteen police station cases create 12 charged to court, 11 representation orders in magistrates’ court and one Crown court case. A ProcureCo would have to capture all duty work, and generate its own clients overnight (as that is where most work is) in several courts, not to mention covering police ...
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High Court ruling paves the way for patent attorneys
A High Court ruling has cleared the way for patent attorney litigators to conduct litigation in High Court cases. In what is believed to be the first judgment on the scope of patent attorney litigators’ rights, Mr Justice Lewison clarified that they are entitled to conduct ...
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Easing the burden on employment tribunals
There seems to be a consensus that our employment tribunals are unable to cope with the rise in claims. Much of the weight could be lifted simply by a tightened approach on compliance with directions. Employment lawyers are familiar with tribunal orders that contain references to ...
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CPS consults over guidance on retracted rape claims
The Crown Prosecution Service has issued a 12-week consultation on its new guidance over when to prosecute people who retract allegations of rape or domestic violence. The interim guidance, which is effective from today, applies in cases where a complainant of rape or domestic violence retracts ...
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Legal services generate £23bn for UK economy
The UK’s top 100 law firms cut their running costs by £500m to help tip themselves into profit last year, research by trade body TheCityUK has found. Profits of the largest 100 UK law firms increased by 1% in 2009/10 to £4.07bn, despite a 4% fall ...