Latest news – Page 740
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News
Audit training
A law degree (or CPD) plus Legal Practice Course is insufficient preparation for practice, and so there has to be an element of practical training. At the moment there is little quality control of training contracts; if you can last the two years, then you are in. ...
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Building quality
As chairman of the Conveyancing Association, I am writing to lend the support of our body to the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Members of the association, which include a significant proportion of large conveyancers, fully support and endorse all efforts to improve the legal process of conveyancing. ...
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Be realistic about legal aid cuts
I do not think we can fault the reasoning behind the legal aid cuts, which largely preserve funding for the essential areas of human rights. We should be realistic and admit that some areas of law are not priorities, and one wonders why they were ever included in the scheme ...
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Injustice of legal aid cuts
I observed the following incident at a north London magistrates’ court. A defendant, who was clearly mentally ill, had been charged with an offence that was contrary to section 5 of the Public Order Act. The facts were that he had been shouting at a ...
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Green pioneers slash carbon footprints
Almost 40% of law firms in the Legal Sector Alliance (LSA) have cut their carbon footprints in the last year, according to the alliance’s annual report, released today. In 2010, the average amount of carbon generated per LSA member employee varied between 0.48 and 8.94 tonnes, ...
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'Mixed practice' warning for publicly funded barristers
Incoming Bar Council chairman Peter Lodder QC today warned publicly funded barristers to diversify or face a bleak future. Legal aid rate cuts have been ‘too numerous and too deep’ for young barristers to survive on that single source of income, he told Bar ...
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Regulator sets out guidance on pre-emptive ABS discussions
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued new guidance setting out what is permitted in firms’ negotiations with potential investors ahead of the licensing of alternative business structures (ABSs) in October next year. The guidance stresses that non-lawyer individuals or businesses are currently prohibited from having any ...
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Rise in number of intestacy disputes
The number of people challenging the inheritance left by their relatives or partners has risen by 38% over the past year, according to figures obtained by City firm Wedlake Bell. Data from the High Court shows that the number of cases launched by people, including children, ...
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Legal aid solicitors overpaid by £77m
Legal aid solicitors have been overpaid by almost £77m, according to a report published today by public spending watchdog, the National Audit Office. Qualifying the Legal Services Commission’s accounts for the second year running, the NAO estimated a total of £76.5m had been overpaid to legal ...
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Legal executives seek independent conveyancing rights
Legal executives could be granted independent rights to provide conveyancing services from next September, if a forthcoming application to the Legal Services Board is successful. But conveyancing solicitors have questioned the economic logic of encouraging new entrants into an already overcrowded market, where transaction rates have ...
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Family courts have lost authority, warns judge
A High Court judge has warned that the family court needs to reassert its authority to tackle the ‘lack of respect’ shown for its orders. Speaking at the Association of Lawyers for Children annual conference at the weekend, Mr Justice Coleridge said that, in placing ...
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Court of Appeal dismisses US-style class action bid
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an attempt to bring a US-style class action against British Airways for participating in an airfreight price-fixing cartel, just nine days after the European Commission (EC) fined the airline more than €100m (£85m) for its role in the cartel and told claimants that they ...
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Law Society calls for greater focus on ethics in training
The Law Society has called for law degrees to include a greater focus on ethics and for a more robust system of ensuring the quality of institutions which provide legal education and training. This follows the joint review of legal services education and training announced ...
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Ralli motors ahead with new iPhone app
Manchester firm Ralli has launched an iPhone app to help people keep on the right side of the motoring laws. The ‘Don’t Drink – Don’t Drive - Keep your Licence’ app, which can be downloaded for free, has been designed to enable drivers to calculate whether ...
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Wigster comparison site signs up Shoosmiths’ consumer arm
The consumer services arm of national firm Shoosmiths has joined 125 firms that have signed up with legal price comparison website Wigster, which launched at the start of this month. Access Legal from Shoosmiths is the biggest firm to sign up to the comparison site ...
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Right to seek redress under threat
The coming months provide a tremendous opportunity to argue for a system that respects and preserves access to justice for injured persons. The Consumer Justice Alliance is ready to engage with the government and make this argument loud and clear.
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Why Young is wrong on health and safety
Lord Young has resigned from his post as adviser to the prime minister following his ill-conceived statement that ‘the vast majority of people in the country today... have never had it so good ever since this... so-called recession started’. Of course, Lord Young has also ...
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Rule of law in the age of austerity
Toby Brown writes about the Access to Justice campaign concerning awareness of the recoverability of pro bono costs. This is a major advance in support of pro bono litigation. However, he failed to mention the biggest impediment to the initiation of much pro bono litigation, which is the threat of ...
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A fairer test for students
The online news item ‘Research reveals widening social divide in the profession’ stated that more than one in seven lawyers went to a private school, despite just one in 50 of the population receiving private education. This comes as no surprise.
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Food merger, coal deal, children's car seat sale, and petroleum loan
Food for thought: City firm Herbert Smith advised food group Northern Foods on its merger with Irish food company Greencore Group, advised by magic circle firm Slaughter and May, to create £500m FTSE 250 company Essenta Foods. ...