Latest news – Page 749
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News
Personal injury firms join forces over thalidomide claims
Two leading personal injury firms have joined forces to represent those affected by the drug thalidomide. London firm Leigh Day & Co and national firm Russell Jones & Walker this week launched the Thalidomiders Legal Group to pursue compensation claims on behalf of people in the ...
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Late bid to amend Quality Assurance Advocacy Scheme
Talks will be held this week in an eleventh-hour bid to rationalise the scope of the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA). The scheme, which will accredit advocates at one of four levels, was approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority at the start of the ...
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Axa says no to referral fees
Leading insurer Axa has said it will no longer accept referral fees from personal injury lawyers. The firm, which has 10 million customers in the UK, will no longer take the payments when it puts customers in touch with solicitors at the time of an accident. ...
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Firm fights LSC on client rights
A Merseyside firm has commenced legal proceedings on behalf of two clients challenging the Legal Services Commission’s attempt to restrict their right to choose their own solicitor. In judicial review proceedings, RMNJ claims the LSC acted ‘unlawfully’ by not allowing the clients to choose their own ...
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ABSs will tempt investors, top banker predicts
A leading banker has predicted that investors will be queuing up to enter the legal services market when alternative business structures (ABSs) come into force from October. Former barrister John Llewellyn-Lloyd, now head of mergers and acquisitions for Espirito Santo, said the market was an attractive ...
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LSC cuts off phone advice agency
The Legal Services Commission has suspended The Shaftesbury Group’s contract to provide telephone advice for people detained in police stations for less serious offences. As reported earlier this month, the LSC transferred a contract to provide the Criminal Defence Service (Direct) service from Bostalls to the ...
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Bar Council stands firm on Bellfield trial backlash
The Bar Council has warned that defence lawyers may feel inhibited about taking on high-profile trials that could potentially see them vilified by the media, following coverage of the trial of Levi Bellfield last week. Jeffrey Samuels QC was subjected to a torrent of abuse on ...
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Student debt mountain a powerful deterrent to university
A survey of qualified lawyers has found that under half would have gone to university today, when aspiring solicitors can expect to wrack up massive debts. Legal recruitment firm Laurence Simons found that the majority of 224 respondents would have baulked at the total cost of ...
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Gazette is media partner for high-profile Law Society debates
The Gazette is pleased to be official media partner for a series of cutting-edge lectures and debates examining key law reform issues in the UK. The Law Society 2011 debate series will initially focus on marriage, privacy laws, super-injunctions and social care. ...
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News focus: our analysis of the legal aid and sentencing bill
A close reading of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill has left many lawyers, campaign groups and politicians who support the legal aid system more worried than ever about future provision. Even though the government decided to rush to a second reading ...
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Law firms ally with chambers to bid for criminal contract
Fifteen law firms in south Wales are to form an alliance with a set of chambers to bid for a criminal legal aid contract from the Legal Services Commission in the next contract round. In what is believed to be the first initiative of its kind, ...
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Most courts operating ‘as normal’
Government officials insist that most courts are operating as normal today despite mass industrial action by public sector workers. Thousands of PCS members have staged a one-day walkout which the union claims is the ‘best supported strike we’ve ever had’. The tranquility ...
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Government to provide £20m for not-for-profit centres
The government will provide £20m to help support not-for-profit advice centres hit by planned legal aid cuts, Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke announced yesterday. During the second reading debate on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, the justice secretary also indicated the he may ...
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Disability charity mounts court challenge to Jackson reforms
A disability charity has mounted a High Court challenge to oppose government plans to reform ‘no win, no fee’ arrangements. The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) says ministers have failed to consider properly the impact its proposals will have on the most vulnerable people in society. ...
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Irwin Mitchell in financial advice tie-up
National firm Irwin Mitchell has linked up with a financial advice group to offer legal services directly to its customers. The law firm will offer a range of services for clients using the Guardian Wealth Management (GWM) group. Irwin Mitchell has already ...
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District judge wins top legal aid award
The district judge behind the groundbreaking Family Drug and Alcohol Court was honoured at the ninth annual Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards this week. Nicholas Crichton (pictured, left) received the top award for outstanding achievement for his work in establishing the pilot of the ...
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Transport Committee re-opens insurance premiums inquiry
The transport committee has re-opened its inquiry into cost of motor insurance and has called on former justice minister Jack Straw to give oral evidence. Committee chair Louise Ellman, a Labour/Co-operative MP, said Straw’s recently published report on the rising cost of premiums would make a ...
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Clyde & Co enters Canadian market with merger
City firm Clyde & Co has become the latest UK practice to move into the Canadian marketplace. The firm, which has 24 offices around the world, has confirmed a merger with Canadian insurance firm Nicholl Paskall-Mede (NPM). NPM’s 40-strong team, including 15 ...
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Dianne Hayter resigns as chair of legal services consumer watchdog
The first chair of watchdog the Legal Services Consumer Panel has resigned after two years in the post. Baroness Hayter (pictured) has decided to step down because of her commitments in the House of Lords, the Legal Services Board said in a statement. ...
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Commons committee fires warning on clinical negligence funding reforms
The House of Commons health committee has warned that government proposals to change the funding of clinical negligence cases could undermine access to justice and reduce compensation for some of the most seriously injured or disabled claimants. In a report published today, the committee, chaired by ...