Latest news – Page 760
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News
Concessions expected in legal aid bill due next month
The bill to implement the government’s legal aid reforms is to be published next month, and is likely to contain some key concessions, the Gazette has been told. Sources within Parliament have indicated that the rules for funding in private family cases, where there is an ...
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Sky News launches live Supreme Court coverage
Sky News has today launched live coverage of proceedings in the UK’s Supreme Court. The court’s hearings and judgments can now be ...
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Onside Law advises on Ryder Cup
Sport specialist firm Onside Law has taken a major role in the destination of one of golf’s biggest tournaments. The firm advised on all aspects of the bid process to host the 2018 Ryder Cup, with a decision expected to be announced tomorrow. ...
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Hogan Lovells facilitates deal to save fashion group
City firm Hogan Lovells has helped to facilitate a deal to save fashion chain All Saints and secure hundreds of jobs. The firm has advised Lloyds TSB on its ongoing financing of the company, which was this week bought by private equity investors Lion Capital and ...
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Families bereaved through crime face £37,000 costs
Families bereaved through serious criminal acts face average costs of £37,000 in the wake of their loss, according to figures released this week. The commissioner for victims and witnesses, Louise Casey, published the results of a survey of 36 families who had been bereaved through murder, ...
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Make Registry records strictly confidential
It seems that every other piece of paper I read these days warns me of the increasing incidence of identity theft. According to a CPD conveyancing course I attended last month, mortgage and other frauds involving the Land Registry are running at record levels. ...
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Claim caveat
Due to the imminent closure of our local court, claims sent there for issuing are forwarded to Salford Business Centre for processing. I do not have a problem with this, as the case file stays with the local court. It is merely the issuing of ...
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Profits rebound as legal firms slash overheads
Law firms are slowly rebuilding profitability and beginning to hire again, according to a respected annual bellwether of the sector’s financial health. Support staff numbers remain under pressure, however, and practices are bearing down heavily on non-salary overheads to boost the bottom line. ...
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Solicitors from Hell to face legal action
The Law Society is set to launch legal proceedings against the owner of Solicitors from Hell, the website that blacklists law firms and solicitors. Chancery Lane will seek two injunctions against the site and its owner Rick Kordowski: one on behalf of solicitors and firms named ...
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SRA urges solicitors to report rivals' malpractice
Solicitors are being urged to ring in and report any rival local firms they suspect of wrongdoing. The Solicitors Regulation Authority said doomed business plans drawn up by rogue firms are taking millions of pounds from the compensation fund, and ruining the reputation of the legal ...
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Mixed reaction to Theresa May's charging switch
Criminal law solicitors have given a cautious welcome to the home secretary’s decision to transfer charging powers from the Crown Prosecution Service to the police. Earlier this week, Theresa May outlined plans for what she called a ‘radical leap forward in policing’, aimed at reducing bureaucracy ...
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Pro bono lessons
I read with interest your leader. You are right to point out that reducing and, in some cases, removing public funding from legal services may create a pro bono default position. That said, the educational and social justice agendas involved in ...
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Fixed fees could spark legal aid 'exodus', says top family lawyer
A leading family lawyer has warned that the new fixed fees regime for private family cases, which came into force this week, could lead to a ‘significant exodus’ of firms from family legal aid. Christina Blacklaws, Law Society Council member for child care, said the ...
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Insurer blames personal injury solicitors for whiplash claims
A leading UK insurer has blamed claimant personal injury solicitors for a rise in whiplash claims despite a fall in the number of collisions. Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, also suggested that law firms are partly responsible for spiralling motor insurance premiums. The Law Society has hit back at ...
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Sex discrimination case begins
A woman solicitor who alleges that her boss remarked she had ‘all the traits of a blonde’ and should find herself a rich husband has begun tribunal proceedings for sexual discrimination and unfair dismissal. Kate Welch, who worked at Birkenhead firm Nadim Associates from 1 July ...
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NI solicitors withdraw services over legal aid dispute
Criminal solicitors in Northern Ireland have withdrawn their services in Crown court cases in a dispute over legal aid fees. Their action follows the introduction of a payment regime that solicitors say cuts the fees paid for Crown court work by 54% in real terms. ...
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News focus: sole practitioners face 'perfect storm'
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of the sole practitioner appear greatly exaggerated. Despite their near-universal hostility to alternative business structures, delegates at last weekend’s SPG conference in Harrogate were surprisingly upbeat about the ‘perfect storm’ they must weather. ...
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Coventry firm launches employment subscription scheme
A law firm has launched a subscription scheme to protect companies against the potentially ‘catastrophic’ costs arising from employment disputes. Coventry firm Band Hatton’s ‘Employment Protection Scheme’ (EPS) charges a set annual fee, which can be paid monthly to provide client businesses of all sizes with ...
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Society issues warning over EU-wide contract law
A proposed new system of contract law that will apply to all 28 member states of the European Union risks adding ‘cost and confusion’ for legislators and businesses, the Law Society has warned. The European Commission (EC) is to push ahead with legislative proposals for an ...
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Wragge & Co reports turnover boost
Birmingham firm Wragge & Co says it has emerged from tough times intact and with rising profits. The international company has posted a 16% rise in turnover for 2010/11, to £112m. Core areas, including corporate, banking and finance, intellectual property, real estate, ...