Latest news – Page 793
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Revenue streams
Lord Young could have proposed banning referral fees, which in turn will remove the revenue stream for the advertising he clearly dislikes so much. Would it be too cynical to suggest that the television companies have pointed out to Young that referral fees fund the millions they take each year ...
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Outdated stance
I read with dismay the letter by David Kirwan regarding the appointment of a legal executive to the post of deputy district judge. I know from firsthand experience the challenging nature of the tests, role-play and interviews set by the Judicial Appointments Commission, and have ...
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Solicitors from Hell injunction
A third solicitor has won an interim injunction against the owner of Solicitors from Hell, the website that blacklists lawyers and law firms, following successful court actions from two other lawyers in recent weeks.
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The JAC picks candidates through fair and open competition
I was disappointed with David Kirwan’s letter, which appears to have been written from ‘the hip’ and without any research into the subject.
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EC in class action plan
The European Commission (EC) will launch a Europe-wide consultation on collective actions next month, as it attempts once again to harmonise laws and improve access to compensation for individuals and small businesses. Announcing the forthcoming consultation in a speech at the University of Valladolid in Spain ...
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Insurers accused of ‘abusing’ RTA scheme
Insurers are ‘abusing’ the scheme designed to speed up low-value road traffic accident (RTA) personal injury cases, solicitors said this week. The claims cast doubt on Lord Young’s assertion in his recent report on the ‘compensation culture’ that the RTA process ‘provides a model of how ...
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SRA publishes ‘final draft’ of its radical reforms to the code of conduct
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has today published the ‘final draft’ of its move to principles-based regulation, which will see a radical overhaul of the current code of conduct, abolishing many of the current detailed rules in favour of 10 broad principles.
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Price competition 'very possible' in criminal legal aid tendering
The chairman of the Legal Services Commission has indicated that it is ‘very possible’ that the Ministry of Justice will introduce price competition in the tendering process for criminal legal aid contracts, and predicted greater competition for criminal contracts when barristers bid for work through ProcureCos. ...
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Lawyers issue warning over Lord Young’s compensation proposals
The government must not hinder access to justice for personal injury victims as it takes forward Lord Young’s report on the ‘compensation culture’, lawyers’ groups have warned. In his report released last week, Young (pictured) acknowledged that ‘the problem of the compensation culture prevalent in ...
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Thompsons reprimanded over miners’ claims
The chief executive of national trade union firm Thompsons has been reprimanded by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for the firm’s mishandling of sick coal miners’ government compensation claims. In a regulatory settlement agreement signed on 30 September, Stephen Cavalier accepted a severe reprimand on behalf of ...
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US technology companies fuel tribunal claims
US computer technology companies are fuelling a rise in cases heard by the Company Names Tribunal, research has suggested. Since its formation in October 2008, 24% of claims in the tribunal have been filed by American IT conglomerates, according to research by legal publisher Sweet & ...
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Prenups enforceable if ‘fair’
Prenuptial agreements are binding when ‘fair’ and entered into freely, the Supreme Court ruled today. The ruling has left Nicolas Granatino, the divorced husband of German heiress Katrin Radmacher, with just £1m of his ex-wife’s estimated £100m fortune.
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Lawyers put forward alternatives to legal aid cuts
The Law Society has warned the government against hitting the most vulnerable by making legal aid bear the brunt of the Ministry of Justice cuts. The warning follows newspaper reports that the MoJ budget will be slashed by 30% in the chancellor’s spending review on Wednesday. ...
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Lawyers issue warning over Young’s proposals
The government must not hinder access to justice for personal injury victims as it takes forward Lord Young’s report on the so-called ‘compensation culture,’ lawyers’ groups have warned. In his report released on Friday, Young (pictured) acknowledged that ‘the problem of the compensation culture prevalent ...
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MoJ budget slashed by 30%
The Ministry of Justice is to cut its budget by 30%, according to documents leaked to the Observer newspaper. The cuts are expected to be announced on Wednesday this week, when the government reveals the outcome of its spending review. ...
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Law firm cashier jailed for stealing £1.6m
A former cashier at a Midlands law firm has been jailed for five years for stealing £1.6m from her employer to fund a luxury lifestyle. Louise Martini, 36, from Solihull, pleaded guilty at Gloucester Crown Court to charges of money laundering and theft of £1.6m from ...
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SRA appoints former Linklaters partner as chief City adviser
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has appointed a former magic circle lawyer to advise it on the regulation of City law firms. The SRA also announced today that six firms of various sizes will take part in its pilot of outcomes-focused regulation. Nick Eastwell, a former partner ...
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Lawyers suffer from ‘information overload’
‘Information overload’ is causing UK lawyers to under-bill for the work they do, a new survey has suggested. Research at work is now taking so long that 45% of UK legal professionals sometimes do not bill for the time they spend on it, according to the ...
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Consumers ‘crowded out’ of small claims process
Businesses are monopolising small claims courts and crowding out the people the courts were designed to help, a consumer watchdog has warned. A report by national consumer champion Consumer Focus warns that business is ‘clogging up’ the small claims courts and causing delays for individual claimants. ...
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Consumer’s voice in legal reforms under threat
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned the government against pressing ahead with its ‘surprise’ plans to merge it with campaigning group Citizens Advice, at what it said was a ‘crucial period in legal services reforms’.