Latest news – Page 816
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Solicitors support advocacy quality assurance scheme
The Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates (SAHCA) has given its support to the Legal Services Commission’s proposals for a quality assurance scheme for advocates (QAA), but warned it must be ‘demonstrably even-handed, objective and proportionate’. Following consultation with its 1,300 members, SAHCA responded to the ...
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Solicitor settles action against solicitorsfromhell
A north-east solicitor yesterday settled his libel claim against the owner of a website that blacklists solicitors and law firms. Scott Eason, principal at Eason Law, had instructed libel lawyers Carter-Ruck to bring a claim for damages of between £50,000 and £100,000 and obtain a High ...
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Second blow for supporters of referral fee ban
Any prospect of a new ban on referral fees has been dealt a second major blow in the space of a few weeks, as a new report for the Legal Services Board recommended that the fees should be retained last week. The Legal Services Consumer ...
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Listen and learn
I enjoyed reading Gordon Turner’s reflections on his experience of acting as a juror (see [2010] Gazette, 27 May, 10).
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Spiralling costs
As a residential property specialist, I have become increasingly concerned at the charges made by management companies and freeholders when buying or selling leasehold properties.
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City firm Denton Wilde Sapte set to decide on transatlantic merger
Partners at City firm Denton Wilde Sapte and US firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal are set to decide next Wednesday whether to give the green light to a merger of the firms. The merged firm, SNR Denton, would comprise 1,400 lawyers and boast combined revenues of ...
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Top firms suffer revenue fall – but profits rise
Revenues at top law firms have slipped over the last year, but some firms have seen a significant recovery in partner profits, early results suggest. Of the three major firms that had reported financial results for 2009/10 as the Gazette went to press, all saw falls ...
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High street firms ‘can survive’ in post-Legal Services Act market
High street solicitors can survive in the post-Legal Services Act market, but need a more creative approach to pricing, branding and service delivery, according to a group of key industry figures. At a roundtable debate last week marking the launch of Shopping Around, a report published ...
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Michael Mansfield QC honoured at Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards
Civil rights barrister Michael Mansfield QC received the outstanding achievement accolade at the eighth Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards last week. Mansfield, who retired from practice last year, was honoured for a career that spanned 40 years, during which he acted in high-profile cases ...
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SRA drafts rulebook for new regulation regime
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued a first draft of the 10 new principles which will form the basis of a new ‘outcomes-focused regulation’ regime. The broad principles are contained in a simplified handbook published for consultation by the SRA last week. ...
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European Commission to split justice department in two
The European Commission (EC) is set to transform the way justice is administered across member states, it has emerged.
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Call for new litigation funding model
A new model of litigation funding is needed to secure access to justice for people of limited means, academics said this week. A joint study by the University of Oxford and the University of Lincoln suggested that, while third party funding has improved access to justice ...
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RTA claims portal ‘progress’ – but 50 firms still without login details
Some 50 law firms were still awaiting delayed login details for the new road traffic accident (RTA) claims exchange as the Gazette went to press because of a ‘processing error’. In addition, some firms were still unable to plug their case management systems into the RTA ...
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Luton solicitor jailed over £158k fraud
A Luton solicitor has been jailed for 12 months for falsely claiming more than £150,000 from the Legal Services Commission. Najaf Shah, who worked at Alexander Solicitors and Advocates in Luton, submitted fraudulent legal aid bills totalling £158,000. In one instance he claimed for 101 prison ...
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Lord Lester’s bill a ‘catalyst’ for libel reform
Liberal Democrat peer and barrister Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC has introduced a private member’s bill to reform the country’s ‘archaic’ libel laws. The peer’s Defamation Bill is designed to clarify and modernise the law of libel, protecting both the rights to reputation and freedom ...
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MoJ admits drafting error in fee-capping regulations
Acquitted defendants can claim the full cost of private legal fees, after the Ministry of Justice admitted there is a drafting error in the regulations intended to implement its controversial policy to cap awards. The admission came in documents submitted by the MoJ in connection ...
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BME solicitors and Chancery Lane devise plan to halt PII discrimination
The Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Forum of solicitors has put into action a ‘five-step plan’ together with the Law Society, which is designed to protect BME lawyers from discrimination when renewing their professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover. Law Society head of equality and diversity Pat ...
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LSC accused of squandering millions on VHCC tender process
Legal aid lawyers have accused the Legal Services Commission of wasting ‘millions’ on the tender process for the very high cost cases (VHCC) litigator’s panel. The LSC announced last week that the panel will be scrapped in July, after being in place for only two years. ...
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City lawyer acquitted of insider dealing
A City lawyer accused by the financial services watchdog of insider dealing was today acquitted by Southwark Crown Court. Michael McFall, a former partner at US firm McDermott Will & Emery, was acquitted of eight counts of insider dealing by the Financial Services Authority (pictured). Finance ...
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In-house salaries fall for newly qualifieds
Average salaries for newly qualified in-house lawyers in the north-west of England fell from £40,000 to £37,000 last year, a new survey by Manchester recruitment consultancy BCL Legal has revealed. More experienced in-house lawyers, however, saw their pay remain unchanged at £43,000-£60,000 for one to ...