Latest news – Page 841
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News
HMRC tax break for large law firms
Large law firms struggling with cash flow problems will find it easier to obtain an extension on their tax deadline following a change in the rules adopted by HM Revenue & Customs. The new policy will extend the revenue’s Business Payments Support Service (BPSS) to large ...
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Legal process outsourcing facing a ‘watershed’ year
Legal process outsourcing (LPO) faces a ‘watershed’ year during which it must prove its value to law firms and in-house lawyers, a report has predicted. Consultants Fronterion said LPO gained the media’s attention during 2009 as several top law firms and in-house teams announced deals, but ...
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SRA makes £3m payment to help clients of Wolstenholmes
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has made a payment of £3m to help clients whose conveyancing transactions have been left in limbo by the closure of Cheshire firm Wolstenholmes. The money has come from the Compensation Fund, which is administered by the SRA and funded by the ...
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Law Society files judicial review application over defendants’ costs cap
The Law Society has filed a judicial review application in a move to overturn new government regulations restricting the costs that can be recovered by acquitted defendants. Regulations that came into force on 31 October 2009 cap at legal aid rates the costs recoverable by ...
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Legal aid payments delayed by LSC IT glitch
Technical problems at the Legal Services Commission delayed payments that were due to all legal aid solicitors at the start of the year. The payment systems at the LSC went down for a day and a half, which meant the BACS payment run that was due ...
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Surprise increase in practising certificate numbers
The number of solicitors with practising certificates (PCs) continued its relentless rise in 2009, despite predictions in many quarters that the recession would herald a decline. Figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority show that the number of practising solicitors totalled 112,589 at December 31, having risen ...
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Jackson calls for success fee reform and end to PI referral fees
Success fees and after-the-event (ATE) insurance premiums should no longer be paid by the losing party in civil court cases, a major report on civil litigation costs recommended today. Winning parties in personal injury cases should benefit from a 10% uplift in their damages award to ...
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New government client care regulations ‘excessive’
New government regulations requiring solicitors to inform clients about what professional indemnity insurance they have in place have been described as ‘excessive’. The Provision of Services Regulations 2009, introduced by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) in December, require lawyers to provide information on ...
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Chancery Lane calls for answers about legal aid tendering process
The Law Society has written to the Legal Services Commission demanding urgent information about ‘fundamental issues’ concerning the civil legal aid tendering process, and expressing ‘grave concern’ at the lack of detail given to providers. The tender process is due to begin at the beginning of ...
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Tough times ahead but no more redundancies, predict conveyancers
Property experts have predicted a slow start to the year, but forecast an end to redundancies among conveyancing solicitors. Paul Marsh, lead Law Society spokesman on property, said the next 12 months would remain slow, but with house prices rising in some areas due to a ...
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Chancery Lane moves to block legal aid cap for acquitted defendants
The Law Society has filed a judicial review application in a move to block new government regulations restricting the costs that can be recovered by acquitted defendants. Regulations that came into force on 31 October 2009 cap at legal aid rates the costs recoverable by acquitted defendants who have ...
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News
‘Breakthrough’ tax agreement helps large partnerships
Large law firms struggling with cash flow problems will be more able to obtain an extension on their tax deadline under a change in the rules adopted by HM Revenue & Customs. The new policy will extend the revenue’s Business Payments Support Service (BPSS) to large ...
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Hour of reckoning
Dick Jennings’ comments (see [2009] Gazette, 10 December, 11) supporting hourly fee charging miss two fundamental truths.
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Family confusion
James Carter (see [2009] Gazette, 17 December, 9) appears to have a rather different understanding than I about the way in which family cases, and public law proceedings in particular, are conducted.
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Sensitive subject
James Carter (see [2009] Gazette, 17 December, 9) misrepresents Resolution as opposing government plans to extend family reporting. In fact, Resolution is fully supportive of greater openness and transparency in the family courts.
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Wake up and smell the coffee
I am writing in response to recent letters from solicitors who either claim or imply that because their firms don’t pay referral fees they somehow have more integrity than firms that do.
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Law firms launch new support service for solicitors
Two law firms have joined forces to launch a new support service for solicitors experiencing regulatory, conduct, practice or business problems. The Lawyers Defence Group (LDG) has been set up by national firm Richard Nelson and London firm Murdochs to provide all lawyers – solicitors, barristers, ...
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Five solicitors suspended following more than 100 client complaints
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has intervened in a Cheshire firm and suspended the practising certificates of five of its solicitors following allegations of dishonesty involving hundreds of thousands of pounds of clients’ money. The SRA is investigating suspected dishonesty and breaches of accounting rules at Wolstenholmes, ...
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Solicitors predict number of divorces will rocket following surge in enquiries
Family solicitors reported a surge in divorce enquiries before Christmas and have predicted that the number of divorces will rocket in 2010, with January likely to be the busiest month. The rush comes as London firm Lloyd Platt & Co markets a new ‘divorce voucher’ scheme for separating couples. Mark ...
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Various groups of solicitors represented disproportionately in SRA actions
Various groups of solicitors are disproportionately represented in actions taken by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, but there is no clear pattern, research has found. White solicitors are more likely to face complaints of professional misconduct, for example, while black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors are more ...