Latest news – Page 864
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Miners’ MP seeks probe into compensation payouts
The new chair of the All-Party Coalfield Communities Group has called on the government to investigate whether wide variations in compensation paid to injured miners may be explained at least in part by bad advice from solicitors.
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Solicitors hit by HSBC bank charges on client accounts
HSBC, the world’s biggest bank, has taken a ‘commercial decision’ to introduce extra charges for solicitors which could add thousands of pounds to law firms’ banking bills, the Gazette has learned. The new policy, which applies specifically to solicitors, comes despite the fact that most client ...
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Lord Justice Goldring to become senior presiding judge
Lord Justice Goldring has been appointed senior presiding judge for England and Wales. Currently deputy senior presiding judge, Lord Justice Goldring will take on his new role from 1 January 2010. He will succeed Lord Justice Leveson, whose three-year term of office ...
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LSC delays tendering for civil legal aid contracts
The Legal Services Commission has delayed tendering for civil legal aid contracts by six months. The delay means that family solicitors will have to wait longer for the new rules which will ensure they are paid the same as barristers for advocacy work. ...
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Huge fines await regulators under LSB proposals
The Legal Services Board could punish non-compliant regulators with multi-million-pound fines if its proposals on enforcement, released today, are accepted. From January 2010, the LSB would be able to fine the Law Society up to £28m for non-compliance if its proposals come into force in their ...
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New Law Commission chairman appointed
Justice secretary Jack Straw (pictured) appointed Family Division High Court judge Sir James Munby on Saturday as chairman of the Law Commission for three years, until August 2012. Straw said he was confident Munby would be a valuable asset to the Law Commission and further enhance ...
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Apple iPhone app makers need legal advice, says Law Society
The Law Society has urged UK inventors of Apple iPhone applications to secure their intellectual property rights by seeking advice from a solicitor. Apple iPhone applications or 'apps' can be worth tens of thousands of pounds in revenue, and anyone with the PC skills and a ...
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Legal aid providers offered free business and financial management training
The Legal Services Commission has announced a series of free training sessions in business and financial management skills for legal aid providers, which will begin in the areas where best-value tendering is to be piloted. The LSC’s ‘provider readiness’ team has commissioned accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers to create ...
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Practising certificate fee set to rise by 19%
The Law Society’s Council last week ‘reluctantly’ voted to increase the practising certificate (PC) fee by nearly a fifth. The 2010 fee will be £1,180, up from £995. The full contribution to the Compensation Fund will rise from £150 to £390. In ...
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Pay gap poser
Is not the headline ‘Pay gap points to discrimination’ undermined by one of the figures in the article (see [2009] Gazette, 9 July, 1)? The greatest discrepancy of all between male and female pay is apparently 34% for sole practitioners.
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In support of best value tendering
I write in response to previous articles regarding best value tendering, in particular Graeme Hydari’s letter (see [2009] Gazette, 16 July, 9). If you decide to publish this letter, I would appreciate it if you could hold back my name and firm details, as this is a personal view and ...
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Causes and consequences
Roger Smith’s article on anti-terror legislation hit the nail on the head (see [2009] Gazette, 25 June, 6).
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Education, housing bonds and sulphur deals
Saudi sukuk: Magic circle firm Allen & Overy, alongside its affiliate, Saudi firm Abdulaziz AlGasim, advised Saudi Electricity Company on a $1.87bn (£1.13bn) sukuk issue, believed to be the largest sukuk issue of 2009. HSBC Saudi Arabia and Samba Capital were joint lead ...
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Tories pledge to hike salaries to lure top City lawyers to regulator
The Conservatives will attempt to lure top City lawyers into the public sector with the promise of improved salaries should they take power at the next general election. Outlining Conservative policy for financial regulation on Monday, shadow chancellor George Osborne said he would scrap the FSA ...
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Asian economies set to boost City law firm profits
Legal work in the emerging Asian economies will provide the biggest profits boost to large law firms over the coming year – but only to firms with established ties, law firm management experts predicted this week. Profitability in the eurozone should remain stable, and there may ...
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Privileged background of solicitors laid bare in government report
A government-commissioned report that lays bare the privileged background of most lawyers shows that class distinction still dominates the sector.
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Custody nurses at police stations risk ‘miscarriages of justice’
Police plans to employ full-time custody nurses at police stations could undermine the independence of medical provision and lead to miscarriages of justice, criminal and mental health lawyers have warned.
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Solicitors and barristers in deal on advocacy pay
Solicitors and barristers reached an agreement this week that would see both sides of the profession paid the same amount for advocacy work in family cases. However, the Law Society expressed disappointment that the Ministry of Justice has not yet approved the deal, and instead ...
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Key Business Finance to pay back money to solicitors’ firms
Solicitors owed thousands of pounds by Key Business Finance (KBF), the legal lender that collapsed last year, will be paid back most of what they are owed. Some 66 law firms made advance payments to KBF totalling £460,000 just before it collapsed. KBF’s administrators Ernst ...
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The new Supreme Court is opening soon
The new Supreme Court (pictured) is to open for business on 1 October, justice secretary Jack Straw announced last week. The court, which will be based at the refurbished Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court, will replace the jurisdiction of the House of Lords.It has cost nearly £60m to create and running ...