Latest news – Page 879
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News
Land Registry overhauls registration procedure
The Land Registry is to apply a new ‘early completion’ practice from 3 August, to ensure that registration applications are completed as quickly as possible. The practice will apply to all situations where an application for a discharge of whole has been received with another ...
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Hunt to recommend pre-emptive role for the SRA
The review of legal regulation commissioned by the Law Society is likely to recommend that the Solicitors Regulation Authority carry out more pre-emptive and advisory visits to firms, especially those deemed to be ‘at risk’, its author has revealed. Lord Hunt of Wirral , the man ...
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Law Society complains over judge’s remarks on solicitor-advocates
The Law Society has made an official complaint over what it says were ‘inappropriate comments’ by a Crown court judge about the alleged incompetence of three solicitor-advocates. Chancery Lane has written to Mr Justice Calvert-Smith, the presiding judge of the south-eastern circuit, about remarks made by ...
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50% tax rise will raise £150M from City partners alone
Equity partners at the UK’s 10 biggest law firms will each pay on average £100,000 extra a year to help bail the government out of deficit, Gazette research suggests. Chancellor Alistair Darling’s new 50% income tax bracket, which comes in to force in April 2010, will raise £150m from City ...
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Solicitors and estate agents condemn missed opportunity from budget
Last week’s Budget was a missed opportunity to rescue the housing market and will have no impact on property buying and selling trends, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). The association said that the chancellor had ignored proposals to abolish or reform ...
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MoJ delays implementation of new accident claims processing regime
The Ministry of Justice has conceded defeat over its timetable for introducing a new claims process for road traffic cases, as the Gazette predicted last week (see [2009] Gazette, 23 April, 3). A letter sent to stakeholders this week says it now hopes to have the ...
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Which? enters online wills market
Which? Legal Service is entering the wills market in a tie-up with law firm Blake Lapthorn. The service uses an online questionnaire which takes customers through 1,500 questions tailored to individual needs. Once the questionnaire is completed, a solicitor at ...
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Society survey will reveal salary inequalities
An in-depth investigation into solicitors’ salaries will reveal ‘significant inequalities’ between white members of the profession and those from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups. The warning came from Law Society president Paul Marsh (pictured) at the Minority Lawyers’ Conference at Chancery Lane on Saturday. ...
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SRA’s submission to Hunt review calls for clarity
The division between regulatory and representative functions of the Law Society is ‘inconsistent with the requirements of the Legal Services Act’ and ‘baffling to many consumers and solicitors’, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has told Lord Hunt’s regulation review. In its submission to the Law Society-commissioned ...
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Jackson commends German costs recovery model
Lord Justice Jackson (pictured) may consider a costs recovery system based upon the German model when he releases the preliminary findings of his 1,000 -page review into civil litigation costs early next month.
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New president sets out 10-step plan
The new president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has hit out at insurance solicitors who, he says, fight the conditional fees ‘costs war’ from the ‘comfort zone of risk-free retainers’.
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PII working group
I would like to express my disappointment that the recent article headed ‘PII premiums to rise, crisis group warns’ used the word ‘crisis’ to describe the situation and the purpose of the group...
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Lukewarm defence
The defence by Barry Hughes, chief Crown prosecutor, London, of his associate prosecutors can be described as lukewarm at best (see [2009] Gazette, 9 April, 9).
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First impressions
Kevin Beach acknowledges that it is ‘a long time since I practised criminal law’ (see [2009] Gazette, 17 April, 9). This comment is unlikely to inspire confidence in readers seeking to derive an informed judgement on the abilities of associate prosecutors.
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Missed opportunities for reform
On 5 March Gazette reporter Jonathan Rayner wrote a deeply personal and disturbing account of his son’s experiences of the criminal justice and mental health services.
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SRA considers rise in Compensation Fund levy
Cash-strapped solicitors may have to pay ‘a significantly larger’ sum into the Compensation Fund as more firms require intervention in a deepening recession. Papers considered last week by the Solicitors Regulation Authority board forecast that the number of interventions is expected to rise from 71 in 2008 to more than ...
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US education provider in for BPP law school
BPP Holdings, which owns BPP Law School, announced today that it has received a buyout-approach from US education provider Apollo Global. BPP told the stock exchange that it has received a preliminary approach to purchase the company at 620p per share in cash, a 70% premium ...
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Green paper proposes role for local community in selecting judges
Aspiring district judges could have to win the endorsement of local community figures to secure appointment, under new proposals unveiled by the government today (29 April). The Ministry of Justice wants communities to work with the Judicial Appointments Commission in the ‘selection and deployment’ of district ...
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Regulator probes 10 firms over misleading debt claims
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is investigating 10 firms for accepting business from claims management companies that have misled consumers about the prospects of getting debts written off. The regulator renewed an earlier warning about doing business with such introducers, following what it described as a ‘rash ...
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Hopes for tech and media bonanza unfounded, research shows
Hopes that a boom in technology, media and telecoms (TMT) activity could offset the slump in financial services and property may be unrealistic, new research has suggested. A survey published last week predicts a downturn in the TMT sector because of funding problems faced by businesses. ...