Latest news – Page 900
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Law Society Council: opportunity lost
I write in connection with your report of the Law Society Council debate on reform of Council’s size and composition (see [2008] Gazette, 20 November, 2).
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Medico-legal collapse hits solicitors
Hundreds of medical reports for personal injury claims will be delayed following the collapse of one of the country’s largest medical reporting agencies. E-Reporting Group (ERG) fell into administration on 18 November, leaving 9,000 doctors unpaid for completed reports and pending reports due to be sent ...
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Spending cuts highlight HMCS property plight
Chancellor Alistair Darling’s hopes of shaving £5bn from public spending by 2011 may quickly run into difficulties, a Gazette investigation of efficiency plans at HM Court Service (HMCS) suggests. In his Pre-Budget Report (PBR) on Monday, Darling said he expects savings from ‘more ...
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'Bypass solicitor and go straight to the bar'
Consumers will be urged to bypass solicitors and instruct barristers directly in an initiative launched by the Bar Council today. A report entitled ‘Straight there, no detours’, says that 89% of consumers who went directly to a barrister believed they got ‘better value for money’ ...
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Chef loses privacy against battle against firm
Celebrity restaurateur Marco Pierre White has had his High Court claim against City firm Withers struck out by Mr Justice Eady. White (pictured) was seeking damages for an alleged breach of privacy from Withers, his wife’s lawyers during their divorce proceedings. White claimed Withers had instructed ...
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Law Commission to clear 'mess' over adult social care statutes
The first steps in rationalising a ‘confusing jumble of statutes’ governing adult social care were set out this week by the Law Commission. A scoping paper, expected to be approved by the Department of Health, proposes a single modern statute that can be understood by ...
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Fears over UKBA immigration shake-up
Concerns are mounting in the legal profession over new immigration rules described by the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) as the biggest shake-up of border security in 45 years. Tiers 2 and 5 of the points-based system, which go live today, require 20,000 employers to have ...
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Outcry at lawyer ban
Former Lord Justice Sir Henry Brooke and other legal figures have expressed outrage at the UK’s decision to refuse entry to a Nepalese human rights lawyer on a European speaking tour. Human rights lawyer, journalist and author Jitman Basnet has been detained and tortured by Maoist ...
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Rate of firm closures increases
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) says it expects to shut down 56% more law firms this year than it did last. The number of ‘interventions’ could reach 75 by the end of the year, compared with 48 in 2007. Intervention involves the SRA sending an agent ...
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Insurance rethink
Staggered renewal dates for professional indemnity insurance (PII) and a return to the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) are being considered by the Law Society’s PII crisis group, as the number of firms in the assigned risks pool (ARP) looks set to register a six-fold increase. As ...
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Legal services body director suspended
The director-elect of a pioneering shared legal services organisation has been suspended from his current role as head of legal and democratic services at Northamptonshire County Council. Chris Whittington was appointed director of Legal Services Lincolnshire (LSL) in October and is expected to take up his ...
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Vulnerable face discrimination
Vulnerable offenders suffer ‘systemic and routine discrimination’ at the hands of the police, court and prison services, according to a damning report.
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Solicitors warned over property competitions
Solicitors advising clients who are selling their homes through ‘house competitions’ must act with caution to avoid falling foul of the gambling laws or complicity in fraud or money laundering, the Law Society has warned. The collapse of the housing market has prompted a growing number ...
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Sharia 'could have averted crisis'
The use of Sharia ethics might have helped avert the current financial crisis, the head of a legal think-tank said this week. ‘The continuing turmoil has cast Islamic finance centre stage,’ Malik Dahlan, principal and chief lawyer at Institution Quraysh, told a London seminar. ‘Were ...
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ADR encouraged in planning process
Replacing planning appeals with alternative dispute resolution (ADR) could help save businesses and councils £300m a year, the government claimed this week. The proposals, published by the Communities and Local Government department, call for a ‘more proportionate’ planning system, removing nearly 40% of minor non-residential developments ...
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Technology mergers, charity deals and educational investments
Pop for poppies: South-west firm Wilsons advised charity Help for Heroes, which cares for British soldiers post-conflict, on an agreement with music producer Simon Cowell’s (inset) production company for a share of profits received from the sale of music single Hero. Finalists from ...
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A simple solution to the problem of non-compliance
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) reports that the level of compliance in relation to referral arrangements remains low. Antony Townsend makes plain his disappointment (see [2008] Gazette, 6 November, 1). It appears that the SRA does not understand why this is happening. We believe we do, and that the reason, ...
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Day of reckoning
I congratulate Martyn Day on the success he is having in his use of conditional fee agreements (CFAs) (see [2008] Gazette, 6 November, 14), but it is important to add that the Legal Services Commission (LSC) still funds major group claims.
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Short-sighted?
In reference to your negative editorial on the outcome of the postal ballot on Charter amendments (see [2008] Gazette, 30 October, 8), the powers that be at Chancery Lane should not assume that the majority who voted against the proposals were merely motivated by protectionist tendencies in difficult times.
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Formal memorandums and production-sharing agreements
Law of the Land: City firm SJ Berwin advised British Land in establishing a formal memorandum of understanding with the Highways Agency. The memorandum establishes a framework for promoting sustainable development and regeneration. The Highways Agency was advised in-house.