Latest news – Page 624
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News
Legal training system not broken - City
The City of London Law Society has criticised what it calls ‘misconceived’ assumptions underpinning the landmark review of legal education and training. In a response to the Legal Education and Training Review being conducted by the three main regulators, the group representing 15,000 City lawyers says ...
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UK dismisses European common sales law plan
The government has poured cold water on European Commission proposals for an optional common European sales law. In a response to a call for evidence published today, it describes the commission’s plan as ‘an unbalanced proposal which is overly complex, introduces confusion and legal uncertainty ...
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Insurers ‘frustrated’ at small claims limit delays
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has criticised the government for delaying a decision on the future of the small claims process. The Ministry of Justice has yet to produce a response to the consultation, which closed in the summer, on whiplash and the Road Traffic ...
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LSB must go now, says Bar Council chief
The barristers’ profession cranked up its pressure on the Legal Services Board this weekend as the chair of the Bar Council called for the super-regulator to be ‘disbanded'. Michael Todd QC told the bar's annual conference that the LSB was going ‘beyond its brief’, and criticised ...
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Salary ranking shows some good news for lawyers
Lawyers’ average salaries have risen more slowly than the national average since 2006 – but still outflank most other professions, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Analysis by recruitment firm Randstad Financial & Professional found salaries increased by 8.1% since the first full ...
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Osborne’s employment rights trade ‘adds to red tape’
The complexity and costs associated with offering employee ownership in return for the forfeiture of employment rights is likely to deter employers from the scheme proposed last month by chancellor George Osborne, the Law Society warned today. It said that the new 'employee owner' status ...
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It’s time to fight, bar chief says
The bar must fight to shape its own future in a ‘dramatically and quickly-changing legal landscape’ or be lost forever, the head of the bar told its annual conference in London this morning. In a passionate and wide-ranging address, Michael Todd QC (pictured) spoke ...
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Time limit for care cases ‘impractical’
Family law groups have warned that the government's plan to impose a 26-week time limit for courts to conclude care cases is impractical in most cases and constitutes ‘potentially unlawful interference with judicial discretion’. Giving evidence to the justice committee, the Law Society, Family Law Bar ...
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Chancery Lane warns of ‘two-tier’ will system
A two-tier system for regulating will-writing could confuse consumers and lead to a drop in standards, the Law Society has warned. The Society has welcomed the Legal Services Board’s recommendation that will-writing, estate administration and probate should be regulated. But Chancery Lane is concerned that the ...
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Legal challenge over custody rights of 17-year-olds
A children’s charity has been given permission to challenge the legality of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act code of practice and the failure of government and police to provide adequate support and protection to 17-year-olds in police custody. The High Court granted permission yesterday for ...
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Goldring warns expert witnesses on fee ‘padding’
Expert witnesses will face fixed fees if they are found to be ‘padding out’ their charges to compensate for new hourly rates, the senior presiding judge of England and Wales warned the largest regular conference of experts today. Lord Justice Goldring told attendees at the ...
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Ombudsman will have more powers in February
Chief legal ombudsman Adam Sampson has revealed that radical changes to his role and scope could be in place as soon as next February. Sampson (pictured) said today that ministers were ‘broadly comfortable’ with a range of reforms that his office has recommended. The changes will ...
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Pro bono hours dip as cuts loom
The average amount of pro bono work undertaken by solicitors has fallen by nearly 15% over the past year, according to a Law Society survey published today. Although Chancery Lane says the decline reflects a narrower definition than that used in previous polls, the trend will renew fears about access ...
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Law centres ponder structure switch
Law centres are exploring a range of new business models to survive – but few are likely to take the alternative business structure route, the director of the centres’ umbrella body said this week. Julie Bishop, director of the Law Centres Network (formerly the ...
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New York offices reopen post-Sandy
New York lawyers are back at work after the city’s battering last week by ‘superstorm’ Sandy. Some firms were forced to close after the storm left offices and homes without power and caused staff to be evacuated from their homes or stranded without public transport. Clifford ...
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APIL slams £500k ‘token gesture’ crime victim fund
The government is to push through cuts of £50m from compensation to crime victims - but will provide a £500,000 hardship fund to help some victims excluded under the reform. Lawyers denounced the measure as ‘a token gesture’. Justice minister Helen Grant told parliament last week ...
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SRA rebuffed over fining powers
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is reviewing its options after the Ministry of Justice declined its request for tougher fining powers against ‘traditional’ law firms. In May, the regulator applied to the MoJ to have the maximum fine it can impose on law firms raised from £2,000 ...
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Chancery Lane hits out at LETR over claim
The Law Society has hit back at claims that the current system of legal education and training is unfit for purpose. In a critical response to a discussion paper published by the cross-professional Legal Education and Training Review (LETR), the Society says it is ‘not aware of clear evidence that ...
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Firms must rethink how to tap into energy boom
Flashpoints in the international energy industry, from oil drilling in the Arctic to gas field disputes in the eastern Mediterranean, will mean big opportunities for law firms – if they are prepared to reassess how they practise, according to City consultants. A report published last week ...
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PII warning over unrated insurers
Cash-strapped law firms have been driven to obtaining professional indemnity insurance from unrated insurers this year, risking regulatory sanctions where an insurer becomes insolvent, a leading broker and the Law Society have warned. Unrated firms, listed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, are those without a ...