Latest news – Page 630
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News
Arresting solution
By 2014 the UK must decide how far to be involved in EU crime co-operation measures, most notably the European arrest warrant (see ‘Nationwide alarm at EAW opt-out plan’). Whether the UK should continue to operate the arrest warrant system is not an easy decision and not one to be ...
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Centre caught out
I was concerned to read that the new County Court Money Claims Centre has complained that law firms are delaying the processing of thousands of claims at the new centralised facility in Salford, as reported in the Gazette on 27 September.
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Grayling dishes out tough justice
Repeat violent or sexual offenders will receive mandatory life sentences under a party conference-pleasing set of measures announced by the new justice secretary, Chris Grayling, on Tuesday. Grayling (pictured) also said the Conservatives would go into the next election with ‘a clear plan for change ...
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Solicitors cool on Conservatives' employee share scheme
Chancellor George Osborne’s plan for employees to exchange legal rights for tax-free shares in their workplaces has received a cool reception from employment lawyers. In his speech to the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, Osborne said that under the ‘voluntary three-way deal’ employees would ‘replace ...
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Online legal comparison pioneer to unveil site revamp
Legal services comparison site Wigster is planning a high-profile relaunch following the appointment last week of entrepreneur Matthew Briggs (pictured) as a director. Briggs, who is chief executive of the online claims management business Claims.com, was previously the non-lawyer chief executive of personal injury firm ...
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IBA 2012: Robinson urges lawyers to join climate fight
The International Bar Association has heeded a call from former Ireland president Mary Robinson (pictured) to join the fight against climate change. At its conference in Dublin, the organisation confirmed it will set up a taskforce to help fulfil the agreement reached at the UN ...
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Unhappy consumers ‘intimidated by jargon’
Legal services consumers feel intimidated by jargon when they make complaints to law firms and for that reason are more likely to take their complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, research has found. A survey published today of more than 1,000 people who had complained to the ...
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‘Flexible’ court plans unveiled
The creation of a regional virtual court is among plans revealed today by justice minister Damian Green to pilot dozens of ‘flexible’ court models. Five schemes will be trialled in 48 areas. They will include regional virtual courts that will enable preliminary hearings in the ...
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Society condemns ‘pure gamble’ quality assurance scheme
The Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) will ‘annul the historic rights’ of most solicitors to appear before magistrates’ courts and prompt lawsuits against regulators, the Law Society has warned. In a robust response to the fourth and final consultation on the plans to introduce the ...
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CoA finds for insurers on damages uplift
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a 10% uplift on general damages will not apply to cases begun before 1 April on a conditional fee agreement (CFA). In a ruling made today, the most senior judges in England and Wales overturned an earlier judgment that ...
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Chancery Lane takes stake in OFR support provider
The Law Society has taken an equity stake in a company that provides support to legal firms on complying with outcomes-focused regulation (OFR). Chancery Lane says the agreement with Riliance, which has developed an online support tool for compliance officers for finance and administration, and ...
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Standard bar contracts put back by three months
The introduction of standard contractual terms between barristers and solicitors has been delayed by three months to make sure all firms and chambers are prepared, the Bar Standards Board announced today. The new terms will now take effect from 31 January 2013. They had been previously ...
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London legal jobs boom defies downturn
Employment in London in legal services is growing faster than any other financial or professional service, new figures have revealed. According to lobby group TheCityUK, the number of legal services employees in the City rose in the first half of 2012 by 3.3% to 118,700. The ...
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Direct Line hints at legal services plan
Insurance giant Direct Line has confirmed that it is considering setting up a legal services arm when it is spun off from current owner Royal Bank of Scotland. The revelation appears in a prospectus for a share flotation in the group, due to get under ...
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Justice minister: we’ll stop weekend courts pilot if critics are right
New justice minister Jeremy Wright today said the government would cancel plans for weekend court hearings if the trial proves to be unsuccessful. Wright, in his first public speech since joining the department last month, said it would be ‘crazy’ to pursue the policy nationwide if ...
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No more open chequebooks for expert witnesses, conference warned
Expert witnesses appearing for both sides in clinical negligence could become the norm, the former head of the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) predicted yesterday. Steve Walker, who retired as chief executive of the NHSLA in August after 16 years, said solicitors must find ways to bring ...
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Nationwide alarm at EAW opt-out plan
Legal professions across the UK have united to call for full public consultation on the government’s proposal to opt out of more than 130 EU criminal justice measures, including the European arrest warrant (EAW).
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What kind of society do we want to be?
I read with some disgust the view expressed by Jonathan Davis in this column. If we are to follow his view then it is his position that is the intolerant and discriminatory attitude, and he may well ask ‘what kind of society are we…’ to ...
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Mortgagee problem
Surely it is about time the Land Registry devised a scheme to deal with slow or incompetent mortgagees who fail to discharge their registered interest following payment of redemption monies. The Registry is quick enough to refuse to process an application by a transferee and ...
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Legal aid delays
I have read the comments of Gareth Roberts about delays in payments of fees by the Legal Services Commission and the letter to the Gazette by Helen Riley calling his comments into question.