Latest news – Page 637
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Grieve backs greater police role in prosecutions
Police should take over the prosecution of more ‘routine non-contested cases ’, the attorney general suggested last night. Dominic Grieve QC said ...
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Virtual firm takes ABS total past 100
A virtual law firm founded by the president of the Law Society has today been granted a licence to become an alternative business structure. Scott-Moncrieff & Associates (SCOMO), run by Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, was added to the list of more than 100 ABSs licensed by the Solicitors ...
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Unbundling may be the key to legal aid survival, president says
Offering pay-as-you-go legal advice could enable solicitors to help clients denied legal aid after 1 April and may help firms generate more work, the Law Society president suggested today. Lucy Scott-Moncrieff told the Society’s legal aid conference: ‘The reality is that for many clients who are ...
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New rules for employment tribunals
Employment tribunals are to become the ‘last resort, not the first port of call’ after the government’s announcement today that it has accepted proposals in a fundamental review of procedure for tribunals. The proposals accepted by the government include new strike-out powers for employment tribunal judges, ...
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MPs set to shed light on whiplash
MPs will answer whether the government is right to describe the UK as the ‘whiplash capital of the world’ in a definitive report on motor claims. The Commons Transport Select Committee today outlined the terms of reference for its inquiry into whiplash and called for evidence ...
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Society unveils consulting service
The Law Society today unveiled a new consulting service for members to support work to meet their regulatory requirements. The service aims to provide clarity and reassurance to law firms and in particular to offer guidance to newly-appointed compliance officers. ...
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Society: SRA should invite bids for failures’ caseloads
The Law Society has suggested that the Solicitors Regulation Authority should invite firms to bid for work from failed firms to cut the cost of interventions, the Society’s chief executive revealed last night. Desmond Hudson (pictured) was addressing the Conveyancing Association, following the SRA’s revelation earlier ...
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UK is best for litigation, says justice secretary
Justice secretary Chris Grayling has sent a message to the world that the UK is cheaper, quicker and more reliable for litigation disputes. Grayling gave a keynote speech at the UK headquarters of Allen & Overy yesterday to stress his commitment to exporting legal services abroad. ...
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Judge warns claimant firm on costs ‘manipulation’
A judge has warned law firms that courts will not tolerate attempts to change court orders for their own advantage. Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart told claimant firm Rosling King last week that it was verging on ‘contumelious’ [insulting] to produce a draft that its clients would prefer ...
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SRA to relax rules on reporting breaches
The Solicitors Regulation Authority plans to drop the much-criticised requirement for compliance officers to report all non-material breaches, an executive said today. Samantha Barrass, director of supervision, risk and standards, told delegates at the Law Society's Risk and Compliance Annual Conference in London that the ...
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Selecting the judiciary on merit
I recently received an email on behalf of the Judicial Appointments Commission, inviting me to complete a survey because ‘they would like to know your views on what motivates lawyers to apply – or not to apply – for judicial office... One of its statutory responsibilities is to reach and ...
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Wrong assumption on innocence
Ian Craine argues that the presumption of innocence ‘is not the same thing as an assumption’, and also seems to regard it as something more than a ‘rule of evidence’. He has against him the US Supreme Court which, in Taylor v Kentucky, stated: ‘The presumption of innocence … is ...
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In conflict with clients
The Jackson reforms undermine the most important principle of achieving fairness for victims of injustice. That is to ensure that the victim is returned to the position they would have been in but for the wrongdoing. Damages-based agreements will permit a direct deduction from damages. ...
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Domicile poser
In what was otherwise an excellent article, Jane Lee used the term ‘UK domicile’ in her Practice Points. The correct term is, of course, an English and Welsh, or Scottish, or Northern Irish domicile. James Aitken, Legal Knowledge, ...
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Unpaid overtime costs lawyers £14k
Legal professionals are among the most likely workers to do unpaid overtime, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC). A national study published this week found that 49.6% of legal professionals work unpaid overtime. Their average unpaid overtime, 9.7 hours a week, is exceeded only ...
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Negligence claim fears over ATE insurance
Solicitors have been warned they could face professional negligence claims if their client cannot secure after-the-event insurance before civil litigation reforms come in to force on 1 April. ATE insurers have told the Gazette they have been ‘inundated’ with law firms trying to secure cover while ...
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MoJ acts after court interpreter fiasco
The Ministry of Justice says it has accepted all of the recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee in its report on the department’s ‘shambolic’ handling of the court interpreter contract. The committee last month published a damning verdict on the procurement and delivery of the ...
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High Court throws out RTA fees cut challenge
The High Court today threw out a challenge to a new fees regime expected to cost personal injury firms £200m a year. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Motor Accident Solicitors Society were challenging a decision by the Ministry of Justice to cut ...
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Jackson gets green light from McNally
Justice minister Lord McNally has confirmed that Jackson reforms of civil justice funding will come into force on 1 April. The peer had come under pressure during a Lords debate to delay implementation of conditional fee agreements and damages-based agreements to allow parties to prepare ...
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EU online training
The European Commission has begun work on an online service to help train EU lawyers in cross-border European law or the law of another member state. The European Training Platform will cost £177,000, including a contribution of £35,400 from the Council of Bars and Law Societies ...