Latest news – Page 640
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SRA's assurances on enforcement under fire from super-regulator
The Solicitors Regulation Authority must focus more on performance and legal services consumers than on the theory of policy, an assessment by the Legal Services Board has found. The super-regulator said the SRA had achieved much since it was formed in 2007, but had yet to ...
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Three solicitors honoured for contribution to the law
Three solicitors and the chairman of the Bar Standards Board are among the eight honorary QCs appointed today in recognition of their contribution to the law outside courtrooms. Eileen Carroll, founder and deputy chief executive of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR); equal pay champion Stefan Cross and Edward ...
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Grayling confirms worst fears with RTA Portal fee cuts
Fixed recoverable costs for RTA Portal claims up to £10,000 will be cut to £500, justice secretary Chris Grayling has confirmed. In a consultation response published today which will confirm the worst fears of the sector, the Ministry of Justice said fixed costs will be cut ...
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SRA sticks to its red tape agenda
The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said today it has approved all 10 amendments to the Solicitors Handbook identified in its ‘red tape initiative’.
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Divorce-related legal complaints most common
Family law accounted for the highest number of complaints dealt with by the Legal Ombudsman last year, a report published today reveals. Of the 7,500 complaints resolved last year, 18% were about divorce or cases related to family law. Residential conveyancing generated the second highest percentage ...
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Profits up at Direct Line despite fall in referral fees
Direct Line, one of the UK’s biggest motor insurers, received £21.1m in referral fees from solicitors in 2012, it reported today. In its annual financial statement, the insurer said revenue from referral fees fell by 24% due to a reduction in non-fault claims volumes. The ...
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Hundreds of lawyers attack secret trial plans
More than 700 lawyers have signed an open letter calling on the government to drop its ‘dangerous and unnecessary’ plans to extend closed material procedures (CMPs). The letter, published in today’s Daily Mail, says that the proposals for secret courts set out in the Justice and ...
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Slater & Gordon reveals UK profits
Australian firm Slater & Gordon has promised to expand operations in the UK after posting a £2.4m profit on UK revenues of £23m for its first full six months in this country. The firm, which acquired national personal injury firm Russell Jones & Walker in January last year, said the ...
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Coats gets key role at new Legal Aid Agency
Matthew Coats, chief executive of the Legal Services Commission, has been appointed to a key role at the new agency that will bring legal aid under the wing of the Ministry of Justice, the lord chancellor has announced.
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High Court told of Downing Street deal with insurers
The government and insurers negotiated a deal to cut personal injury legal costs in a series of emails prior to a summit at Downing Street, the High Court heard this morning. In its submission to a judicial review hearing, lawyers acting for the claimant lobby highlighted ...
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IBA should apologise
Last Monday’s story headlined ‘Sri Lanka bars lawyers’, quoting Shane Keenan and Mark Ellis of the International Bar Association, was misleading. Your publication is not to blame for the IBA’s crude attempt to castigate the Sri Lanka government when, in fact, the IBA should apologise for trying to sneak into ...
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Time to stop bashing Grayling
The continual jibes in the Gazette about poor Mr Grayling’s lack of legal qualifications and (ergo) his supposed unconcern for the rule of law are growing wearisome.
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Client interest
In his recent blog, ‘What Mid Staffs and RBS have in common’, Eduardo Reyes asks: ‘Could a greater emphasis on professional ethics have helped prevent failings?’ With the advent of alternative business structures in particular, being a professional now only means that others have a stick with which to beat ...
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SRA denies 2,000 firms in crisis talks
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has denied it has ‘serious concerns’ about the financial stability of 2,000 firms, as new figures show the number of firms declining to the lowest level since it began collecting data. Chris Smyth, former head of legal services for bank Cheltenham ...
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PM ‘mad’ to cut legal aid for EU immigrants
Solicitors have condemned David Cameron’s proposal to deprive EU immigrants of access to legal aid. The prime minister told parliament last week: ‘There are many parts of our current arrangements that don’t pass a simple commonsense test in terms of access to housing, access to the ...
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Wales to decide on legal jurisdiction
Wales first minister Carwyn Jones (pictured) is today set to reveal whether he backs a separate legal jurisdiction for the country. His long-awaited response to last year’s consultation is expected to recommend a separation of powers. A move towards a Welsh jurisdiction has been widely predicted ...
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Volunteers ‘unable to fill legal aid void’
Volunteers will not be able to fill the gap in advice and representation left by April’s legal aid cuts, the chief executive of one of the largest pro bono organisations has warned parliament. With less than 50 days to go until the Legal Aid, Sentencing and ...
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MoJ considers ending lump sum PI damages
Ministers are to consider the case for successful personal injury claimants to receive damages over a period of time rather than in one lump sum. The Ministry of Justice revealed last week that it is considering a change to the current payments regime – as well ...
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MPs: family judges should talk to children
Specialist family judges should talk to children whose care cases they deal with, according to an all-party group of MPs. In a report last week, the Child Protection All Party Parliamentary Group warned that government reforms to the family justice system set out in the ...
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Tax warning over children’s wills
Thousands of parents may need to rewrite their wills to protect their children’s interests because of inheritance law changes introduced in the Finance Bill, the Law Society has warned. The Society’s tax law committee has written to HMRC to voice concerns over what it says are ...