Latest news – Page 678
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News
Being pushed out
I work in a provincial practice with three town centre-based offices in Cheshire, and it is with interest that I read about HSBC’s new ’shortlisted’ panel of 43 law firms and licensed conveyancers. This follows talk of some of the other mainstream lenders such as the Lloyds Banking Group also ...
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Call for regulation of legal comparison sites
Comparison websites should commit to a set of voluntary standards to ensure legal service consumers are protected, according to a new report. The Legal Services Consumer Panel today says the websites could help to improve access to legal advice and stimulate greater competition on price and ...
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Private equity investor takes £200m stake in Parabis
Private equity investor Duke Street today confirmed an investment of up to £200m in personal injury umbrella firm Parabis Group in the latest City move into the legal sector. The legal and claims management company, which trades under the names of Plexus Law (defendant firm) ...
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Government to legislate on shared parenting - Clarke
Strengthening shared parenting after divorce and speeding up care and adoption cases are among ‘ambitious and system-wide’ reforms outlined by the government today to improve the family justice system. Responding to the Norgrove Family Justice Review, justice secretary Kenneth Clarke said the government would implement many ...
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Chancery Lane appoints former No 10 adviser as corporate affairs chief
The Law Society has appointed a former adviser to the prime minister to the new role of chief of corporate affairs. Dr Patricia Greer will have responsibility for policy, communications and engaging with solicitors, reporting to chief executive Desmond Hudson. Greer will join in March from ...
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City firm guilty of discrimination, appeal rules
An employment appeal tribunal has ruled that City firm Bivonas discriminated against one of its lawyers on the basis of sexual orientation. Lee Bennett’s discrimination claim focused on a memo from one of the firm’s partners which falsely implied that he instructed only gay barristers and ...
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Fix costs to save the planet, says Jackson
Lord Justice Jackson has recommended a fixed costs regime to ensure the government fulfils its duty in environmental judicial review cases. The Ministry of Justice launched a consultation last year to ask how to comply with the UK’s international obligations as part of the UN Aarhus ...
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Sound defence
I write in defence of advocates representing mentally ill clients. I am concerned that your article promulgates the common perception that lawyers see mental health advocacy as an ‘easy ride’ in comparison with advocacy in other fields.
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Moving banks
In his article on HSBC and conveyancing, Jonathan Smithers rightly says that solicitors may take steps to steer clients away from HSBC.
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Online confusion
Feeling in masochistic mood, I filed my tax return on a recent Sunday morning and applied online for the new SRA practising certificate in the afternoon.
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Court swapping
John Edwards, who wrote in January, will be reassured to know that the common occurrence of cases swapping between courts is one the Crown Prosecution Service has planned for in the new digital world.
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Trial and error
The impression given by Masood Ahmed in his commentary on the 2011 case of Rolf v De Guerin is that any small builder who attempts to resist an entirely unmeritorious claim by defending it in court rather than submitting to mediation will find himself penalised in costs.
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Short shrift
So the Civil Justice Council suggests that one way of dealing with the problems caused to the administration of civil justice by untutored litigants in person is for practitioners to sell them small amounts of legal advice, and gives as an example a firm that charges £7 for 5 minutes. ...
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Good advice?
The Gazette of 19 January contained two separate items that can be usefully linked: one a call to help the public, the other a warning of how such help can be turned against us.
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Sharp practice
In Law Society v LSC et al [2010] EWHC 2550 (Admin) the court acknowledged that solicitors working in the Family Court were ‘a band of skilled and dedicated lawyers working for little reward’. Your edition of 12 January records the entry into administration of Jewels, ...
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Fury over ‘chaos’ in central civil claims processing
A ‘totally chaotic’ scheme to slash costs and processing times for civil claims has prompted around 100 individual complaints to the Law Society’s council member for civil litigation. The complaints concern Salford Business Centre (SBC), also known as the National Civil Business Centre, which is HM ...
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Morale low among Ministry of Justice staff
Evidence of poor morale among staff at the Ministry of Justice has emerged from the civil service’s annual ‘people survey’. Among its findings is that staff at the ministry and its agencies have no confidence in decisions made by senior managers. Only 32% of respondents would recommend the MoJ as ...
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Law Society outlines initiatives to reinforce access to justice
The Law Society vice-president has outlined initiatives to bolster access to justice following the government’s proposed legal aid reforms - but stressed that Chancery Lane has not given up its opposition to the cuts. Lucy Scott-Moncrieff (pictured) told the Gazette that the Society has given ‘a ...
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Compensation awards restored to solicitors
The body that pays compensation to victims of violent crime has backed down in the face of a judicial review challenge and restored its policy of paying awards directly to solicitors. In a related development, it is also to allow legal fees to be paid out ...
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Restrict title to fight fraud, Land Registry urges
Property owners are being encouraged to register a restriction requiring a solicitor to certify their identity as homeowner before their property can be sold, in the Land Registry’s latest move against property fraud. From this month, the Registry’s Form LL restriction will be free for absent ...