Latest news – Page 709
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News
Claimant lawyers warn over health and safety review
Ministers have been warned they risk inviting a raft of claims by loosening health and safety legislation. Consultation closed last week on the Department for Work and Pensions review of workplace rules, with the results to be published in the autumn. Employment ...
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News
Colombia dubbed ‘the ‘lawyer murder capital of the world’
The South American state of Colombia is fast becoming the ‘lawyer murder capital of the world’, the Law Society warned this week. Recently released figures reveal that six judges, 12 prosecutors and 334 other lawyers were murdered there between 2003 and 2009.
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News
Columbia dubbed ‘the ‘lawyer murder capital of the world’
The South American state of Colombia is fast becoming the ‘lawyer murder capital of the world’, the Law Society warned this week. Recently released figures reveal that six judges, 12 prosecutors and 334 other lawyers were murdered there between 2003 and 2009.
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News
Columbia dubbed ‘the ‘lawyer murder capital of the world’
The South American state of Colombia is fast becoming the ‘lawyer murder capital of the world’, the Law Society warned this week. Recently released figures reveal that six judges, 12 prosecutors and 334 other lawyers were murdered there between 2003 and 2009.
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News
Columbia dubbed ‘the ‘lawyer murder capital of the world’
The South American state of Colombia is fast becoming the ‘lawyer murder capital of the world’, the Law Society warned this week. Recently released figures reveal that six judges, 12 prosecutors and 334 other lawyers were murdered there between 2003 and 2009.
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News
Legal aid lawyers band together to lobby government
Lawyers’ groups have come together in an informal coalition to lobby the government over its legal aid and civil costs reforms, which they claim will ‘threaten the entire legal advice network’. Groups including the Law Society, Bar Council, Legal Action Group, the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, ...
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News
Solicitors fined £20,000 for sending intimidating letters
Two London solicitors have been fined and suspended for three months by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for sending intimidating letters accusing people of illegal filesharing. David Gore, a current partner at Davenport Lyons, and Brian Miller, a former partner at the same firm, were found guilty ...
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News
MoJ clamps down on ‘rogue’ CMCs
The Ministry of Justice shut down nearly 350 rogue claims management companies over the last year, according to statistics released last week. In 2010/11, 349 unauthorised or unscrupulous firms were closed as the ministry clamped down on the exploitation of vulnerable consumers, compared to just 35 ...
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News
Newspapers warned against prejudicing trials
Newspapers have been warned they risk impeding the course of justice if they vilify a suspect who is under arrest. The Sun and Daily Mirror were today both found to have breached the Contempt of Court Act 1981 through their reporting of the investigation into the ...
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News
Law for All blames bureaucracy burden for closure
The UK’s largest not-for-profit social welfare law firm has blamed legal aid cuts and the ‘burden’ of the Legal Services Commission’s bureaucracy for its demise. Law For All, which advised 15,000 clients a year in three London boroughs, East Anglia and the Midlands, went into administration ...
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Five new judges appointed to High Court bench
The Ministry of Justice has announced the appointment of five new high court judges, including the first Sikh to be appointed to the High Court bench. Matrix Chambers’ Rabinder Singh QC (pictured) will become the first Sikh judge to sit in the High Court. ...
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Clyde & Co and BLG confirm merger
Partners at top-40 firms Clyde & Co and Barlow Lyde & Gilbert have voted to proceed with a merger. The management of both firms have agreed the move, which will bring together the insurance specialists. Clyde & Co posted a £212m turnover ...
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News
Looming legal aid cuts to spark closures
Government plans to cut legal aid rates by at least 10% across the board from October will cause a ‘leap into unprofitability’ for firms, solicitors warned this week. The warning comes as mayor of London Boris Johnson voiced concerns that ‘the majority’ of women who have ...
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News
Santander charges ‘compliance fee’
Santander is to introduce an annual compliance fee for its panel members, in a move that the Law Society has called ‘deeply disappointing’. The lender will also open its panel to new firms in August. In a letter to panel members, the bank outlines its plans to move to a ...
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Law firms to survey staff on diversity
Law firms and chambers will have to carry out regular staff surveys to monitor the diversity of their workforce from next year, after the Legal Services Board published statutory guidance on the issue this week. From 2012, the LSB will require regulators including the Solicitors Regulation ...
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Firm loses ‘partner’ employment appeal
A solicitor who was paid through a profit share rather than receiving a salary should not be classified as a partner for employment law purposes, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled. Solicitor Jeremy Briars began working for Solihull firm Williamson & Soden in November 2001. ...
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Ministry of Justice could privatise enforcement work
The Ministry of Justice may seek a private contractor to provide criminal court enforcement services, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly has said. Last week, the Gazette revealed that outstanding fines had risen to £609m in the past 12 months, while enforcement staff numbers had dropped by 57, ...
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News
Solicitor-advocates fear QASA disadvantage
Solicitor-advocates fear they will be marginalised by the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates, and have suggested that some judges may not take part in the scheme. Advocates looking to gain accreditation at the top-two levels of the four-tiered QASA process will need judicial evaluation as well ...
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IBA updates conduct code
The International Bar Association (IBA) published a new global code of conduct this week, identifying the 10 core ethical principles that should guide legal professionals worldwide. The new code was compiled with the help of practitioners from every continent, including former Law Society president Edward Nally ...
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Consumer panel’s Hayter: solicitors 'in denial' over client views
Solicitors are ‘in denial’ about the way they are viewed by clients, the outgoing chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel told the Gazette in a parting shot at the profession this week. Dianne Hayter (pictured) said she regretted that too many lawyers were unwilling to ...