Latest news – Page 711
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News
ACS:Law denies involvement in ‘scam’ in Greece
A London solicitor has denied involvement in an email ‘scam’ attempting to get money out of people in Greece by accusing them of illegal filesharing. Emails purporting to be from ACS:Law in London were sent to people in Greece accusing them of illegal filesharing, and seeking ...
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Beachcroft and Davies Arnold Cooper confirm merger
Two of the UK’s leading insurance firms, Beachcroft and Davies Arnold Cooper, today confirmed that they will merge. DAC Beachcroft will have a combined turnover of £175m and will employ more than 2,000 staff in offices across the world. The firms said ...
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200th firm signs diversity and inclusion charter
Carmarthen firm Ungoed-Thomas & King has become the 200th firm to sign up to the Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter. One third of private practice solicitors now work in firms that have signed up to the flagship diversity initiative that was launched last year. ...
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Human rights lawyers claim ‘historic’ victory
Human rights lawyers claimed a ‘historic’ victory this month in two landmark rulings in the European Court of Human Rights against the Ministry of Defence. The Strasbourg judges ruled earlier this month that when UK forces are exercising public powers overseas, such as assuming responsibility for ...
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Solicitors from Hell founder ordered to pay £10,000 damages
The founder of the Solicitors from Hell website has been ordered to pay damages of £10,000 after publishing defamatory claims that a solicitor was dishonest. Rick Kordowski’s site published a complaint in March made by Tim Smee about Marlow firm Gabbitas Robins. ...
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SRA to investigate solicitors’ potential role in phone-hacking events
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has today launched a formal investigation into the role played by solicitors in events surrounding the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. The SRA's chief executive Antony Townsend said the decision followed a preliminary review of the material in the public domain. ...
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Anger over £600m in unpaid court fines
The government was accused of ‘economic illiteracy’ this week, as it emerged that the amount owed in outstanding court fines has risen to more than £600m in the past year, while the number of enforcement officers employed to collect them was slashed by 12%. Solicitors expressed ...
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ABSs at risk of criminal ownership, Law Society warns
The Law Society is pressing the Ministry of Justice to make an urgent amendment to the Legal Services Act to prevent non-lawyers with spent criminal convictions from becoming owners of alternative business structures. Society chief executive Desmond Hudson has written to justice secretary Kenneth Clarke urging ...
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Cuts set to delay case reviews, says CCRC
The independent body that played an instrumental role in the acquittals of Barry George and Sion Jenkins (pictured) has warned that further cuts to its budget will cause delays in dealing with cases. In its annual report published this week, the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which ...
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Auditors warn MoJ about legal aid reforms
The National Audit Office (pictured) warned the government that its legal aid reforms would threaten the sustainability of law firms before the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill was published. The news comes after the Gazette reported last week that the Legal Services Commission ...
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Domestic violence rules 'boost cost of disputes'
Family lawyers have attacked the government’s plans to deny legal aid to domestic violence victims who accept ‘undertakings’ from an allegedly abusive partner. Responding to a query on the issue from the House of Commons’ Justice Committee, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that undertakings given during ...
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Law firms plan for Olympics delays
City firms have already begun putting action plans in place to deal with the disruption caused by the London 2012 Olympics, the Gazette has learned. London 2012 organisers have written to all firms in the capital warning that capacity on rail and underground services will be ...
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Defamation lawyer: abuse victims need CFAs
A leading defamation lawyer has called for conditional fee agreements to be preserved to help victims of press abuse. Steven Heffer, chair of the Lawyers for Media Standards group, said individuals must be given the means to fight legal battles against media outlets that have acted ...
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NHSLA considers clinical negligence pilot
Claimant lawyers and the NHS Litigation Authority are working on a joint scheme for fast-tracking clinical negligence cases. The two groups will meet next month to examine a pilot for dealing with cases valued up to £25,000. The scheme will use a ...
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Law Society should head off the referral parasites
Third parties’ expectations of receiving a ‘wedge’ from us for an introduction started about the time legal aid was withdrawn for personal injury actions. It seems lots of folk want to get their fingers in the pie. Most introducers have no interest in the legal ...
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Not in my name
I have read how the Law Society is continuing its fight against legal aid cuts. I do not recall the Society asking whether they should spend money on a campaign with which I may not agree. I speak only in respect of civil legal aid. My ...
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Message to SRA: no problem
I write in relation to the SRA’s decision to impose the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocacy on criminal litigation. The reasoning by Mr Plant as to why this scheme is required is far from clear. Those who practise in the criminal courts on a daily basis ...
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LSC transfers cases from collapsed immigration advice provider
The Legal Services Commission has announced that it has begun transferring urgent files from the collapsed Immigration Advisory Service to other providers. Following a call for existing immigration contract holders to submit expressions of interest to take on IAS cases, current providers indicated they had the ...
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Regulator clamps down on claims management companies
The regulator of claims management companies has reported a massive rise in the number of businesses refused authorisation. The Claims Management Regulation Unit warned there would be ‘no let-up’ in the coming year after seeing enforcement measures against firms leap from 35 in 2009/10 to 349 ...