Latest news – Page 727
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News
Conveyancers council will authorise ABSs
The Legal Services Board has approved an application for the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) to become a licensing authority for alternative business structures. With this approval, the CLC becomes the first ABS licensing authority. Its scope is limited to probate, ...
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Landmark ruling on miscarriages of justice expected
Hundreds of people wrongly convicted of a serious crime will hear this week if they can make a fresh bid for compensation. Nine senior judges from the Supreme Court will decide the exact definition of a ‘miscarriage of justice’ in a landmark ruling expected tomorrow. ...
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Lawyers unaware of pro bono costs orders, charity warns
Legal charities are missing out on funding because the majority of lawyers are unaware of the existence of ‘pro bono costs’ orders, research has suggested. Where a civil case is won by a lawyer providing free legal representation, under Section 194 of the Legal Services Act ...
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Charging powers passed from CPS to police
The power to decide charges for those suspected of crimes will be passed from the Crown Prosecution Service to the police under plans announced by the home secretary today, in what she called a ‘radical leap forward for policing’. Theresa May said the Home Office will ...
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Two new insurers set to enter solicitors’ PII market
Two new, A-rated insurers are poised to enter the professional indemnity insurance market, adding much-needed volume to a market that is again expected to be tough this year. Leading broker Richard Brown told the Sole Practitioners Conference in Harrogate yesterday that he is ‘90% of the ...
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Barnardo’s issues warning over asbo repeal
A leading children’s charity this week warned of the dangers of government plans to repeal the anti-social behaviour order (asbo). The Home Office is currently consulting on its ‘More Effective Responses to Anti-Social Behaviour’ policy, which aims to give the police, courts and the community extra ...
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Correction
Our News Focus of 7 April contained the statement: ‘Unlike Jackson, Kenneth Clarke does use figures.’ We are happy to make clear that Lord Justice Jackson’s report included extensive figures in support of its recommendations. We apologise if this sentence ...
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Stop the slaughter
Like many others, I am concerned about the government’s proposals on civil litigation costs. But I felt your call to arms, Join clients in the fight – Slaughter to be a step too far. Perhaps we should try negotiating first? ...
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A law unto itself
I fully endorse the comments of Michael Freeman, regarding the county court system failure in London. Under the Civil Procedure Rules, trial dates are supposed to be sacrosanct, yet my day-long case scheduled for the end of April was cancelled, causing additional expense and anxiety for ...
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Absolute truth
I read with interest Andrea Minichiello Williams’s article on the victimising of Christians. With the exception of the Johns case, which was appallingly reported by the BBC, I agree entirely with everything she says. It may not seem important to many that Christians in this country ...
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Moral high ground?
In 2011, it is frankly crazy for Andrea Minichiello Williams to be making statements such as ‘without Christianity, there can be no morality’ and ‘law cannot be divorced from Christianity’. Furthermore, it is offensive to suggest that secularism is a variant of fascism, as Ms ...
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Domestic violence courts to close
More than one in six specialist domestic violence courts are set to close as part of the government’s nationwide court closures plan, it has emerged. Shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter has tabled a series of parliamentary questions to justice secretary Kenneth Clarke on the impact of ...
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Barristers' chambers will be 'attractive alternative' for litigation
Barristers’ chambers will become an ‘attractive alternative’ to law firms for litigation work, a leading industry commentator suggested this week, after the bar’s regulator decided to remove its ban on barristers conducting litigation. The move will permit barristers to offer a ‘one-stop shop’ service, including both ...
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Insurers 'discriminate' against black and ethnic law firms
Black and minority ethnic (BME) law firms are over-represented in the assigned risks pool – but almost twice as likely as their white counterparts to secure market insurance and leave the ARP, according to research by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The ARP is the insurer ...
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Persecution claims are undermined by religious privileges
I’ve known for a while that my BBC licence fee is used for religious proselytising in the shape of ‘Thought for the day’, and now I fear my practising certificate fee awaits a similar fate (Andrea Minichiello Williams, ‘Equality law is victimising Christians’). Ms Williams believes ...
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Law firms set to reclaim Legal Services Commission family fees
Law firms may seek to claim back ‘substantial’ sums from the Legal Services Commission following a clarification of its rules governing family fees, solicitors suggested this week. In private law cases involving a ‘significant family dispute’, the LSC’s unified contract with providers requires firms to carry ...
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Police officers give evidence via video link pilot scheme
Police officers are giving evidence to court via a live video link from the police station, under a scheme being piloted by the Ministry of Justice. The scheme is currently being tested between South Norwood Police Station in London and Croydon Magistrates’ Court, and will ...
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Jail for trust probate executive in £100k fraud
A trust probate executive from Hove has been jailed for 30 months for defrauding four elderly women clients out of a total of £100,000. Jacqueline D’Hazzard (pictured), 44, pleaded guilty to four offences committed while she was a trust probate executive at Brighton firm Engleharts ...
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Society appeal to UN over Mexico human rights abuses
The Law Society has written to the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to call for an end to the ‘atmosphere of impunity’ in Mexico that it claims allows military and state authorities to harass, criminalise and threaten lawyers acting for the victims of human rights ...
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Law firms in the dark over Quinn PII payments
Law firms that took out professional indemnity insurance (PII) policies with stricken Irish company Quinn Insurance are still in the dark about when claims will be paid.