Latest news – Page 747
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A tax defence
David Kenyon-Vaughan expresses concern about a VAT concession . However he muddles avoidance and evasion. HMRC allows those whose turnover amounts to a sum small enough to come within the scheme to reclaim a flat-rate percentage of VAT without having to count their individual spending for VAT purposes. The new ...
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Security overhaul
I write in response to Richard Williams’s letter highlighting the ‘over-the-top’ attitude of court security staff. While I and many of my colleagues are well known at our local courts, there is a great inconsistency in the security measures undertaken. Some security guards let us through without a search, ...
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Courtesy call
My partner graduated a year and a half ago from the College of Law with a distinction. As has been exhaustively publicised, the lack of trainee positions has been a major upset to many who graduated then and subsequently. I would like to comment on the lack of courtesy that ...
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Statistics on solicitors with practising certificates are misleading
I read your article, ‘Profession's growth "defies gravity’’’ with interest. Although I agree it seems odd that the profession is apparently continuing to grow during the recession, it is not growing by as much as 7%, as your article suggests.
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'Greedy' solicitor jailed for theft
A Lincolnshire firm has been praised by a judge for the ‘exemplary’ way it investigated a series of thefts by a solicitor, who was jailed last week. Jacquelina Laverick, who was head of the wills and probate department at the 200-year-old firm, stole cash from ...
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'Ambulance chasing' lawyers attacked
A government transport minister has attacked the ‘abhorrent’ practices of ‘ambulance chasing’ personal injury lawyers who deal with road traffic accident (RTA) cases. The Law Society has hit back at the claims. Giving evidence to the transport committee’s inquiry into the cost of motor insurance ...
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Twitter silence 'hurts brand'
Two-thirds of top-50 law firms have a Twitter account, but some may be 'damaging their brand’ by failing to actually tweet anything, a report has suggested. The study by web consultancy Intendance found that 66% of firms had set up at least one account on Twitter. ...
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Warning over 'regulatory ambush'
Lawyers could face a ‘regulatory ambush’ if a radical overhaul of the solicitors’ rulebook goes ahead without a ‘change in culture’ at the profession’s regulator, the Law Society has warned. In a response to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Architecture of Change consultation, which closed last week, ...
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Small firms seek to consolidate
Leading consultants are predicting a ‘surge’ in mergers by small firms over the next 12 months. A six-monthly survey carried out by consultant Andrew Otterburn (pictured) on behalf of the Law Consultancy Network, seen exclusively by the Gazette, has revealed a 69% increase in the number ...
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Solicitors support scrapping default retirement age
Scrapping the default retirement age (DRA) could benefit the economy by retaining ‘talented and skilled’ older employees and creating more jobs for more people, the Law Society has said. The government confirmed last week that from 1 October, employees who reach 65 years of age and ...
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Tribunals Service reports rise in cases
The Tribunals Service received 220,400 new claims in the second quarter of last year, from 1 July to 30 September 2010, representing an 11% increase over the same period in 2009, the latest available statistics have revealed. However, the Service also increased the number of cases ...
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Legal services reforms to ‘influence worldwide markets', says IBA
Full implementation of the Legal Services Act 2007 could ‘substantially influence’ legal markets around the world, according to the new president of the International Bar Association. Akira Kawamura (pictured), partner at Japanese firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, last week became the twenty-second IBA president and the ...
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Short sentences for young offenders ‘inefficient’
The chair of the government spending watchdog has criticised the use of short sentences for young offenders as being inefficient. At a Public Accounts Committee evidence session last week, Margaret Hodge said that the Youth Justice Board could ‘save a lot of money and get better ...
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CCBE president pledges to promote access to legal aid
The new president of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) has pledged to promote access to legal aid across Europe during his year in office.
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Court rules in ‘landmark’ discrimination case
Two devout Christian hotel owners discriminated against two gay civil partners by refusing to let them share a double bed in their hotel, Bristol County Court ruled today. Judge Rutherford held that the owners, who had a policy of not allowing unmarried partners to share double ...
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Law firms’ poor use of Twitter risks 'damaging their brand’
Two-thirds of top-50 law firms have a Twitter account, but some may be 'damaging their brand’ by failing to tweet anything at all, a report has suggested. The study by web consultancy Intendance found that 66% of firms had set up at least one account ...
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UK legal sector set to benefit from Hong Kong investment
A surge in foreign direct investment in Hong Kong presents key opportunities for the UK legal sector, Law Society president Linda Lee said last week on returning from a mission to the territory. Lee said Hong Kong could serve as a gateway to mainland China for ...
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SRA takes first steps in review of training and education
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has invited contractors to undertake its ‘fundamental’ review of the legal education and training system for lawyers in England and Wales. The SRA said that the review is designed ‘to ensure that the ethical standards and levels of competence of ...
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Fraud hits record high, KPMG report claims
Fraud cases in the UK rose by 16% last year to reach a record total of 314 reported incidents, valued at £1.4bn, according to a report by KPMG.
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Join the new legal aid LinkedIn group
The Gazette and the Law Society launched a joint LinkedIn group specifically for legal aid solicitors this week. The group will be the leading forum for discussion of legal aid topics, and will help the Society’s legal aid team gather input from solicitors to inform next ...