Latest news – Page 754
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News
Sentencing discount u-turn sparks fears of deeper legal aid cuts
Fears that the government may be planning to implement even deeper cuts to legal aid than it has already signalled rose significantly today. Prime minister David Cameron is widely reported to have shelved key parts of justice secretary Kenneth Clarke’s plan to give offenders a ...
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Half of accident victims do not claim
The UK may not have the ‘compensation culture’ that so many commentators claim, new research has suggested. A study conducted by the website personalinjurylawyers.co.uk has found that almost half of respondents who had been the victim of an accident never went on to claim compensation. ...
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Co-op offers legal services through bank branches
The Co-operative has this week become the first high street bank to offer legal advice to its customers. The Co-operative Group, the UK's largest mutual business, has begun a pilot scheme to deliver legal advice through three Bristol-based branches of Britannia. The ...
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Clifford Chance announces pay increases
Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance has announced salary increases for its senior lawyers, but a pay freeze for trainees and newly-qualified solicitors. The Canary Wharf-based firm will pay lawyers with three years’ experience a salary of £85,500, up by £1,000 on last year. Those with two years’ PQE will receive ...
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Lawyers seek deal with insurers over freedom to choose non-panel firms
The Law Society’s civil justice committee is in negotiations with legal expenses insurers to agree rules that will ensure freedom of choice of solicitor in personal injury claims. The committee has held two meetings with insurers in a bid to agree terms enabling clients to choose ...
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Lawyers are members of ‘rich minority’, say unions
Unions have held up the wages paid to members of the legal sector as proof of Britain’s growing earnings chasm. The TUC has today published a report that states that judges, barristers and solicitors have seen their salaries more than double since 1978 in real terms. ...
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Government seeks children’s views on justice system
The Family Justice Review Panel has invited children to give their views on reforming the court service so that it better meets their needs. Roger Morgan, the Children’s Rights Director for England, has drawn up a young people’s guide to the family justice review, published today. ...
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Solicitors acquitted of mortgage fraud
Three solicitors have been acquitted of involvement in an alleged £50m commercial mortgage fraud, while the jury was unable to reach a verdict in relation to three others. Hardeep Sodhi, who at the time of the alleged offences was a solicitor at Birmingham firm Patwa; Simon ...
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College of Law offers voluntary redundancies
The College of Law has begun a review of staffing levels and is to offer a voluntary redundancy package to staff across its eight centres. A spokesman for the College said: ‘We hope no compulsory redundancies will be necessary. 'This review ...
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Excellence awards open for entries
The Gazette opened nominations for its Legal Personality of the Year award this week, following the success of last year’s inaugural award. The Gazette award forms part of a suite of Law Society Excellence Awards designed to recognise outstanding individuals and teams within the profession. ...
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Avoiding a constitutional standoff
I agree entirely with Joshua Rozenberg. Newspapers would help their own cause by just reporting the news and not stretching extra-marital tittle-tattle to several pages in each daily edition. Not door-stepping errant spouses and their young families would also be a ...
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Bad claim form?
Under paragraph 5.1 of practice direction 7A of the Civil Procedure Rules: ‘Proceedings have started when the court issues a claim form at the request of the claimant, but where the claim form as issued was received in the court office on a date earlier than the date on which ...
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Commercial interest
If I arrived in the UK without any knowledge of Clementi, Jackson, the Legal Services Act, the MoJ portal for low-value RTA claims, the CMC boom and the ‘compensation culture’, I might be forgiven for believing that ‘there are few areas where Britain is stronger than in the law’. ...
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Duplication cost
I was admitted to the roll in January 2010. I declined to attend an admission ceremony (not my cup of tea). I assumed that my admission certificate would be put in the post but alas it did not arrive. ...
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Parity proposal
I would say to Ilex president Mr McGrady (‘Ilex chief in parity plea’) that if he wants parity, he and his members should try and qualify as solicitors. Barry Brooks, Brooks & Co, Fetcham, Surrey
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National protests against legal aid cuts
Legal aid campaigners are to step up the pressure on government by holding marches across the country tomorrow in protest at the legal aid reforms to be outlined in the Justice Bill, expected next week. The ‘day of action’, organised by Justice for All and ...
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Fingerprint standards questioned by Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal has called for an examination of the quality standards of fingerprint experts. The court last week quashed the conviction of Peter Kenneth Smith from Nottinghamshire for the murder of his neighbour Hilda Owen in 2007, after doubt was cast on the reliability ...
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Law firms running out of time, warns Mayson
Time is running out for law firms that have not yet considered the changes they should make to compete with new entrants to the legal market, a leading commentator has suggested. Speaking at the Law Society’s Law Management Section conference, Stephen Mayson, director of the Legal ...
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Russian lawyers denied visas for Society human rights event
Twelve lawyers from Russia were denied visas to attend a three-day Law Society human rights training course in London last month. The Russian lawyer who co-ordinated the visas, which would have enabled the lawyers to receive training on the rule of law, described the decision not ...
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Norton Rose in overseas mergers
City firm Norton Rose was this week expected to confirm mergers with firms in South Africa and Canada. The enlarged group will rank among the top-10 legal practices in the world by headcount when it completes a link-up with Canada’s Ogilvy Renault and Deneys Reitz in ...