Latest news – Page 799
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Children should give evidence, says Supreme Court
Children in family proceedings should be called to give live evidence in court if the advantage it would bring in deciding the case outweighs the risk of harm to the welfare of the child, the Supreme Court ruled last week. In a unanimous decision, five law ...
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Adverts for magistrates’ courts branded ‘tacky’
A leading criminal solicitor has urged firms to boycott a ‘tacky’ scheme to introduce commercial advertising boards into magistrates’ courts. HM Courts Service has given permission for a private company, Executive Legal, to install the boards and charge local law firms £424 a year to display ...
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Firms enter into ‘gentlemen’s agreements’ with investors
Law firms are entering into ‘gentlemen’s agreements’ with investors in anticipation of the rule changes that will allow them to sell equity stakes in their businesses from October 2011, a leading consultant told the Gazette this week. Giles Murphy (pictured), head of assurance and business services ...
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Call for conveyancers to diversify as pressure grows on fees
Conveyancers are facing unprecedented pressure over fees but have largely failed to diversify into other areas, according to research seen exclusively by the Gazette. The news comes as Spicerhaart, the estate agency which has launched website iSold.com in association with supermarket Tesco, said that it expects ...
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‘Out of touch’ Law Society of Scotland facing a vote of confidence
The 10,500-member Law Society of Scotland is to face a vote of confidence on its future as the voice of Scottish solicitors, as grassroots opposition to the introduction of so-called ‘Tesco law’ intensifies. Members disillusioned by the body’s policy of support for external ownership and alternative business structures are behind ...
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LSC delays payments due to ‘cash position’ problems
The Legal Services Commission notified the Law Society today that it will be delaying payments to solicitors due in March until the start of the next financial year in April. Chancery Lane said the LSC had said this was due to the ‘cash position’ in which ...
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Scottish solicitors to get ‘Tesco law’ referendum
The Law Society of Scotland is to ballot its 10,000 members on Clementi-style liberalisation of the nation’s legal services market, as efforts to derail the reforms gather momentum. The move was announced in response to the scheduling of a special general meeting on 25 March requisitioned ...
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Law firms unveil their carbon footprints
The alliance dedicated to reducing the carbon emissions of law firms today unveiled the carbon footprints of 32 firms and the Law Society. Publishing its Carbon Footprint Report, the Legal Sector Alliance (LSA) also claimed that carbon emissions fell by 4% among member firms since publication ...
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Insurers’ spin
The speech given by Dominic Clayden, director of technical claims at Aviva, at the Civil Justice Section’s annual conference (see [2009] Gazette, 25 February, 2) demonstrates the insurance industry’s lamentable approach to the compensation of accident victims.
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State school skills
I write in response to the letter headed ‘Tools of the trade’ from 18 February. I disagree entirely with the sweeping assumption that state-educated students do not gain the skills to obtain a professional qualification.
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North-south divide in conveyancing?
With regard to the letter from Mr Gafford in the Gazette of 4 March, I am quite frankly amazed that a firm might believe a quote of £600 plus VAT would secure a conveyancing matter at a price of £167,000.
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Recruitment freezes in local government
Local government legal departments are instigating recruitment freezes ahead of public sector budget cuts, while there has been a surge in demand for legal aid lawyers in immigration, family and criminal work and an upturn in corporate law hires. Colin Loth, manager of the legal teams ...
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Libel success fees limited to 10%
The success fees charged by lawyers in defamation cases will be cut by 90% after justice secretary Jack Straw laid an order to amend the laws on ‘no win, no fee’ agreements. From April the maximum uplift charged by lawyers for winning defamation cases taken on ...
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Easing the burden for immigration lawyers
I would like to clarify some important points in relation to last week’s story about immigration lawyers being unhappy over the new accreditation process (see [2010] Gazette, 25 February, 4).
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Conveyancing fee embarrassingly low
I have been asked to give an existing client a quotation for conveyancing costs. On a modest terraced property valued at £167,000, I quoted £600 plus VAT and disbursements.
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Time to resume training scheme
Social mobility for legal aid lawyers has relied on the availability of sponsored legal aid training contracts in recent years.
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Referral fees referendum
How ironic that the Office of Fair Trading appears from recent report on homebuying to be concerned about the effect of referral fees on the conveyancing market.
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ILEX consultation on CPS associate prosecutors
The Institute of Legal Executives is running a consultation exercise upon its application to become an approved regulator for Crown Prosecution Service associate prosecutors to undertake advocacy and litigation. So far, so good. The proposal is that unqualified CPS associate prosecutors assume the same powers as ...
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Referral fees ban will ‘drive business underground’, says CSC chair
Banning referral fees will harm the legal profession and have no effect on reducing law firms’ marketing costs, according to Darren Werth, the Claims Standards Council’s chair. Werth, managing director at Accident Advice Helpline, told delegates that it is ‘shocking’ that the Law Society and ...
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Claims management companies and law firms certain to merge
Claims management companies and law firms are certain to merge once they can form alternative business structures, conference delegates agreed. All 180 delegates who responded to a poll said that such mergers will happen after ABSs are allowed from October 2011. Delegates were mainly from CMCs, ...