Latest news – Page 808
-
News
Child protection must come first
It is disappointing to see James Carter (Letters, 17 December 2009) jumping to the defence of the government in wanting press reporting of children’s cases without any proper research into how this will affect children.
-
News
Marketing beats referral fees
I couldn’t disagree more with Shamil Purohit’s comments concerning the need for referral fees to form an essential part of practice strategy (Letters, 7 January). Solicitors managed well enough before the existence of claims management companies and can continue to do so if they set up and implement a comprehensive ...
-
News
Bahrain arbitration chamber to deal with major disputes
Major disputes between national and international companies operating in Bahrain are to be dealt with by the kingdom’s new arbitration chamber rather than its courts. The move will present lawyers from UK and other non-Bahraini firms with rights of audience in Bahrain – something that Bahraini ...
-
News
Wind farms, delivery acquisitions and traffic light replacements
Gone with the wind: City and national firm Eversheds advised a number of energy companies, including six in the Forewind Consortium, on securing £50bn worth of contracts to build offshore wind farms under a government leasing programme. City firm Norton Rose advised the ...
-
News
London's development agency slashes legal panel spend
The Mayor of London’s economic development agency has slashed millions of pounds from its spend on panel law firms since 2007, according to recently released figures. The London Development Agency (LDA) spent more than £8.53m on advice from panel firms in the 2007/08 financial year, but ...
-
News
Vietnamese death sentence fear for magic circle lawyer
Vietnamese authorities have charged a lawyer working for a magic circle firm with offences that carry the death sentence. Le Cong Dinh, a commercial and arbitration lawyer, acts as a consultant for a major UK firm that has asked not to be named. Dinh also defends democracy, human rights and ...
-
News
Jackson report published today
Claimant personal injury lawyers and after-the-event (ATE) insurers were nervously awaiting the publication of the Jackson report as the Gazette went to press. After a year of research and consultation, Lord Justice Jackson (pictured) will today reveal his blueprint to reform civil litigation costs with the ...
-
News
SRA warns lawyers acting in civil recovery claims against shoplifters
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned lawyers not to ‘diminish public trust in the profession’ when acting in civil recovery claims against alleged shoplifters. The warning arose in response to a report by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) on the fines levied and tactics used by ...
-
News
Mental health charity launches jury campaign
A mental health charity has launched a campaign to make people with mental health problems eligible for jury service, with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Charity Rethink said the UK is one of only two jurisdictions in ...
-
News
HMRC tax break for large law firms
Large law firms struggling with cash flow problems will find it easier to obtain an extension on their tax deadline following a change in the rules adopted by HM Revenue & Customs. The new policy will extend the revenue’s Business Payments Support Service (BPSS) to large ...
-
News
Legal process outsourcing facing a ‘watershed’ year
Legal process outsourcing (LPO) faces a ‘watershed’ year during which it must prove its value to law firms and in-house lawyers, a report has predicted. Consultants Fronterion said LPO gained the media’s attention during 2009 as several top law firms and in-house teams announced deals, but ...
-
News
SRA makes £3m payment to help clients of Wolstenholmes
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has made a payment of £3m to help clients whose conveyancing transactions have been left in limbo by the closure of Cheshire firm Wolstenholmes. The money has come from the Compensation Fund, which is administered by the SRA and funded by the ...
-
News
Law Society files judicial review application over defendants’ costs cap
The Law Society has filed a judicial review application in a move to overturn new government regulations restricting the costs that can be recovered by acquitted defendants. Regulations that came into force on 31 October 2009 cap at legal aid rates the costs recoverable by ...
-
News
Legal aid payments delayed by LSC IT glitch
Technical problems at the Legal Services Commission delayed payments that were due to all legal aid solicitors at the start of the year. The payment systems at the LSC went down for a day and a half, which meant the BACS payment run that was due ...
-
News
Surprise increase in practising certificate numbers
The number of solicitors with practising certificates (PCs) continued its relentless rise in 2009, despite predictions in many quarters that the recession would herald a decline. Figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority show that the number of practising solicitors totalled 112,589 at December 31, having risen ...
-
News
Jackson calls for success fee reform and end to PI referral fees
Success fees and after-the-event (ATE) insurance premiums should no longer be paid by the losing party in civil court cases, a major report on civil litigation costs recommended today. Winning parties in personal injury cases should benefit from a 10% uplift in their damages award to ...
-
News
New government client care regulations ‘excessive’
New government regulations requiring solicitors to inform clients about what professional indemnity insurance they have in place have been described as ‘excessive’. The Provision of Services Regulations 2009, introduced by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) in December, require lawyers to provide information on ...
-
News
Chancery Lane calls for answers about legal aid tendering process
The Law Society has written to the Legal Services Commission demanding urgent information about ‘fundamental issues’ concerning the civil legal aid tendering process, and expressing ‘grave concern’ at the lack of detail given to providers. The tender process is due to begin at the beginning of ...
-
News
Tough times ahead but no more redundancies, predict conveyancers
Property experts have predicted a slow start to the year, but forecast an end to redundancies among conveyancing solicitors. Paul Marsh, lead Law Society spokesman on property, said the next 12 months would remain slow, but with house prices rising in some areas due to a ...
-
News
Chancery Lane moves to block legal aid cap for acquitted defendants
The Law Society has filed a judicial review application in a move to block new government regulations restricting the costs that can be recovered by acquitted defendants. Regulations that came into force on 31 October 2009 cap at legal aid rates the costs recoverable by acquitted defendants who have ...