Latest news – Page 809
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News
‘Breakthrough’ tax agreement helps large partnerships
Large law firms struggling with cash flow problems will be more able to obtain an extension on their tax deadline under 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 ...
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Hour of reckoning
Dick Jennings’ comments (see [2009] Gazette, 10 December, 11) supporting hourly fee charging miss two fundamental truths.
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Family confusion
James Carter (see [2009] Gazette, 17 December, 9) appears to have a rather different understanding than I about the way in which family cases, and public law proceedings in particular, are conducted.
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Sensitive subject
James Carter (see [2009] Gazette, 17 December, 9) misrepresents Resolution as opposing government plans to extend family reporting. In fact, Resolution is fully supportive of greater openness and transparency in the family courts.
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Wake up and smell the coffee
I am writing in response to recent letters from solicitors who either claim or imply that because their firms don’t pay referral fees they somehow have more integrity than firms that do.
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Law firms launch new support service for solicitors
Two law firms have joined forces to launch a new support service for solicitors experiencing regulatory, conduct, practice or business problems. The Lawyers Defence Group (LDG) has been set up by national firm Richard Nelson and London firm Murdochs to provide all lawyers – solicitors, barristers, ...
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Five solicitors suspended following more than 100 client complaints
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has intervened in a Cheshire firm and suspended the practising certificates of five of its solicitors following allegations of dishonesty involving hundreds of thousands of pounds of clients’ money. The SRA is investigating suspected dishonesty and breaches of accounting rules at Wolstenholmes, ...
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Solicitors predict number of divorces will rocket following surge in enquiries
Family solicitors reported a surge in divorce enquiries before Christmas and have predicted that the number of divorces will rocket in 2010, with January likely to be the busiest month. The rush comes as London firm Lloyd Platt & Co markets a new ‘divorce voucher’ scheme for separating couples. Mark ...
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Various groups of solicitors represented disproportionately in SRA actions
Various groups of solicitors are disproportionately represented in actions taken by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, but there is no clear pattern, research has found. White solicitors are more likely to face complaints of professional misconduct, for example, while black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors are more ...
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Family mediation pilot achieves mixed results
A pilot scheme making family mediation available at court to legally aided parties in disputes involving children has cost more than expected and achieved modest settlement rates, the Gazette has learned.
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First Sikh to be appointed a judge receives knighthood
The first Sikh to be appointed a judge in England and Wales topped the roll call of lawyers named in the New Year Honours list for 2010. Retired circuit judge Mota Singh QC (pictured), a barrister who sat at Southwark Crown Court, received a knighthood in ...
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Local authorities team up to buy legal services
Birmingham City Council has negotiated a deal that will see it join forces with 38 other local authorities to purchase legal services from 11 law firm panels, involving 12 firms. The council has also extended an invitation to every other local authority in England and ...
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LSB research reveals public ‘don’t know what lawyers do’
More than two-thirds of consumers have ‘little or no knowledge’ of what lawyers do, research published last week has revealed. A YouGov survey of 2,033 individuals commissioned by the Legal Services Board found that 68% were largely ignorant of what lawyers did. And less than half ...
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Scrap the ARP – but take care
I agree with Sarah Foster and Duncan Crine of Henmans, Oxford that no decision on the assigned risks pool should be made in haste, however any plan to eventually remove or reduce the ARP is a positive step.
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Reform rules on migrants
I write with regard to the Immigration: Tier 1 Post Study Work Review and why successful students of the LPC and Bar Vocational Course should be granted Tier 1 Post Study Work (PSW) visas. See Immigration lawyers boost for top firms.
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Last chance for the high street?
Stephen Hanson complains that he was given work no one else could be bothered with and was made redundant in favour of an unqualified conveyancing clerk. In the same edition, John Gurney-Champion says he runs a profitable practice without paying referral fees. The contents of these letters are very closely ...
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HIP hijack
I share shadow housing minister Grant Shapps’s desire to abolish the home information pack. However, we must encourage the seller to instruct solicitors early in the selling process, which is still not happening despite the good intentions behind the HIP. Ideally the solicitor needs to get on with the ‘completion-ready’ ...
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IT failure at LSC delays legal aid payments
Technical problems at the Legal Services Commission have delayed all payments due to be made to legal aid solicitors today. The LSC is set to issue an e-alert later updating the profession on the situation. Payment systems at the LSC apparently ...
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Reform group publishes plans to change HIP rules
A group of property professionals released a ‘white paper’ today putting forward proposals to reform the controversial home information packs in a bid to speed up transactions and reduce abortive sales. The HIP Reform Group, established in November 2009, said the packs should be retained rather ...