Latest news – Page 829
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News
Success fee cut in defamation cases delayed by former Commons speaker
Government plans to cut success fees for lawyers in defamation cases have been delayed by the former House of Commons speaker Lord Martin of Springburn (pictured). Martin has tabled a ‘motion of regret’ against the proposal to reduce from 100% to 10% the maximum uplift that ...
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Women solicitors believe flexible working damages career
Many women solicitors believe their careers will be damaged if they take up more flexible working arrangements, a large-scale study has revealed. A survey of 800 women solicitors conducted by King’s College London together with the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) found that half of ...
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Purge of criminal legal aid firms planned
Up to 75% of criminal legal aid firms will be removed from the market under far-reaching provider reforms set to be implemented from next summer. The plans, announced by the Ministry of Justice this week, envisage a consolidated market in which contracts for larger volumes of ...
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SRA consults solicitors on overhaul of regulation
The Solicitors Regulation Authority today launched its biggest consultation to date, on root-and-branch changes to regulation of the legal sector. The campaign, Freedom in Practice: Better Outcomes for Consumers, will see the SRA enter a comprehensive dialogue with solicitors in England and Wales on the ...
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Chancery Lane calls for ‘radical rethink’ of legal aid funding
A loan fund akin to the student loans scheme and a ‘polluter pays’ funding mechanism are among ideas advanced today for legal aid funding by the Law Society. Launching its interim Access to Justice Review, the Society called for a ‘radical rethink’ of legal aid ...
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Libel reform bill planned after the next election
Justice secretary Jack Straw yesterday announced that a bill reforming the law of libel will be introduced in the next parliament. The planned legislation, which arises from a report from the Ministry of Justice’s Libel Working Group, is designed to improve the rules covering defamation on the internet and ...
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EC raps UK government over environment failure
The government is facing ‘costly and embarrassing’ legal action for not providing affordable access to justice for individuals seeking to challenge decisions affecting the environment, lawyers have warned. The European Commission has issued the UK with a reasoned opinion, or final warning, following its failure to ...
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One in five consumers surfs internet to find a solicitor
The internet has become the second most popular means of finding a solicitor for conveyancing or advising on a will, research seen exclusively by the Gazette has shown. A YouGov poll of 2,266 people commissioned by online solicitor directory legallybetter.com revealed that personal recommendation remains by ...
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Sleepwalking complaint
I was interested to note that Zahida Manzoor, the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner, has announced in her valedictory annual report that LCS managers and staff are to be praised for meeting all three of targets of the service (see [2010] Gazette, 4 March, 2)
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Too little, too late
While the announcement that the Legal Services Commission will be delaying payments to solicitors should not, in itself, have any long-lasting impact upon the profession, it just goes to show how much power the LSC has over us.
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Top firms fear fee pressure
Commercial law firms see downward pressure on fees as the greatest threat to their profitability in the year ahead, research has revealed. A survey of finance directors at the top 100 law firms, commissioned by publisher Sweet & Maxwell, showed that 60% thought fee pressure would ...
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MoJ reveals top-earning legal aid firms
London firm Duncan Lewis topped the tables published today by the Ministry of Justice of the firms that earn the most from legal aid. In the year ending March 2009, Duncan Lewis received £9.9m from the community legal service’s annual £900m budget, almost twice as much ...
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Accreditation reforms
I am writing with regard to the letter headed 'No level playing field' (letters online, 11 March). The credibility of the immigration system and the lawyers that work within it rests on this accreditation scheme, which took its current form in 2004 to provide a high level of assurance on ...
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Justice secretary announces court closures
Justice secretary Jack Straw has announced the closure of 20 ‘under-used’ magistrates' courts. The following courts will close: Bourne; Bridport; Cheshunt; Cullompton; Dorking; Eastleigh; Gainsborough; Havant, Launceston; Louth; Mildenhall; Linehead; Sherborne; Sleaford; Stamford; Wantage; Wareham; Wells; Whitby and Widnes. The majority, ...
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Tools for the job
I write in response to the letter headed ‘Tools of the trade’ (see [2010] Gazette, 18 February, 11). 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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Reality bites
I read the articles by Lucy Scott-Moncrieff and Adam Makepeace with interest (see [2010] Gazette, 11 March, 12). I was formerly a sole practitioner for over 20 years, involved in mental health work all that time. I have been working with Duncan Lewis as a freelance consultant mental health solicitor ...
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Down the food chain
I read with interest last week’s item about legal aid business models (see [2010] Gazette, 11 March, 12). As far as family law is concerned, the 2010 fee structure and the way that solicitors in private practice are now audited (they must have documentary evidence of means on file when ...
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Proceed with care
I note the concerns expressed by Christina Blacklaws in your report on the Supreme Court decision in Re W (Children) about children giving evidence in court proceedings (see [2010] Gazette, 11 March, 2).
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Chambers of Commerce seek 'fast-track' employment claims
Low-value employment claims should be fast-tracked and dealt with through mediation, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) recommended this week. Claims for less than £3,000 should be resolved within three months, the BCC said in a report on employment regulation. It claimed that employment cases are ...
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Supreme Court divorce decision could ‘open the floodgates’
The Supreme Court’s decision to top up the financial award made to a divorcee by a Nigerian court could ‘open the floodgates to forum shopping’ and further clog the London courts, family lawyers have warned. The court ruled that a settlement reached in a Nigerian ...