Latest news – Page 853
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Call for ‘hard line action’ on coal health compensation
The government has come under renewed pressure to probe the alleged undersettlement of coal health compensation claims, after an MP wrote to business secretary Lord Mandelson calling on him to take ‘hard line action’ against any law firms that might have undersettled. Dai Davies, Independent MP ...
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SRA to look at ‘radical reform’ of assigned risks pool
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is soon to launch a consultation on ‘radical reform’ of the assigned risks pool. It is understood that proposals for consultation could include changes to the conditions for entry or even the demise of the pool. There ...
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Law Society slams legal aid ‘shambles’
Government policy on legal aid is a ‘shambles’ with no clear direction, the Law Society said this week. Chief executive Des Hudson said recent government announcements seemed to indicate that the Ministry of Justice is ‘jumping from one position to another’. The ...
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‘Super injunctions’ come under fire from senior judge
MPs were preparing to debate the impact of so-called super-injunctions on parliamentary proceedings as the Gazette went to press. This followed last week’s media feeding frenzy that saw renowned libel lawyers Carter-Ruck accused of trying to gag parliament on behalf of a client, the oil ...
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Court rules on legal privilege in Prudential case
Accountants and lawyers should operate on a ‘level playing field’ when it comes to disclosing legal advice on certain issues, a High Court judge said last week.
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Lord Woolf raps solicitors for CPR failings
Lord Woolf (pictured) has blamed lawyers, the judiciary and government for blunting the impact of his 10-year-old reforms to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). The retired law lord, addressing members of the London Solicitors Litigation Association last week, said lawyers had ‘made an industry’ of some ...
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New rules will help clients to challenge solicitors’ bills
Solicitors will have to give clients more information about how to challenge bills under new rules to be introduced by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The SRA board will decide on specific wording which solicitors must include when they send a bill, to ensure that clients know ...
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Claim of racial bias by insurers in indemnity cover
The Law Society is investigating allegations that professional indemnity brokers and insurers have discriminated against firms with African and Asian-sounding names, the Gazette has learned. The Society received a complaint to its professional indemnity insurance helpline from a solicitor in Birmingham, claiming that insurers were providing ...
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Lending credibility
I write on behalf of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) in response to the letter from Alan Tunkel published in the Gazette on 1 October.
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SIF amateurs
Paul Hemelryk, in calling for the restitution of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund, obviously did not have the experience that I did with SIF.
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Shoosmiths and HP in pro bono tie-in with Prince's Trust
National firm Shoosmiths and the in-house legal team at computer giant HP yesterday launched a new pro bono initiative with the Prince's Trust youth charity to provide legal advice to young business people in the Thames Valley. They will give free legal advice to 18-30-year-olds who ...
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‘Super-injunction’ not able to gag parliament, says Prentice
The Guardian newspaper and libel lawyers Carter-Ruck were wrong to conclude that a ‘super-injunction’ could prevent reporting on parliamentary proceedings, justice minister Bridget Prentice said yesterday.
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Land Registry slashes one in five jobs
The Land Registry, which lost £130m last year, announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs – more than one if five of its workforce – and shut five of its 17 offices. Offices in Peterborough, Portsmouth, Croydon, Stevenage and Tunbridge Wells will close and other changes will ...
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New legal aid rates for family advocacy
The Ministry of Justice today announced new fixed advocacy rates for family legal aid, which harmonise the fees paid to solicitors and barristers. The new structure follows a lengthy consultation process and will see hourly rates replaced with standard fees. Barristers and solicitors will be paid ...
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Law Society warning on unregulated will writers
Unregulated will writers are causing havoc among members of the public and in some cases are failing to provide people with valid wills, the Law Society claimed today. According to the Society, many solicitors specialising in will writing, trusts and probate have been handed invalid and ...
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‘Radical reform’ planned for assigned risks pool
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is soon to launch a consultation on ‘radical reform’ of the assigned risks pool, the Gazette can reveal. It is understood that proposals for consultation could include changes to the conditions for entry or even the demise of the pool. ...
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CPS consults on changes to prosecution code
The Crown Prosecution Service today launched a 12-week consultation on changes to the code for Crown prosecutors. The code sets out the principles that prosecutors must follow when deciding whether or not to prosecute an individual. The test set out in the code, and applied in ...
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Litigation funder lists on AIM
Litigation funder Burford Capital has raised £80m following a share placing on the London Stock Exchange’s alternative investment market (AIM). The placing means that Burford has become the second UK-listed third-party litigation funder, after Juridica Investments listed on AIM in December 2007 and raised £80m. Juridica ...
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Lost for words
A senior lecturer has called on lawyers to abandon complex expressions that are ‘more complicated than they need to be’ [see [2009] Gazette, 1 October, 1].
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SIF referendum
The solution to the professional indemnity insurance difficulties described by Jonathan Jacobs (see [2009] Letters, 24 September, 9) is to resurrect the Solicitors Indemnity Fund. The SIF regime may have had its faults but it was greatly preferable to what we have now.