Latest news – Page 866
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News
Archbishop Desmond Tutu praises ‘vital role’ of volunteer lawyers
Lawyers who volunteer for development projects have ‘demolished the stereotype of lawyers being money-grabbing’, Archbishop Desmond Tutu (pictured, left, with attorney general Baroness Scotland, right) said this week. Speaking at an event organised by legal charity Advocates for International Development, he praised the legal profession’s work in providing free assistance ...
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Defence solicitors boycott Kent virtual court pilot
Defence solicitors have scuppered the government’s plan to extend the virtual court scheme to Kent by boycotting the initiative. No Kent solicitors have agreed to take part in the scheme, which they say is not in the best interests of clients or defence lawyers. Two London ...
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Government response to damages consultation dubbed ‘anti-climax’ by lawyers
Solicitors dubbed the government’s response to the Law on Damages consultation an anti-climax this week, two years after its original deadline. John McQuater, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said: ‘In all my years of practice, I can rarely remember waiting so long for ...
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Lack of quality checks for law schools will ‘breed incompetent solicitors’, warns CoL
The lack of quality assurance for law schools risks ‘breeding a generation of incompetent solicitors’, the head of one of the biggest providers has warned. Nigel Savage, chief executive of the College of Law, said monitoring by the Solicitors Regulation Authority is not sufficient to ensure ...
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Law Centres Federation posts cartoons on YouTube
The Law Centres Federation (LCF) has posted four cartoons on video-sharing website YouTube, aimed at showcasing the benefits of free community legal advice. The videos were played to ministers and MPs at the House of Lords on Tuesday, at an event hosted by legal aid minister ...
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Lawyers’ helplines report rise in redundancy-related calls
The number of solicitors contacting helplines has risen sharply in recent weeks, the Gazette has learned, with many of the calls relating to redundancy. Some callers have been considered to be at risk of suicide. Both the pastoral care line LawCare and ...
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Professional negligence claims soar as solicitors redeployed to new areas
Professional negligence claims against solicitors are soaring, with one City firm reporting a 158% surge in cases over the past 12 months. And experts are warning that worse may be to come in the downturn, as solicitors are moved to areas with which they are unfamiliar.
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A third of all prosecution advocates ‘lacklustre’ or poor, inspection says
A third of all prosecution advocates are ‘lacklustre’ or ‘less than competent’ according to a review carried out by the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate published today. The inspectors found advocates, both in-house and external counsel, were fully competent in two thirds of cases, but a quarter ...
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Tribunals Service reports 40% rise in claims
The Tribunals Service saw a 40% rise in claims this financial year, far greater than it had anticipated. However, the service still managed to reduce its costs by £9m, through greater efficiency. The Tribunal Service’s annual report showed that it disposed of ...
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LSB appoints chairwoman of consumer panel
The Legal Services Board has appointed Dr Dianne Hayter as chairwoman of its independent consumer panel. The panel, set up by the Legal Services Act 2007, will advise the LSB on the interests of all legal services users, including individual and business consumers. LSB chairman David Edmonds said: ‘The panel’s ...
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LSC climbdown over best value tendering
The Legal Services Commission has today delayed the national rollout of best value tendering (BVT) for criminal work by three years, pending a ‘full’ evaluation of the pilot. The move will be seen as a considerable climbdown by the LSC. Responding to ...
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Protocol sets out attorney general’s role in prosecutions
The attorney general, Baroness Scotland QC, has published a new protocol setting out her relationship with the prosecuting bodies she superintends. The document outlines the roles and responsibilities of the attorney general and clarifies the extent of her role in individual prosecution cases. It also underlines ...
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Anti-money laundering rules should be relaxed for solicitors
The anti-money laundering (AML) reporting regime should be relaxed for solicitors and others in the private sector, a House of Lords committee concluded today. Failure to report a suspicious transaction which is based on a minor criminal offence should not be prosecuted, according to the House ...
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Solicitors invited to nominate honorary QCs
Solicitors have been invited to nominate themselves or other legal professionals for honorary Queen’s Counsel (QC). The honorary counsel will be appointed alongside the new substantive QCs in spring 2010. Honorary silk is available to all practising lawyers, whether in private ...
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Graduated fee scheme will ‘better reflect complexity’
Caroline Little claims that membership of the Law Society Children Panel is in jeopardy owing to proposed family legal aid reforms (see [2009] Gazette, 25 June, 9).
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‘US in stronger position than UK’ to weather downturn
Top US law firms are better placed to weather the downturn than the biggest UK firms, and will be in a better position when the demand for legal services picks up, the head of the world’s biggest firm claimed this week. Eric Friedman (pictured), executive partner ...
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Anger management
I write to draw the attention of professionals in the Yorkshire area to the invaluable service I have been receiving from an organisation called S.T.O.P.
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Clients ‘bled dry’
The research into employment lawyers by Cardiff Law School is partly corroborated by our own clients’ experiences of the practices of other law firms (see [2009] Gazette, 2 July, 3). Many clients are bled dry early on in the litigation process by hourly rate solicitors. They approach us to take ...
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No more ‘fat cats’
While clearing out my rather dated and messy office today, I came across the Green Book from October 2000. Still being at university then and labouring under the misconception that my path was to be paved with gold, I flicked through it curious to know what fixed costs were allowable ...
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More power for FSA’s chief enforcer
The Financial Services Authority’s chief enforcer is to be given greater power to fine individuals and companies as she moves to head an enhanced enforcement division at the City watchdog. The FSA wants to treble some fines for mis-selling and market abusers after it merges its ...