Latest news – Page 868
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Counting the costs
I have just finished reading Lord Justice Jackson's impressive report on civil litigation costs (see [2009] Gazette, 21 May, 14).
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Legacies at risk
I read with interest the comments of Peter Steer, from Wilsons Solicitors, in your feature about charities (see [2009] Gazette, 25 June, 10).
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Shrinking Gazette
The Gazette is a superb source of professional news, information and gossip which is a ‘goody’ I eagerly await each week. Last year’s change in format is a great improvement. The news content remains invaluable.
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BVT considerations
I write with reference to the letter from Carolyn Regan (see [2009] Gazette, 18 June, 13). She states that best value tendering will continue to ensure the quality of criminal defence services. Although she does not say so in her letter, I presume she means ...
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We can lead change
Robert Heslett urges the profession to prepare for change (see [2009] Gazette, 18 June, 12), but says little about precisely what it should do. He also highlights a long-standing concern about how new entrants can be imbued with the ethics of the profession. As he is aware, we have been ...
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The LSC must address the scandal of experts pocketing exorbitant fees
It was interesting to read Carolyn Regan on the subject of achieving the best value for taxpayers’ money as far as the Legal Services Commission is concerned (see [2009] Gazette, 18 June, 13). It is depressing that this argument only ever seems to apply to the fees of high-street solicitors ...
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Reforms to practising certificate fee to hit private practice firms
Sweeping reforms to the practising certificate fee that will ‘shift the fee burden onto private practice’ were published for consultation this week. The changes would benefit solicitors in local government, commerce and industry and the Crown Prosecution Service at the expense of those working in private ...
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Insurers claim referral fees push lawyers’ costs out of control
Solicitors have hit out at a report claiming the market in personal injury claims is failing because legal fees are out of control. Arguing that fees could be reduced without restricting access to justice, a study commissioned by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said there ...
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Prejudice against solicitor-advocates is a ‘fact of life’, says solicitor QC
Prejudice from the bar and bench against solicitor higher court advocates (HCAs) is ‘a fact of life’, the first female solicitor QC has alleged. June Venters, who was made a QC in 2007, told the Gazette that as a solicitor HCA she has experienced hostility and ...
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Solicitors take advantage of LDP rules while the bar still lags behind
Three months after Legal Services Act 2007 reforms took effect, solicitors have gained the ‘upper hand’ over the bar, with 61 firms becoming legal disciplinary practices (LDPs). While the number of solicitors’ firms becoming approved LDPs has doubled in the past month, barristers remain unable to ...
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Legal Services Commission publishes new timetable for civil bids
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has published the timetable for the new civil bid rounds and details of its amended contracting proposals, after consultation with providers. Following concerns about the criteria for consortium arrangements, under which firms can join together to provide the package of debt, ...
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Employment solicitors exploit client ignorance over contingency fees
Some employment solicitors may be ‘exploiting client ignorance’ of their funding options for their own gain, research has claimed. However, it was found that generally claimants were happy with the services provided and with the fairness of their fee arrangements.
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Jean-Michel Darrois proposes Clementi-style reforms in France
The architect of Clementi-style reforms of France’s legal landscape visited Chancery Lane this week for a seminar organised by the Law Society’s international division. Jean-Michel Darrois (pictured left), a company law specialist, headed a commission of academics, business people and other non-lawyers which published a ...
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Crown Prosecution Service saves £11.5m by using in-house advocates
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) saved £11.5m last year by using in-house advocates in the Crown court instead of instructing external counsel, its chief said last week. Keir Starmer QC, director of public prosecutions, also announced that Crown prosecutors across England and Wales are to undergo ...
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SRA takes on new powers to issue £2,000 fine for low-level misconduct
Solicitors could face a fine of up to £2,000 and a published rebuke for low-level professional misconduct under new rules which will come into force in August. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has adopted powers to issue written rebukes and impose a fine where it considers there ...
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Parents in child care cases are receiving poor representation
Law firms acting for parents in care proceedings are exploiting the fixed-fee system by using unqualified staff – in one case a receptionist and another a secretary – to do legal work, prominent family lawyers warned this week. Solicitors acting for children warned that the court ...
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Sentencing policy attacked by MPs for being incoherent and inconsistent
MPs have branded current sentencing policy incoherent and inconsistent, and warned that it risks being driven by a misguided view of what the public want. In a report on parliamentary scrutiny of sentencing guidelines published today, the justice committee says the five aims of sentencing set ...
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Freshfields overtakes CC as top UK firm by size
Freshfields has overtaken magic circle rival Clifford Chance as the biggest UK firm by revenue, posting a 9% rise in turnover to £1.29bn for the year ended 30 April. Profits per equity partner (PEP) were static at £1.44m. Clifford Chance, which was the largest firm ...
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Linklaters pushes ahead with revenues increase
Magic circle firm Linklaters today reported a slight increase in revenues to £1.30bn, placing it ahead of fellow magic circle firms Clifford Chance and Freshfields. Linklaters profits per equity partner (PEP) stood at £1.30m for the year to 30 April 2009, a fall of 9.6% on ...
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Increased competition for trainee jobs at top firms
Competition for traineeships with the UK’s biggest law firms has reached a new intensity, with an average of 130 graduates applying for each trainee job, new research suggests today. As many as 78 more applications per place are being made this year than in 2007/08, when ...