All articles by Michael Cross – Page 114
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News
Acquisitive Quindell posts big jump in profits
The stock-exchange listed company that has acquired a clutch of personal injury firms over the past year today posted a nine-fold rise in profits. Quindell Portfolio, which runs ‘end-to-end’ processes in several business sectors reported pre-tax profits of £41.2m on a turnover of £171.9m in ...
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High Court throws out JR on ‘easyCouncil’
A London council is to proceed with the outsourcing of regulatory services such as building control and land charges after fighting off a High Court challenge. The court today dismissed an application for a judicial review against the London borough of Barnet’s programme to outsource a wide range of services ...
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Grayling faces new storm over JR curbs
New measures designed to cut the number of judicial reviews received a critical reception from immigration and environmental lawyers today. The measures, confirmed today after a consultation that ended in January, include: - a £215 court fee for anyone seeking a ...
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Regulator to probe intervention impact on clients
Former clients of firms closed down as a result of interventions by the Solicitors Regulation Authority are to be asked about their experiences in a research project announced by the regulator today. The SRA said the study of the impact of interventions on clients will ...
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Cabinet Office to tackle ‘excessive complexity’ of legislation
The rule of law is among the victims of unnecessarily complex legislation, the government’s chief legislation-drafter warns today. In a report examining the causes of complexity, Richard Heaton, first parliamentary counsel and permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office, says the ‘current degree of difficulty’ is neither ...
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Unchastened LSB defends business plan
The Legal Services Board today pledged to go ahead with its programme for the year ahead despite the battering its draft business plan received in consultation. However its research programme has been ‘rescoped significantly in light of feedback’, according to the plan published today.
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International private client firms in merger talks
International firms Speechly Bircham and Withers, whose joint headcount includes more than 600 lawyers, are discussing a merger. A joint statement said that the firms are in ‘preliminary discussions’ and both see ‘exciting opportunities for growth in such a merger’. ...
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Clegg urges lawyers to help employee ownership drive
The deputy prime minister today called on the legal profession to gain an understanding of employee ownership of businesses to help clients set up John-Lewis style enterprises. Delivering the first Robert Oakeshott Memorial Lecture at the Law Society this morning, Clegg backed a target ...
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Press royal charter looks like a winner for lawyers
When one door closes, another opens. So, if your legal aid or PI business looks a little shaky at the moment, have you considered opportunities in media law? The Recognition Panel whose royal charter was approved today in the latest tortuous step of the Leveson process opens up plenty of ...
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BT Law is born as claims unit granted ABS licence
Telecommunications giant BT today announced its long-expected move into legal services with the launch of BT Law Limited. The subsidiary, which has received an alternative business structure (ABS) licence from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, will offer services to corporate customers, initially in the motor claims ...
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Unpaid overtime costs lawyers £14k
Legal professionals are among the most likely workers to do unpaid overtime, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC). A national study published this week found that 49.6% of legal professionals work unpaid overtime. Their average unpaid overtime, 9.7 hours a week, is exceeded only ...
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IP ‘conflict of interest’ warning
Intellectual property lawyers have been warned to exercise care when claiming ownership of intellectual property from clients in settlement of outstanding bills. A practice note issued by the Intellectual Property Regulation Board, which regulates patent and trademark attorneys, warns practitioners to ensure that exercising a lien over IP in settlement ...
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News
Once more into the electronic justice breach
‘So far, a pilot of an all-electronic criminal justice system is working in only one of England’s 42 criminal justice areas. Getting the rest up to speed by 2008 will be a delicate task.’ That classic example of understated fence-perching journalism appeared in the Guardian newspaper in 2003. I recall ...
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Jackson implementation ‘a complete shambles’ say litigators
The president of an organisation representing more than 1,000 civil litigators has added her voice to a growing chorus of alarm about the rushed implementation of the Jackson reforms. Francesca Kaye (pictured), president of the London Solicitors Litigation Association, described the Ministry of Justice’s handling ...
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A flawed international tribunal
Considering its economic, kinship and historic ties with the UK, Bangladesh is absurdly under-reported in the British media. So you probably won’t have picked up the latest news from the country’s attempt to draw a judicial line under events that took place during its bloody birth, four decades ago.
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Collective actions will fuel ‘litigation culture’
A US industry body has added its voice to concerns about government plans to simplify collective actions under competition law. The US Institute for Legal Reform echoed the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI’s) warning that US-style collective actions would ‘fuel a litigation culture in the ...
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Legal professional privilege fight goes on
The fight to defend legal professional privilege looks set to continue, despite last week’s landmark victory for the profession in the Supreme Court. Parliament was urged to consider extending the scope of LPP in the wake of the judgment by the 140,000-member Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. ...
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News
Simplify complaints procedures, OFT tells profession
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has urged the legal profession to simplify its complaints procedures, following the publication of research showing that only one in eight dissatisfied customers goes on to make a formal complaint. Responding, the Legal Services Board (LSB) said it was making ...
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Ombudsman predicts more cases as compensation limit rises
The Legal Ombudsman is expecting to increase the number of investigations it carries out under new powers coming in to force today. The new rules lift the ceiling on compensation awards from £30,000 to £50,000 and allow the ombudsman to accept complaints from prospective as ...
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Business lobby condemns ‘opt-out’ regime in competition actions
Government plans to simplify procedures for taking collective legal action against price fixing and other anti-competitive behaviour have received a mixed reception. The measures, announced today, include making the Competition Appeal Tribunal the main court for competition actions and introducing a new opt-out regime for ...