All articles by Michael Cross – Page 122
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Will writers attack comparison site
Will writers have reacted with alarm to plans by a price-comparison website to enter the legal services market. The Society of Will Writers this week warned that an online match-making service offered by the Paaleads.com venture could be ‘devastating to the professionalism’ of the industry. In ...
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Met safety deposit box raid slammed
A solicitor representing owners of safety deposit boxes raided by police has spoken out against what he says is excessive use of powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). Lawrence Kelly, of London solicitors Lawrence Stephens, claimed the authorities are using warrants to trawl ...
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Lawyers to advise professions group
An official body set up to advise the chancellor of the exchequer on future challenges facing the professional services sector is looking for input from lawyers. Michael Snyder, chairman of the professional services global competitiveness group, said last week that he would ‘welcome ideas from any of the legal professions’ ...
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'Offer of amends' could lead to fewer libel cases at trial
The settlement of a high-profile libel case between supermarket giant Tesco and The Guardian newspaper will encourage the use of ‘offers of amends’ as an alternative to trials, libel lawyers said this week. Tesco Stores Ltd had sued Guardian News & Media Ltd ...
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Poland: rule of law concerns
Continuing concerns about the Polish government’s interference in the rule of law have emerged in a new study by the International Bar Association. In a follow-up to its 2007 report Justice under Siege, the association commended efforts by the new government since last year’s election, ...
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Crisis set to spur consolidation
The collapse of Lehman Brothers amid turmoil on Wall Street will provide rich pickings for top firms but spell tough times for the rest, analysts have warned.
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Fujitsu starts £700m claim against NHS
Formal moves have begun in the largest single claim for compensation ever made against the NHS, a computer contractor revealed last week. Fujitsu Services said it had issued a procedure initiation notice to the IT agency NHS Connecting for Health following the termination of a ...
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Firm ditches mental health law over rates
A London firm specialising in mental health law is to slash its caseload in protest at the ‘punitive’ rates paid under the government’s fixed-fees scheme. Kaim Todner said this week it had given notice to the Legal Services Commission on 1 September that it would ...
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Legal aid recovery threat
A six-figure claim lodged against a solicitor seven years after he gave up practice has raised the spectre of the Legal Services Commission (LSC) aggressively recouping historic legal aid funding, despite a partial amnesty agreed earlier this year. The commission has launched a High Court ...
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Cartel case approaches
An innovative model for funding ‘risk-free’ group actions against business cartels could have its first court blooding this autumn, the scheme’s originators said this week. ‘Cartel Key’, launched by collective claimant specialist Cohen Milstein Hausfeld Toll and insurers FirstAssist Legal Protection, will remove a deterrent ...
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Barking eyes new legal markets
Local government will take a further step towards entering the open legal services market this week when the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham announces the reorganisation of its legal team along private sector lines. The council has lured three senior ‘partners’ from neighbouring authorities: ...
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Planning Bill under fire
Two key parts of the government’s planning reforms have come under attack from environmental law experts this week. Members of the UK Environmental Law Association’s (UKELA) planning and sustainable development working party described some provisions of the Planning Bill – which has been delayed in ...
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Solicitor slaps writ on county court
Frustration at the service lawyers receive from some court administrators was further manifested this month when a Surrey solicitor filed a High Court order to force a county court to list a hearing on a landlord-tenant case. Clive Wismayer, of Wismayers Solicitors, Great Bookham, said ...
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GMC witness prescription
The medical profession’s regulator will publish new rules this week to ensure doctors acting as expert witnesses understand their overriding duty is to the administration of justice. The General Medical Council’s new guidelines appear at a time of crisis in the witness system, following complaints about ...
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Super regulator names members
Solicitors will make up one-third of the members of the new overarching regulator of legal services, the Ministry of Justice has disclosed. The new Legal Services Board was set up under the 2007 Legal Services Act to simplify regulation and ‘put the consumer first’. ...
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SFO in drugs appeal
The Serious Fraud Office’s reputation for legal competence is under scrutiny following the latest setback to a high-profile prosecution. A Crown Court judge last week refused to let the office amend an indictment on criminal offences relating to contested allegations of anti-competitive behaviour over the ...
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Report calls for data transparency
A fast-track procedure for removing barriers to the sharing of personal data between organisations is among legal reforms urged in a wide-ranging review on data protection commissioned by the Prime Minister. The review, by Information Commissioner Richard Thomas and Dr Mark Walport, director of the ...
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US legislators resist libel laws
‘UK should not impose free-speech standards on rest of world’ Washington will make moves to prevent the enforcement of English libel judgments against American authors unless UK defamation laws are brought into line with those of the US, a New York State legislator warned this week. ...
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Titan prison plans under attack
The government’s plans to build its way out of prison overcrowding came under attack last week from the authors of a seven-year investigation into the criminal justice system.
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Call for more 'users of justice' on CJC
The Civil Justice Council should have more ‘users’ of justice and fewer lawyers among its members, an independent review has recommended. Jonathan Spencer’s review, published this week by the Ministry of Justice, says the concept of the council is sound, and commends its ‘essential mediating ...