All News articles – Page 1258

  • News

    Changes to public law

    2013-06-10T00:00:00Z

    The pressures on the public purse as much as those of the present Conservative government have brought about yet more radical changes to public law proceedings. To echo the words of Sir James Munby, the president of the Family Division: ‘The family justice system is undergoing the most radical reforms ...

  • News

    A call for whistleblowing strategies

    2013-06-10T00:00:00Z

    On the 21 June the recently established whistleblowing commission’s consultation examining the effectiveness of existing arrangements for workplace whistleblowing will close. Responses will be summarised by the end of the year and recommendations for change will follow.

  • News

    Who will be our Lehman Brothers?

    2013-06-10T00:00:00Z

    I was a reporter covering Canary Wharf when Lehman Brothers folded. As a journalist, it was one of those days you dream about – the disgruntled workers willing to tell you everything, the imagery of the staff leaving with hastily packed boxes. (We even found out ...

  • News

    Breach of contract

    10 June 2013

    Licence agreement being made between publishing company (Bright Star) and defendant permitting defendant to re-package Reader's Digest book edition of 'Wildlife of Britain' Morse v Eaglemoss Publications Ltd: Chancery Division: 7 June 2013 ...

  • News

    Firms braced for spending squeeze

    10 June 2013

    Top-100 law firms face a squeeze in client legal spending over the next 12 months, because almost all corporate clients who have not yet reviewed instructions and spend plan to do so. The result will be massive consolidation among the magic circle’s chasing pack, according ...

  • News

    Retreat is not an option, says Legal Services Board

    2013-06-10T00:00:00Z

    A hands-off approach to regulation is ‘not an option’ for the Legal Services Board, the embattled super-regulator has protested. In a statement on its role timed to coincide with the publication of its annual report, the board conceded that other regulators would prefer it to be ...

  • News

    The legal profession is on the banks of a Rubicon

    10 June 2013

    This column occasionally quotes Yes Minister, with the excuse that the now antique sitcom is more educational than any politics degree. In The Writing on the Wall, mandarin perm sec Sir Humphrey Appleby advises Jim Hacker of one crackpot policy: ‘Minister, if you are going to do this damn silly ...

  • News

    IT firm offers route round referral fee ban

    10 June 2013

    A legal technology firm is promoting a business plan which it says will allow solicitors to continue working with personal injury referrers. The company, Epoq, has created LegalGo, a free assistance plan that claims management companies distribute to claimants. The CMC signs ...

  • News

    RTA claims still high despite referral fee ban

    2013-06-10T00:00:00Z

    The referral fee ban had little impact on the number of RTA claims, with the number of cases in the immediate aftermath increasing by 27% compared to the year before, the Gazette has learned. Figures published by the RTA Portal Company show that 79,483 claims ...

  • News

    Lord chief justice backs moves to protect vulnerable witnesses

    2013-06-10T00:00:00Z

    New guidelines for prosecutions of child abuse cases to protect vulnerable witnesses were welcomed by the judiciary today – nearly a quarter of a century after they were first proposed. The lord chief justice, Lord Judge, said that he was delighted at the lord chancellor’s ...

  • News

    Backing for single PII scheme

    10 June 2013

    A single professional indemnity insurance scheme and compensation scheme could cover the entire legal services sector, if a consumer watchdog proposal becomes reality. In a report published today on legal regulators’ financial protection schemes, the Legal Services Consumer Panel says that a single scheme would allow ...

  • News

    New potential market in aviation claims

    10 June 2013

    Law firms have a potential market of as many as one million claimants who may be eligible for compensation for delayed flights, it has been suggested. Personal injury specialist Bott & Co said this week it has recovered €300,000 for 600 clients in the 100 days ...

  • News

    Mass arrest of lawyers in Istanbul protests

    2013-06-10T00:00:00Z

    The Law Society has condemned the mass arrest of more than 50 lawyers in Istanbul. The lawyers were taking part in a protest inside the Çağlayan Court, near Taksim Square, when they were arrested, detained and reportedly beaten by the police, the Society said. ...

  • News

    Mass arrest of lawyers in Istanbul protests

    2013-06-10T00:00:00Z

    The Law Society has condemned the mass arrest of more than 50 lawyers in Istanbul. The lawyers were taking part in a protest inside the Çağlayan Court, near Taksim Square, when they were arrested, detained and reportedly beaten by the police, the Society said. ...

  • News

    Thousands take up arms over cuts

    10 June 2013

    The fight against the government’s Transforming Legal Aid reforms heated up last week as a consultation on the proposals closed with more than 13,000 responses understood to have been lodged with the Ministry of Justice. Although the ministry could not confirm the figure, this would ...

  • News

    Appeal

    10 June 2013

    Passing off – Get-up of goods – Confusion Lumos Skincare Ltd v Sweet Squared Ltd and other companies: Court of Appeal, Civil Division: 6 June 2013 The claimant sold ...

  • News

    NHS cuts do not help - but often clients just want answers

    10 June 2013

    by Mehmooda Duke, managing director of medical negligence lawyers Moosa-Duke I have believed for years that there must be a correlation between government spending on the NHS and the number of medical negligence cases brought against it.

  • News

    Alternative to PCT

    10 June 2013

    If Mr Grayling wants a ‘stunning’ alternative to price-competitive tendering, then why not: Charge and collect fees at all levels of legal aid, police stations and criminal courts (including court duty solicitors) on the basis of a contribution proportionate ...

  • News

    Supreme Court allows appeal in Prest v Petrodel

    2013-06-10T00:00:00Z

    A seven-strong Supreme Court has unanimously allowed an appeal by an oil tycoon’s former wife and ordered him to hand over assets held by his companies. In Prest v Petrodel Resources Limited & Others [2013] UKSC 34, the court, led by Lord Sumption (pictured), used trust ...

  • News

    An advocate and an avocado

    10 June 2013

    No barricades ablaze at the ‘Save Legal Aid’ demo outside the Ministry of Justice last Tuesday, even if the road was entirely blocked by protesters. But Obiter noticed that lawyers are getting more accustomed to the etiquette of protest. Invited by a megaphone firebrand to ‘not be so polite’, at ...