All News articles – Page 1270
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News
Contempt of court
Committal – Breach of injunction – Claimants publishing photographs on Facebook and Twitter in breach of injunction Attorney general v Harkins; Attorney general v Liddle: Queen's Bench Division: 26 April 2013 ...
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Guidance for law firms collecting diversity data
The Law Society has published a guidance note to help firms collect and publish diversity data about their workforces. This year is the first that firms have been required to make their own arrangements. Last year the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) sent out an online questionnaire ...
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Support for deaf clients
With Deaf Awareness Week taking place this week, the spotlight is being shone on those consumers who are Deaf and how legal advice can best be provided to them. In this context, research by the Royal Association for Deaf People’s (RAD) Deaf Law Centre (DLC) has revealed statistics that show ...
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The dilemma of small claims
The struggle over the financial limits for small claims is an issue which is traditionally difficult for lawyer policymakers, because of the apparent conflict between public and private interests. The raising of personal injury claim levels in the UK has caused a fuss, and now the topic has appeared on ...
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Women trailing at magic circle elite
The magic circle’s commitment to diversity will again be called into question after the proportion of women making partner in 2013 fell below 20%. The quintet of UK-based firms appointed just 13 women worldwide out of a total of 73. In last year’s round, ...
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Family scheme: the right choice
Lucinda Ferguson makes some interesting points on arbitration in her letter ‘Final and binding awards’ (22 April), referring to the relatively new Institute of Family Law Arbitrators (IFLA) scheme.
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HJA rejects Magdalene ‘cash cow’ slurs
A claimant firm that advertised for victims of the Magdalene laundries has rejected accusations it is using the notorious Irish scandal as a ‘cash cow’ for lawyers. London firm Hodge Jones & Allen was criticised in the Irish media after it placed advertisements asking for women ...
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‘Significant concerns’ over costs budgeting
Solicitors have ‘significant concerns’ that costs budgeting will increase overall costs due to the time taken to comply with it. An 18-month pilot study into new costs rules brought in by the Jackson reforms has found they will get a mixed response from practitioners forced into ...
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Britain’s fragile legal legacy
The Queen’s decision to cut back on long-haul flights has avoided the need to address the rights and wrongs of her presence at the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, where the rule of law is cause for concern. As has been widely reported, the removal and impeachment of their chief ...
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Brazil’s ‘malformed’ penal code
The Brazilian legal system is governed by civil law. Consequently, it mainly relies upon codified legislation rather than precedents. Among the various codes in force, there have been many debates over the penal code. This came into force in 1941 and it was partly revised in 1984.
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Future ‘not necessarily bleak’ for costs lawyers
The judge responsible for implementing the Jackson reforms has spoken of his hope that third-party funding will become more prevalent in financing cases. Mr Justice Ramsey told the Association of Costs Lawyers annual conference the future of third-party litigation funding was one of the ‘great questions’ ...
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Immigration bill prompts concern
Measures in the immigration bill announced in today’s Queen’s speech prompted strong reactions from specialist lawyers, welfare campaigners and business. Nichola Carter, head of immigration at niche London firm Carter Thomas, described the proposals as ‘extremely worrying’. Requiring landlords to ...
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SRA must level the playing field between corporations and law firms
It is heartening to learn that Mr Townsend, chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, urges the promotion of morality and ethics on the part of solicitors, intends to look at governance and conflicts of interest, and says that ownership and the independence of solicitors must not get muddled up.
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Bar regulator bids to take heat out of QASA standoff
The Bar Standards Board has today extended the first registration deadline for the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates in the face of a threatened mass boycott by barristers. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is poised to follow suit. In a ...
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‘Back to basics’ in Brum
The new president of Birmingham Law Society, Allsopp & Co partner Martin Allsopp, does not have a computer on his desk because, he says, he wants the profession to ‘go back to basics’ and talk to clients ‘one-to-one’ again. In a nutshell, that is his ...
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Mills seeks apprentice boon
Obiter’s chums on the Gazette newsdesk were surprised last month when Alex Mills, founder and director of ‘exciting legal franchise brand’ Dynamo Legal, declined the offer of an interview. Such bashfulness from the promoter of a new commercial offering is unusual, especially on launch day. ...
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Gateway aims to help vulnerable
Sexual offending against children by Jimmy Savile has focused attention on how the criminal justice system treats young and vulnerable complainants and witnesses, attorney general Dominic Grieve QC said last week. However, Grieve rejected the idea of dispensing with the adversarial system for cases involving ...
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Quindell tries to calm investors after shares slide
Attempts by fast-growing legal entity Quindell Portfolio to ease investors’ concerns appear to have had little effect after a second day of tumbling share prices. The company released a statement yesterday after its shares on the London AIM stock market fell by 28%. ...
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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 ...