All News articles – Page 1301
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News
LSC drops legal aid contract changes
The Legal Services Commission has agreed to drop controversial changes to ongoing legal aid contracts following talks with the Law Society. The commission is tendering for new contracts in the runup to legal aid reforms coming into effect on 1 April and had sought to ...
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Majority against IFA referral move
A decision to lift restrictions on referrals to independent financial advisers was made despite the majority of consultation respondents opposing the move, the Gazette has learned. The Solicitors Regulation Authority decided last November to allow solicitors to refer clients to any financial adviser regardless of ...
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Regulate will-writing but not estate administration, LSB recommends
The Legal Services Board will today recommend to the lord chancellor that will-writing activities, but not estate administration, should be regulated. It is the first time that the board has recommended bringing new activities under the scope of the Legal Services Act. The Law Society ...
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Yorkshire firm to go into administration
Yorkshire law firm Atteys is to go into administration, putting at risk 140 jobs unless a buyer can be rapidly found. Finance director Andy Tuke said today: ‘As a result of continuing financial pressures, Atteys has engaged BDO Leeds to assist in looking for a buyer ...
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Keeping mum about hospitality
We would love to tell you all about the goings-on of Ministry of Justice officials. We’d especially love it if the official records showed individuals having cosy nights with the Association of British Insurers while they were formulating the latest squeeze on claimant lawyers. Sadly, we ...
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QC faces jail after pocketing VAT for 12 years
A London silk faces jail after being convicted of a £600,000 VAT fraud. Rohan Anthony Pershad QC, who practised from Thirty Nine Essex Street, was convicted at Blackfriars Crown Court (pictured) today of one count of cheating the public revenue, between 1 June 1999 and 24 ...
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Keystone offers £1 top-up insurance cover
Top-up legal expenses insurance cover with premiums that can be recovered after 1 April are being sold for just £1, the Gazette can reveal. After-the-event (ATE) insurer Keystone Legal is offering a product for cases insured by other legal expenses insurers that run out of cover, ...
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Bypassing lawyers would save £1.5bn, insurer claims
Removing lawyers altogether from the small-claims process would save each motorist an average £60 a year on their car insurance premiums, a major insurer today claimed. In a report into the personal injury sector Aviva called for claimants to go directly to the ‘at-fault’ insurer rather ...
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A spectator’s view
Obiter isn’t the jealous type, so can only congratulate a colleague who is clearly getting all the billable work she can handle. Charlotte Harris, partner at transatlantic firm Mishcon de Reya – ‘It’s business. But it’s personal’ – was booked to speak at the Spectator magazine’s debate last Wednesday, against ...
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Taking a punt
Though I cast no aspersions on the character of anyone associated with Brilliant Law, I do wonder how many prospective clients might shy away from instructing this new body to handle their legal affairs if they knew that the big money behind its launch came from the profits of the ...
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Power struggle
Are we really expected to believe that the forthcoming personal injury ‘reforms’ will result in a reduction in claims and reduced insurance premiums? What the forthcoming referral fee ban, the sanctioning of ABSs, and the proposed reduction in recoverable costs will achieve is the handing of ...
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No line under mis-selling
The Financial Services Authority’s report on interest rate swaps mis-selling by four major banks draws some creditably momentous conclusions. Lawyers acting for business owners recognise a thorough job by the regulator, which concluded that banks failed in their regulatory obligations in 90% of the 173 sales reviewed by the City ...
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‘Limited trust’ threat to SRA whistleblowing plan - Society
Whistleblowers in the legal profession do not trust the SolicitorsRegulation Authority enough to agree to report misconduct, the Law Societysaid today. The Society said there was no pressing need for a cooperation policy toencourage people to report colleagues for wrong-doing.
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‘Limited trust’ undermines SRA whistleblower plan - Society
Whistleblowers in the legal profession do not trust the Solicitors Regulation Authority enough to agree to report misconduct, the Law Society said today. The Society said there was no pressing need for a cooperation policy to encourage people to report colleagues for wrongdoing. ...
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My legal life: Maura McGowan
I didn’t know what I wanted to do before doing law – I even thought about politics. Somebody half-jokingly suggested becoming a barrister, which made me think about it. When I did my degree and bar exams both courses were still very academically focused and there was no formal advocacy ...
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Public law ultra vires
It is clear that in certain circumstances a local authority can plead lack of legal capacity as a defence to a private law claim (see Credit Suisse v Allerdale Borough Council [1996] 4 All ER 129). However, can a local authority prosecute for failure to have a valid caravan site ...
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Memory lane
The Law Society’s Gazette, 7 February 2008Bar Standards Board wants to abolish ‘cab rank rule’ The Bar Standards Board this week proposed the abolition of the ‘cab rank rule’ in a consultation on changes to be made in relation to the Legal Services Act 2007. BSB ...
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Immigration
Leave to remain – Defendant secretary of state rejecting applications – Claimants challenging secretary of state's policy as unlawful on ground of ambiguity R (on the application of Sharmilla and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; ...
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Small-claims revamp may hit portal
The future of the RTA Portal will become clearer on Friday when a protocol, forms and rules for a new small-claims system are finalised at a meeting of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee. The protocol will enable the system to deal with claims up to £25,000, ...