All News articles – Page 1306
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News
Brilliant Law heralds new era
I read that Brilliant Law ‘is founded by non-lawyers, which is a radically different scenario to other law firms'. It is indeed. I read on: ‘That brings with it innovation and a commercial appreciation but also mechanisms to market ourselves differently.’ But ...
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Brand loyalty – and the ski-jacket owners’ club
Recently I was presenting the results of a mystery shopping campaign, and as commonly happens, the issues of capturing accurate contact details and inadequate follow-up were discussed. Two particular areas of weakness identified were the provision of contact information to the marketing team and failing to ...
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Texas considers plan to open borders to foreigners
The US state of Texas is considering a plan to open its borders to foreign lawyers and compete with New York for the best international talent.
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Pinsent Masons boosts outsourcing trend with Krakow deal
City firm Pinsent Masons has become the latest law practice to outsource key services by sending documents to be reviewed in Poland. The firm used Capita’s outsourced legal services operation in Krakow to review aspects of a large dispute. Both parties had ...
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Labour warns of Grayling’s ‘Trojan horse’ attacks
Government policies to cut legal aid, and to curtail judicial review and no-win, no-fee arrangements amount to an ‘assault on the critical checks and balances that any healthy democracy needs’, the shadow justice secretary has warned. Sadiq Khan MP told an event to celebrate pro bono ...
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Judicial review limits attacked
Government plans to limit the number of judicial reviews have been condemned by lawyers and campaign groups. A six-week consultation on the proposals, which the justice secretary says would stop ‘weak or ill-founded’ claims clogging the courts, ended last week apparently without a single response in favour. ...
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Costs and assessing unreasonable behaviour
The general principle on costs in civil litigation is clear: the unsuccessful party will be ordered to pay the costs of the successful party, albeit that the court has discretion to order otherwise (Civil Procedure Rule 44.3 (2)).
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More firms ask for help to fund tax bills
The number of law firms that need funding to help pay their January tax bill has jumped by almost 60% since last year, according to a business providing independent finance. Syscap reports that so far this year it has received 410 requests from law firms for ...
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News
Ask the staff
The annual civil service people survey is a great annual diversion, juxtaposing low levels of staff satisfaction and confidence in the Ministry of Justice’s leadership on the one hand, and hyper-positive confidence of senior management spin on the other. This year my colleague Catherine Baksi reported it as news - ...
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China arbitration fight rocks foreign firms
Fears are growing that arbitration decisions made in two of China’s economic powerhouses may be impossible to enforce as a result of a feud between rival arbitration centres. The dispute began with the release of new arbitration rules by the Beijing-based China International Economic and ...
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Mediator fee cost anomaly rankles
There is a striking anomaly caused by the omission of a mediator’s fee from the list of recoverable disbursements in Civil Procedure Rule 45.10 (fixed-costs cases). It means that a receiving party must bear the costs of the mediator’s fee, which creates a disincentive for mediating. ...
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Legal aid is the key to a diverse profession
Helen Grant, the equalities minister, is calling for a more diverse legal profession and judiciary – one with more women and ethnic minority judges in senior posts. An interview with the London Evening Standard quoted the family solicitor as accusing legal bosses of prolonging male dominance ...
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Advocacy quality scheme set back to September
Introduction of the controversial quality assurance scheme for advocates (QASA) has been delayed by nine months, the joint advocacy group (JAG) responsible for the scheme admitted today. Under the revised implementation timetable, published by the three legal regulators charged with designing QASA, a handbook on the ...
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Civil justice advisers condemn PI fixed fees as ‘unrealistic’
Fixed-fee proposals for personal injury work are unrealistic and should wait until at least 2014, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) has advised. The independent advisory body chaired by the master of the rolls has told the government it should hold back from new costs plans before ...
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Butler-Sloss condemns advice cuts
Removing funding for a service that helps litigants in person on the day wide-ranging legal aid cuts take effect will create ‘absolute disarray’ in the courts, a former head of the family division has warned. The Citizens Advice Bureau at the Royal Courts of Justice assists ...
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Lyons rebuts Admiral takeover reports
Personal injury firm Lyons Davidson has flatly denied press reports that it is in takeover talks with insurance giant Admiral. An article in the Mail on Sunday claimed that British insurer Admiral planned to buy the national firm, which last year became an alternative business structure, ...
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Cobbetts set to go into administration
National firm Cobbetts has announced it is seeking protection from creditors as a buyer is sought for the business.
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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 ...
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News
Not entirely Honest Abe
Spielberg’s historical epic Lincoln is a tear-jerker - well, it extracted tears from me. But while critics have rightly raved about the acting and the daringly (for Hollywood) complex screenplay, no one seems to have pointed out the film’s real importance: its message about the value of a legalistic mind. ...
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MoJ reveals £600m in court fines are unpaid
The government failed to make any significant impression on the £600m of outstanding debt from court fines during the latest financial year. Helen Grant, justice minister, told parliament this month that outstanding impositions stood at £1.8bn at the end of April 2012. A Ministry of ...