All News articles – Page 1314

  • News

    Plea over fixed costs for mesothelioma cases

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    Asbestos campaigners have warned the government it would be a mistake to introduce blanket fixed costs for all mesothelioma cases. Justice minister Helen Grant confirmed last month that a consultation will start in the spring on reform of mesothelioma cases. Proposals will ...

  • News

    Come on, let’s fix this car insurance racket

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    I thought I must have been mishearing for a second. On Monday night Channel 4’s Dispatches programme proclaimed that it would expose the reality behind high insurance premiums. Then I almost fell off my chair – it turns out ambulance-chasing lawyers are not solely to blame. ...

  • News

    City and in-house summit calls for gender targets

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    Gender targets and embedding flexible working practices in corporate culture are among recommendations by over 130 senior City partners and in-house counsel to increase the number of women partners. The proposals, outlined in a report published today, follow an international summit attended by delegates from top ...

  • News

    Expectations low for Cameron’s bill of rights commission

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    The body set up to investigate replacing the Human Rights Act (HRA) with a British bill of rights is expected to publish a ‘disappointing and vague’ report tomorrow. The commission on a bill of rights, which is now made up of four Conservative nominees and four ...

  • News

    Bill of rights commission splits

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    The prime minister’s plans for a ‘British bill of rights’ are in tatters today as the commission he formed to tackle the issue publishes its final report with two commission members dissenting from its contents. Lady Kennedy (Helena Kennedy QC) and Philippe Sands QC have written a dissenting argument. Speaking ...

  • News

    Behind closed doors

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    I know that admitting this is a bit like inviting Jehovah’s Witnesses into the house, but I am genuinely interested in the work of the Legal Services Consumer Panel. The panel’s latest background paper, Empowering Consumers, raises important questions about whether people who buy legal services are consumers in the ...

  • News

    Office banter is not black and white

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    We all like a good chuckle – even the high-minded hacks on the Gazette have been known to engage in badinage. But when does good-natured banter cross the line to become grounds for a discrimination or harassment claim? When does a joke stop being funny?

  • News

    We’re still on course for referral fee ban, says SRA

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority will not ask for a delay to the imminent ban on referral fees, despite warnings that the timetable is being rushed. The SRA board will meet on 23 January to finalise the SRA Handbook’s wording on the ban, which comes into force for personal injury claims ...

  • News

    Show us more red tape, SRA asks firms

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority has identified nine unnecessary regulations affecting law firms – and has appealed to solicitors to identify more for simplification or abolition. Announcing the next phase of the authority’s Red Tape Initiative, Charles Plant, the SRA’s chair, last week appealed to the profession ...

  • News

    Regulator approves bar’s client money scheme

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    The Financial Services Authority has given the go-ahead for the bar’s scheme that will allow barristers to hold client money through a third party, enabling clients to bypass solicitors and instruct barristers directly more widely. The FSA has granted regulatory approval under the Payment Services Regulations ...

  • News

    No clarity over PI reform as D-day fast approaches

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    by Karl Tonks, the president of APIL ‘D-day’ for personal injury lawyers and claimants is now less than four months away and yet many issues relating to the major forthcoming changes to the personal injury system still remain outstanding.

  • News

    Power of attorney applications lead MoJ’s digital dash

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    Applications for lasting power of attorney will be available on the web from next April as one of a batch of digital services, the Ministry of Justice revealed today. The service is one of four picked by the department to meet central government’s call for ‘digital by default’ public services ...

  • News

    High street PI giant announces redundancies

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    A personal injury firm claiming to have the biggest high street presence in the UK has announced up to 13 redundancies. Forster Dean began consultation with the affected staff members, including 10 solicitors, this week as a direct response to the government’s civil justice reforms. ...

  • News

    An alternative honours list

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    From a European and a lawyer’s point of view, there were some surprises when reading the latest new year’s honours list. I have therefore decided to suggest alternative nominees.

  • News

    Birmingham Law Centre faces the axe after a century

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    Britain’s second biggest city could be without a law centre by the end of this month unless funding can be found to keep it afloat. Birmingham Law Centre is descended from bodies that have offered free legal advice and representation for nearly 100 years. ...

  • News

    Society adds voice to India rape trial concerns

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    The Law Society has called on the Indian authorities to protect the lawyers who will represent five men charged with the rape and murder of a 23-year-old medical student in Delhi in December. Local lawyers have refused to represent the suspects. ...

  • News

    Can accountants change the legal sector?

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    The re-entry of the global accounting firms into the legal sector is one of the more eye-catching predictions in professor Richard Susskind’s latest book, published today, ‘Tomorrow’s Lawyers: an introduction to your future’.

  • News

    Working with deafness: access and ethics

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    Advances in attitudes towards the promotion of rights and equality for vulnerable and disabled populations have resulted in an increase in vulnerable client groups presenting to lawyers. When working with such populations, reasonable adjustments must be made to ensure that services are accessible and meet the individual needs of the ...

  • News

    PC renewals ‘relatively trouble free’ but 4,500 short

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    The deadline for solicitors to renew their practising certificates has passed with an estimated 4,500 applications still outstanding, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said today.

  • News

    Stress tops lawyers’ concerns in 2012

    2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

    Stress was the main reason lawyers called legal helpline LawCare in 2012, the charity’s statistics for the year revealed today. LawCare opened 378 case files last year, slightly down on the 392 opened in 2011. Stress continued to be the most common issue reported, cited by ...