All News articles – Page 1338
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News
‘Flexible’ court plans unveiled
The creation of a regional virtual court is among plans revealed today by justice minister Damian Green to pilot dozens of ‘flexible’ court models. Five schemes will be trialled in 48 areas. They will include regional virtual courts that will enable preliminary hearings in the ...
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Unhappy consumers ‘intimidated by jargon’
Legal services consumers feel intimidated by jargon when they make complaints to law firms and for that reason are more likely to take their complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, research has found. A survey published today of more than 1,000 people who had complained to the ...
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Solicitors cool on Conservatives' employee share scheme
Chancellor George Osborne’s plan for employees to exchange legal rights for tax-free shares in their workplaces has received a cool reception from employment lawyers. In his speech to the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, Osborne said that under the ‘voluntary three-way deal’ employees would ‘replace ...
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Online legal comparison pioneer to unveil site revamp
Legal services comparison site Wigster is planning a high-profile relaunch following the appointment last week of entrepreneur Matthew Briggs (pictured) as a director. Briggs, who is chief executive of the online claims management business Claims.com, was previously the non-lawyer chief executive of personal injury firm ...
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Doing it yourself: the task for COLPs and COFAs
When a solicitor drove off with a client’s file on the roof of their car and it was lost, reporting it as a ‘massive’ breach of the Code of Conduct was never in doubt for compliance and risk director Adele Jones.
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Civil procedure rules
A previous article summarised the new Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) Part 81. This article summarises the further changes effected by the Civil Procedure (Amendment No 2) Rules 2012 (SI No. 2208) and Update 59 which came into force on 1 October. ...
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News
My priorities for Chris Grayling
by Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, Law Society president When Chris Grayling was appointed lord chancellor and justice secretary, much was made of the fact he was not a lawyer.
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Cell safety
Recent controversy about the safety of solicitors in police stations took me back to my years of being trapped with clients when the gaoler (seemingly wilfully) refused to answer the cell bell. There was no point in complaining. It only meant a longer wait the next ...
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Centre caught out
I was concerned to read that the new County Court Money Claims Centre has complained that law firms are delaying the processing of thousands of claims at the new centralised facility in Salford, as reported in the Gazette on 27 September.
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Car crash coverage
Obiter was intrigued to read the Daily Telegraph’s advertisement feature on 'what to do if you're in a car accident' last week. Sponsored by personal injury firm Lawyers4U, the article sympathises that being in an accident ‘can be a huge shock and it can often ...
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Help ease the burden
In her article ‘Should pro bono be compulsory?’, Lia Moses refers to the New York State Bar requirement for all lawyers to carry out 50 hours of pro bono work before qualifying. Maybe even qualified solicitors should do 50 hours per annum? She urges us to fill in the questionnaire. ...
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News
Breach of confidence
Summary judgment - Entitlement to summary judgment - Duty of servant Devon and Cornwall Autistic Community Trust (t/a Spectrum) v Pyrah and others: PCC (Mr Recorder Douglas Campbell): 24 September 2012 ...
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PC lessons have been learned
Ensuring that the 2012 round of practising certificate (PC) renewals is a smoother and more reliable experience than last year’s has been top of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s agenda. We recognise that the last renewals round caused serious inconvenience for many who engaged in the process and this was not ...
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What’s your attitude to complaints?
Confidential research undertaken by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed that there are some bad attitudes towards complaints handling in the profession. But rather than fearing complaints, you should be welcoming them - as they inform you about the client’s experience and help improvements to future service.
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Arresting solution
By 2014 the UK must decide how far to be involved in EU crime co-operation measures, most notably the European arrest warrant (see ‘Nationwide alarm at EAW opt-out plan’). Whether the UK should continue to operate the arrest warrant system is not an easy decision and not one to be ...
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No case to answer? Private prosecutions and prospects of conviction
When should you be allowed to bring a private prosecution? The very idea that a private individual may be able to initiate the state’s powers to prosecute and punish offenders may strike some people as strange. Isn’t that the job of public prosecutors, such as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)?
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News
Understanding addiction
Addiction is not the preserve of the working classes and no respecter of wealth or status, and most family lawyers at some point in their career will come into contact with clients who have addiction issues.
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Add-backs and costs
Add-back arguments in financial order proceedings tend to arise in two situations: in respect of costs, where one party has incurred significantly higher costs than the other; and where one party has dissipated assets and those assets should be added back to that party’s share. ...