All News articles – Page 1379
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News
May to announce opt-out of EU justice measures
The home secretary Theresa May will confirm today that government plans to exercise its right to opt out of 130 EU cross-border measures on law and order. She is expected to tell MPs that under an opt-out agreed by the last government when negotiating the ...
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Survey tells tale of bullying, harassment and discrimination
One in six solicitors has been bullied in the workplace, according to research by the Law Society. Preliminary findings of the Society’s 2012 omnibus survey of the profession reveal that 17% of solicitors say they have been bullied at work. The percentage is higher for ...
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A compendium of legal news
It never rains but it pours. I go away for a week to the IBA conference in Dublin, and find on my return many developments of interest for solicitors.
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Quindell snaps up second law firm
One of the biggest new entrants to the legal services market has added to its growing stable with the acquisition of personal injury firm Pinto Potts. AIM-listed Quindell Portfolio announced the takeover this morning to the stock exchange and confirmed it has bought the firm for ...
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Bar says no to plea-only advocates
The Bar Council has strongly opposed the creation of a category of ‘non-trial’ advocates in the planned advocacy accreditation scheme. The ‘plea-only’ category – originally proposed by solicitor advocates – would put the public at risk and undermine public confidence in the profession and criminal justice system, the council says ...
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Berezovsky gets £35m costs bill
Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky (pictured) has been ordered to pay £35m to cover the defence costs of his failed claim against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
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Let’s move on from LASPO, McNally urges legal aid lawyers
Wealthy defendants in criminal cases may be allowed to fund their defences with money released from seized assets, the new legal aid minister Lord McNally said today. McNally told the Legal Aid Practitioners’ Group annual conference that Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, had asked him ...
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PI firm buys debt recovery service
National firm Irwin Mitchell has announced it is to acquire a debt recovery company and to apply to license it as an alternative business structure. Oxfordshire-based PDP Management Services will operate as a subsidiary of Ascent, which is in turn a subsidiary of personal injury ...
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Claims manager jailed for insurance fraud
The manager of a claims management company who processed fraudulent insurance claims has been jailed for 21 months. Asif Mallu, 38, organised 10 claims between May and December 2005, making more than £12,000 through solicitors’ referral fees, courtesy car hire and the recovery of vehicles involved. ...
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Employment
‘Worker’ - Orders in family proceedings - Limited liability partnership Bates van Winkelhof v Clyde & Co LLP and another: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Justices Lloyd, Richards, Elias): 26 September 2012 ...
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Self-defence plans invite vigilantism
by Miranda Ching, an Associate at Peters & Peters LLP This week, the justice secretary and the prime minister announced at the Conservative party conference that the law in relation to rights of homeowners to defend themselves against burglars should be changed.
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IBA 2012: Robinson urges lawyers to join climate fight
The International Bar Association has heeded a call from former Ireland president Mary Robinson (pictured) to join the fight against climate change. At its conference in Dublin, the organisation confirmed it will set up a taskforce to help fulfil the agreement reached at the UN ...
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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. ...
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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. ...