All News articles – Page 1379
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News
Debt fear factor
I am surprised that the Solicitors Regulation Authority thinks that removal of the minimum salary will improve opportunities for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
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Indemnity cover saved
Your correspondent of 24 May omitted to mention that by ‘giving the practice away’, at least the professional indemnity runoff cover (two and a half times the last premium) was saved. Further, although the goodwill of the fish and chip shop was £120,000, it would have ...
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Conditional donations soar to SBA
Conditional donations from unclaimed client funds to The SBA The Solicitors’ Charity increased by nearly 70% in 2011 to more than £1.1m compared with £650,000 in 2010, according to its annual report published yesterday.
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Shropshire Council sets up legal company
A local authority is to incorporate its own trading company to supply legal and other support services. Shropshire Council last week endorsed a plan for setting up the new company, to be known as ip&e group Limited, standing for ‘Inspiring Partnerships and Enterprise’. ...
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Combating forced marriages requires more than robust legal measures
by Talvinder Penaser, solicitor at Leeds Family Law The legislation on tackling forced marriage provides civil remedies for a breach of a forced marriage protection order (FMPOs).
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SRA chief wants more trainee positions
Solicitors Regulation Authority board chair Charles Plant (pictured) today calls on the Law Society to launch a campaign encouraging solicitors to employ more trainees, after the regulator abolished the minimum salary requirement. And he insists there is ‘little evidence’ that the 30-year-old mandatory minimum ever met its stated objectives of ...
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News focus: College of Law chief explains post-buyout plans
The College of Law (CoL) is set to expand in the UK and overseas with ‘brand and values intact’ following its £200m sale to a private equity firm, chief executive Nigel Savage has told the Gazette. Savage condemned the current wide-ranging review of legal education and ...
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Greenwich LBC sees off equality challenge
Greenwich Community Law Centre (the law centre) once again failed to overturn a decision by Greenwich London Borough Council (the council) after the law centre was not reappointed following a recommissioning exercise. On 24 April, the Court of Appeal, in upholding the 21 December 2011 decision of Cranston J, found ...
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Bulldog muzzled
We must confess that the Obiter office was deserted by two minutes to five on Monday. Our patriotic/deluded team was keen to join in a lusty rendition of the national anthem with Stevie G and the lads, evoking the Agincourt spirit for England’s Euro 2012 clash with France.
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The 'bishops versus the lawyers'?
The schismatic nature of the debate on same-sex marriage is redolent of pre-modern times. Indeed, the Telegraph went as far back as Henry Vlll, asking readers (somewhat melodramatically): ‘is gay marriage the greatest threat to the established role of the Church of England since the Reformation?’
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Top GP backs government plans to check whiplash claims
A leading GP has backed government plans to cut the cost of whiplash claims by requiring claimants to see specialists. Dr Peter Swinyard, chairman of the Family Doctors Association, told the Gazette there had been a marked increase in patients complaining of stiff necks following car ...
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Nominations open for Law Society Excellence Awards
The Gazette has opened nominations for its Legal Personality of the Year accolade, one of a suite of Law Society Excellence Awards designed to recognise the profession’s most outstanding and dynamic practitioners. This is the sixth year of the Society’s Excellence awards, which include: Solicitor ...
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Two High Court cases focus on the legality of assisted dying
Next week the High Court will begin hearing two cases that raise profound ethical issues. The question in each case is whether it can ever be lawful to help another person take their own life. This is a subject on which we might reasonably have expected ...
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How firms can benefit from lawyers taking up non-executive appointments
For some, the lure of a string of non-executive directorships represents a potentially lucrative nest-egg between giving up full-time legal work and retirement proper. For others, the chance to be on the board as a part-time director provides invaluable education into how organisations are run and how boards operate. They ...
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Women ‘out-perform men in judicial appointments’
Women made up around half the judicial appointments during a six-month period, despite forming as little as a fifth of the candidate pool. The sixth set of official statistics published today by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) shows women starting to outperform men. Based on 13 ...
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Chancery Lane warns of ‘anomalies’ in referral fee ban
The Law Society has warned of a ‘danger of anomalies’ in the government’s plan for banning referral fees. The Ministry of Justice is finalising the specifics of the ban, which will apply only to personal injury cases. Payment and receipt of the fees will be prohibited ...
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CPS delays rollout of ALS interpreters
The Crown Prosecution Service has delayed its rollout of the Ministry of Justice framework agreement for the provision of interpreters and translators, the Gazette has learned. The CPS was due to sign up fully to the agreement on 1 June. The MoJ ...
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SIFA warns against liberalisation of referrals process
Solicitors referring clients for financial advice will be exposed to indemnity claims if the process is liberalised, the profession has been warned. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is considering relaxing rules which dictate that lawyers can refer clients only to independent financial advisers, as opposed to advisers ...
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‘Hundreds’ of miscarriage of justice claims over legal advice failings
Hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees convicted of immigration-related offences such as failure to produce a passport may have been the victims of miscarriages of justice, the Gazette can reveal.