All News articles – Page 1392
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News
Disputing costs
The suggestion by Laura Kelly that £400 to £500 after-the-event policies are responsible for the ‘mess’ in the civil legal costs system should be taken with a big pinch of salt.
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Competitive instinct
It was gratifying to read about the final of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting’s annual mooting competition, held at the Law Society.
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A difficult combination: 'mis-sold' complex derivatives products
In private some commercial litigators marvel at the fact that more litigation has not emerged from the banking crisis and the UK’s prolonged period of recession and slow growth. But one source of potential claims against the UK’s four largest banks has been getting increasing attention this year - small ...
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Civil court system faces ‘meltdown’
The civil and family court system is facing the prospect of chaos as the government prepares to cut face-to-face counter services and problems persist at the Salford civil claims centre, lawyers have warned.
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Chinese firm enters London with co-operation plan
The first top-tier Chinese law firm to enter the London market says it is looking to co-operate - rather than merge - with UK firms. Zhong Lun has built a formidable base in China in less than 20 years, with 150 partners and more than ...
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COLPs and COFAs central to outcomes-focused regulation
The launch of outcomes-focused regulation (OFR) on 6 October 2011 marked a pivotal shift in how law firms are regulated, with a less prescriptive and more risk-based approach. It has required firms to look closely at how they run their businesses and whether they have appropriate systems and procedures in ...
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No career choice
With the season of work experience students upon us, I am very glad that we have accepted few applicants this year. I am sure they are enthusiastic young things who just want to ‘help people’, but I would be curmudgeonly enough to advise them not to bother with the legal ...
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Queen’s speech ushers in era of cameras in court
News broadcasters have hailed the permitting of cameras in court for the first time as 'an important step for democracy and open justice'. The lifting of the ban was confirmed as part of the Queen's speech today and allows for judgments to be filmed and broadcast. ...
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Defamation Bill ‘a sop to media’ says libel lawyer
Proposals in the Queen’s speech to implement the draft Defamation Bill in the next parliamentary session attracted a mixed response. A bill ‘to protect freedom of speech and reform the law of defamation’ is expected to restrict the use of ‘forum shopping’ by overseas litigants and to introduce a new ...
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Employment bill to set existing changes in legislation
The Enterprise & Regulatory Reform Bill announced in the Queen’s speech includes plans to overhaul the employment tribunal system and transform the resolution landscape.
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Cautious welcome for Children and Families Bill
Legislation heralded in the Queen’s speech to reduce delays in the family justice system needs to be matched with the resources to make it a reality, family lawyers have warned. Lawyers broadly welcomed the announcement of a Children and Families Bill, but cautioned that its measures ...
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Crime and Courts Bill to create single county court system
The government has confirmed in the Queen’s speech that it will enact proposals for a single county court system in England and Wales. The move was mooted in March amongst a raft of other proposals following the report of a consultation into solving disputes in the ...
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Benefit claims
This article was prompted by the case of Coventry City Council v Vassel [2011] EWHC 1542 Admin. It explores some of the technicalities that arise in connection with section 112 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 as amended: ‘Failure to notify a change in circumstances.’ In particular, it looks ...
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Beneath the hysteria over whiplash lies an injured man
Let’s call him Bob. Bob is 43, has 2.5 kids and works as a self-employed painter and decorator. Bob is involved in a car accident, and although initially he was a bit stiff he wakes the next morning to find that he really is, actually, injured. ...
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Going barefoot
Here’s one for the diary. On Monday 12 November, come to work prepared to doff footwear in public. Whatever the weather. Toes, ankles and soles are to be bared on the birthday of blind Chinese human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng.
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It will soon matter (even) more how much loot resides in the ‘bank of mum and dad’
There are few things as dispiriting in modern public life as the sight of the great and good pulling up the drawbridge of opportunity. David Willetts, ‘the thinking person’s Tory MP’, has written a provocative book about the phenomenon: the unambiguously titled The Pinch: How the baby-boomers stole their children’s ...
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Jack of all trades
How much does an ex-justice secretary cost? This question may be of more than passing interest to Ken Clarke, as political seers believe a Cabinet reshuffle may be imminent which could see the wily Westminster veteran jettisoned.
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How the new EU cookie law affects law firms
Most websites nowadays use ‘cookies’ (as I will explain) and the European Union has passed a law which means we all have to take action. Your clients need to take action, but so do you, as your firm has a website too. What are cookies? They ...
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Advice warning
May I suggest that there are three reasons why solicitors should not accept the invitation extended by District Judge Richard Chapman in his recentComment.
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Grieve spells out ‘modernise or die’ message to adversarial system
The adversarial criminal justice system will survive only if practitioners embrace modernisation, the attorney general warned solicitors last week. Dominic Grieve QC told the Law Society’s criminal law conference that he believed ‘passionately’ in the adversarial system, which ‘delivers qualitatively better outcomes’ than cheaper regimes. ...