All News articles – Page 1397
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News
No holiday from clients
I am beginning to think that you and I are the only people who are not on holiday. Clients, judges, officers seem to go away. Everything gets slower at this time of year from the point of view of getting decisions and things done. Yet the pace of work in ...
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Corporate manslaughter
On 3 July 2012 Lion Steel Limited became the third company in the UK to be convicted of the statutory offence of corporate manslaughter under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (the act). The case concerned the death of Stephen Berry on 29 May 2008, who died following ...
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News
Olympic fast-track justice declared a ‘success’
Fast-track procedures to deal with offences committed during the Olympics were today declared a success by the government, even though the Ministry of Justice revealed that they were used in fewer than 100 cases. Since the procedures came into force on 1 July, 84 cases have ...
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Dyson to succeed Neuberger as master of the rolls
Supreme Court judge Lord Dyson will succeed Lord Neuberger as master of the rolls when the latter becomes president of the Supreme Court, the government announced today. The appointment had been widely expected. Neuberger will take over from current SC president Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers ...
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Legal education system ‘not fit for purpose’
Evidence of ‘fundamental gaps’ in lawyers’ skills suggests that the current education system is not fit for purpose, according to a discussion paper published as part of the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR).
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Extradition
Convention rights - Prison conditions in Poland Krolik and others v Several Judicial Authorities of Poland: Queen's Bench Division, Administrative Court (London) (Sir John Thomas P and Mr Justice Globe): 17 August 2012 ...
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Society cancels Law Conference 2012
The Law Society has postponed its national conference aimed at corporate-focused lawyers, it announced today. The event, which was to have been held next month, will now take place in 2013 in London. Law Conference 2012 was scheduled for 20-22 September at Celtic Manor, Newport. ...
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Profits fall as Baker & McKenzie reports record turnover
Global giant Baker & McKenzie has reported a 2.1% rise in its fee income, taking its turnover to a record US$2.3 billion (£1.5bn) for the financial year ending 30 June 2012. However net income fell by 34%, from $1.2bn (£0.7m) to $790m (£506m). Profit per equity partner was down 9% ...
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MoJ pledges claims management clampdown under ombudsman
The government today sets out a long-expected plan to give the Legal Ombudsman responsibility for complaints about claims management companies (CMCs). The move, reported in the Gazette in February, will take place in April next year, the Ministry of Justice will announce.
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Sampson in the lions' den
In the race to Room 101, claims management companies (CMCs) are rivaled in the public mind only by chuggers and those ‘freshen up’ toilet attendants. But unlike those second two groups, there is never the satisfaction of telling them in person where to go. The most ...
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Fair access to justice for vulnerable?
Insufficient screening procedures and routine support for vulnerable defendants are placing their right to a fair trial at risk, and solicitors have a key role to play in ensuring defendants get the right support. The Prison Reform Trust briefing Fair Access to Justice?, explains that vulnerable ...
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Seeing the world through lawyers’ eyes
It is the middle of the summer, and nothing legal stirs, at least in my part of the wood. So I have been reflecting on some of the profundities implicit in the condition of being a lawyer. No matter the trade or profession, we all suffer ...
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Shrill reaction from Fiji
Fiji’s interim government craves democratic legitimacy. Yet its members, and a supportive armed services, are unwilling to consider any option that carries the risk of losing power, or being held personally responsible for, actions they took to gain or hold power.
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Co-op, like Man Utd, gets an early wake-up call
There will be people looking at Co-op Legal Services’ interim financial results with the same glee as football fans savouring Manchester United’s defeat on Monday. United were the big spenders, the brand leaders, the swaggering, bold, competition-crushing favourites, brought down a peg or two. Victory for ...
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Systemic cruelty inflicted on young refugees
Kids, who’d have ‘em? Not the British, by all accounts. We would rather pay more for our airfares, apparently, than risk the irritation of the child in front of us leaning back in his or her seat during a flight. What’s more, their GCSEs are easier than the ones we ...
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News
Grapes of wrath
Obiter’s reaction to the sight of someone eating grapes is normally to deliver a lecture on the virtues of patience. But it seems this isn’t the only danger involved. According to personal injury firm Edwards Hoyle slips and falls caused by grapes are among the ...
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Private equity marches in to ABSs as Parabis application cleared
City-backed Parabis Law has become the first firm owned by private equity to be licensed as an alternative business structure (ABS). The announcement today brings to 20 the number of ABS applications to be cleared by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
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Oral contracts to be banned in claims clampdown
Claims management companies (CMCs) will be forced to end oral contract arrangements under rules proposed by the Ministry of Justice today. The MoJ’s Claims Management Regulator (the regulator) will insist that CMCs have to agree contracts with clients in writing before any fees can be taken. ...
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Petition fights clinical negligence clawback
Campaigners for accident victims have launched a petition to stop a levy being taken from successful claims funded through legal aid. The Ministry of Justice intends to impose the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme (SLAS) from April 2013, to allow for up to 25% of damages awards ...
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Will litigators be lured by contingency fees?
With the starting gun for contingency fees in commercial litigation due to fire in April 2013, interest in how the new damages-based agreements (DBAs) will work has been building in recent months. Now, with the publication of a set of recommendations from the Civil Justice Council’s DBAs working group, a ...