All News articles – Page 1415
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News
Lawyers' paradise directive
There are around one million lawyers in Europe. If they all lived together in a single country, it would be more populous than three other EU member states (Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta). And of course the country’s name would be Paradise. I understand that the European Commission is ready to ...
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Prisoners to be liable for victim surcharge
The government has outlined plans to fine all convicted criminals, including those jailed, to raise funds to help victims. It is already owed almost £600m in unpaid fines. The justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, today announced plans to increase the amount paid by offenders to victims through ...
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20 sign up to composite form as PII renewal gets under way
The Law Society has published a list of brokers and insurers accepting its composite proposal form for professional indemnity insurance as brokers warned solicitors to start sorting out cover early. So far brokers Aon, Bar Professions, Brunel, Giles Insurance, Hera Indemnity, Howden, Marsh, Prime Professions, QPI ...
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Land Registry promises fee cut after taking axe to costs
Land Registry fees will fall by an average of 10% next year thanks to savings made over the past five years, according to the agency’s latest annual report. However the registry said it could not say exactly which fees will be cut and by how much until a fees order ...
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Steer clear of CMCs, financial watchdog warns bank litigants
City regulator the Financial Services Authority has cautioned small business owners against using claims management companies (CMCs). The warning comes at the end of a damning report on the mis-selling of interest rate hedging products which highlighted banks’ ‘poor sales practices across a number of products’.
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FSA and banks buy time and credibility on swaps claims
City regulator the Financial Services Authority’s announcement that it has agreed with major banks the terms of a settlement ‘scheme’ to compensate business owners who were mis-sold interest rate swaps (IRS) products relieves some of the enormous pressure that the banks and the FSA itself has been under.
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Law Society vice-president's firm applies to be ABS
A virtual law firm set up by the incoming president of the Law Society has applied to become an alternative business structure, so that its lawyers can share profits without the regulatory burden of becoming a partner or director.
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Do the admin
I have been reading with interest about the trainee situation in law firms, including the minimum wage issues. I was a mature student who took an LLB honours degree with the Open University, while holding down a full-time legal secretarial position in a high street firm and bringing up three ...
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Land ahoy
Land Registry is the latest body to come under the spotlight of the government’s Red Tape Challenge, aka ‘Give the impression that we’re doing something to help the economy’. In theory, 25 regulations are under scrutiny for being otiose or in need of reform. But Obiter hears that land registration ...
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LASPO: we are all in it together
Recently the number of requests from individuals in need of pro bono assistance seems to have rapidly risen. I hear from colleagues that the situation is similar for other pro bono projects, and there seems to be a general consensus within the sector that when the Legal Aid, Sentencing and ...
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Ritual and animal welfare
The Halal Food Authority (HFA) is working to achieve agreement with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) over the rules governing the ritual slaughter of animals ahead of full implementation of new regulations. It is both important, and possible, to find a practical legal consensus here. ...
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The National Archives is recruiting volunteers to update the statute book
Ignorance of the law is, notoriously, no excuse. But the individual citizen has never had access to a free, up-to-date account of what the law is on any particular topic. Acts of parliament can be consulted in public libraries (if there are any left) but a printed copy is only ...
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Criminal justice system is failing asylum seekers and refugees
by Tabitha Bushill, legal director at the Howard League for Penal Reform The Gazette recently highlighted miscarriages of justice claims over legal advice failings. The Howard League for Penal Reform shares concerns raised, but feels greater responsibility falls to the Crown Prosecution Service and other responsible ...
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Private investors back comparison site
A Hertfordshire solicitor says he has secured £500,000 of private investment for a website that enables consumers to compare law firms’ prices, in the latest move to stake out territory in the fast-developing sector. The announcement, by CompareLegalCosts.com, was made in the week that the Law ...
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ECtHR whip-round for extra lawyers to clear backlog
The European Court of Human Rights has appealed for voluntary contributions from member states to pay for extra lawyers to clear its backlog of cases – but no state has yet agreed to chip in. The Council of Europe and the court’s president announced the ...
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Family bar chief calls for divorce law reform
Divorce laws should be reformed to provide a default regime for the division of assets when relationships break down, the chief of the family bar has suggested. Nicholas Cusworth QC (pictured), chair of the Family Law Bar Association, told the Gazette that greater certainty over ...
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Win Legally Blonde tickets
The award-winning hit Legally Blonde The Musical is on tour. Directed by Tony and Olivier Award-winning Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray), Legally Blonde The Musical is the best show in town – case closed. Obiter has three pairs of tickets to ...
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Hart waves Welsh flag to boost legal jobs
The Welsh government will today launch a long-term strategy to attract thousands of new legal jobs to the country. Business minister Edwina Hart is targeting international, London-based law firms, which she will urge to consider Wales as the ‘business location of choice’ for expansion and ...
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Law centre stage
We were delighted by the recognition of pro bono work with law centres at the LawWorks pro bono awards, as reported by the Gazette. The prizes provided a good snapshot of the variety of ways of working pro bono: as individuals (Sheena Teli, North Kensington Law Centre), in-house groups (Virgin ...
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Chancery Lane unveils composite PII form
The Law Society has asked brokers and insurers to adopt a composite proposal form for professional indemnity insurance (PII) in an effort to simplify the process of obtaining multiple quotes. The Society said it had secured support for its composite form from ‘some of the major ...