All News articles – Page 1417
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News
Separate jurisdiction could leave Wales in slow lane, Society says
The Law Society has warned that creating a separate legal jurisdiction in Wales could ‘dilute some of the benefits’ which accrue to the country from its present alignment with England. Such a move would also raise questions relating to whether there needs to be a ...
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A retrograde step: scrapping trainee minimum
Charles Plant, chair of the board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, says that the trainee solicitors’ minimum salary was introduced by the Law Society in 1982 ‘to prevent exploitation and attract high-calibre entrants. However, there is little evidence that it meets these aims effectively’ (By the Book).
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Soundbite propaganda
It would be helpful if those who believe they are entitled to instruct others on policy paid attention to their own words. Dr Peter Swinyard - no doubt an esteemed professional - being one such individual (‘Top GP backs checks on whiplash claims’).
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North-east firm is latest to gain ABS status
A limited company based in Stockton on Tees has become the eighth entity to be licensed as an alternative business structure by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. NAS Legal Limited’s successful application was announced by the SRA this morning. The company, which was incorporated in August ...
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PEP dips by a fifth at FFW as public sector contracts
Field Fisher Waterhouse has blamed the squeeze on public sector spending and investment in the firm’s German offices for a sharp fall in profits in the year to 30 April. Profit per equity partner dipped £100,000 on 2010/11, from £510,000 to £410,000, on revenues which rose ...
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‘Inquisitorial’ hearings planned for family litigants-in-person
Judges will adopt an inquisitorial approach to family cases, limiting cross-examination by the parties themselves, to deal with the increasing number of litigants-in-person, the judge in charge of family court modernisation has indicated. Mr Justice Ryder also said that the use of experts will be limited, ...
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Outside funding ‘compelling’ reason to take the ABS route
The Legal Services Act (LSA) has so far had ‘minimal’ impact on law firms, but the reforms have acted as a ‘catalyst for change’ and increasing numbers in the profession are keen to explore outside funding, two surveys have revealed. Since the Solicitors Regulation Authority was ...
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Personal injury costs reform continues apace
Behind-the-scenes work on the implementation of Lord Justice Jackson’s reform of personal injury costs has stepped up a gear or three in the past few weeks. The government intends to make a ministerial statement on qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) on 19 July, which has injected some urgency into the ...
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Right message, wrong case?
Despite the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) defeat in the Upper Tribunal in FSA v Pottage (23rd April, 2012), senior management responsibility remains a key pillar to the enforcement agenda.
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Society in new drive for common PII proposal form
The Law Society today 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 proposal form amongst ‘some of ...
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Competition and the provision of professional training
Brussels is an echo-chamber, which is a fortunate thing. A piece of news read by just a few people is soon bouncing around from contact to contact, giving it publicity. Just such an event happened this week, and I am further amplifying it by writing about it here. It is ...
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Cost disputes set to soar post-Jackson, survey predicts
Costs disputes between solicitors and their clients will become more common once the Jackson reforms are implemented, according to a survey of specialist costs lawyers published today. In a poll of 137 costs lawyers, 69% (95) expected to see an increase in disputes, once the recoverability ...
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SRA moves to reassure firms hit by bank computer woes
Banks paralysed by computer problems have promised to indemnify solicitors against any losses caused by the breakdown, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said today. The regulator in turn promised that no disciplinary action would be taken against firms caught out by the system failures.
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The bell-curve tolls for government lawyers
The most interesting parts of Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude’s ‘Civil Service Reform Plan’ do not occupy much space in the 30-page document released this week. Controversial proposals on ‘managing poor performance’ are tucked away at the back, on the page before ‘delivering an Olympic ...
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Shoosmiths joins Caledonian procession
National firm Shoosmiths has announced it is to merge with medium-sized Scottish law firm Archibald Campbell & Harley. This is the fourth in a series of Anglo-Scottish tie-ups announced this year. The new business will be known in Scotland as ACH Shoosmiths, and subject to regulatory ...
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Applications to vary or revoke an order pursuant to Civil Procedure Rule 3.1(7)
Does the court, pursuant to Civil Procedure Rule 3.1(7), have the power to vary or revoke an order which it has itself made? This was the question before the Court of Appeal in Tibbles v SIG Plc (trading as Asphaltic Roofing Supplies) [2012] EWCA Civ 518.
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Law Conference 2012 preview
In the original Star Wars film, answering Luke Skywalker’s scepticism about the space-worthiness of his ship the Millennium Falcon (‘What a piece of junk!’), interplanetary smuggler Han Solo reassures the young traveller: ‘She may not look like much but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've made a lot ...
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Law firms are acknowledging that they have a responsibility to solve the problems of their peers
‘Help’ can be the hardest word for a lawyer to utter. As reported in this week’s feature, a call for assistance clearly goes against the grain for people whose stock in trade is assisting clients of whatever type in solving their problems. Add to that the competitive and adversarial nature ...
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SRA to look again at vexed issue of race
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has pledged to carry out a second review of allegations of racial discrimination by the regulator against black and minority ethnic (BME) lawyers. The first review, carried out in 2008 by Lord Ouseley, former chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, concluded ...
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Don't exclude future legal aid lawyers
I am disappointed to see that my name has been missed off both the Queen’s birthday honours list and the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year (LALY). I suppose they should now be Public Funding Lawyer of the Year but PFLY (Phillies?) does not have the same ring to it. ...