All News articles – Page 1422
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News
SRA powerless to stop ABSs circumventing referral ban
Regulators have warned they will be powerless to prevent the establishment of companies that would get around the ban on referral fees. Alternative business structures encompassing both law firms and claims management companies may not fall within the scope of any ban, the Solicitors Regulation Authority ...
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Doreen Lawrence first non-lawyer to win legal aid award
Doreen Lawrence (pictured) and her 'rock’ of a solicitor Imran Khan were honoured for their contribution to justice at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year (LALY) awards last night. Khan, the senior partner at London firm Imran Khan & Partners, who has acted for the ...
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Referral fee ban is SRA's mission impossible
As any lazy person knows (I’m told), it’s pretty easy to get out of doing a job you hate. Just moan incessantly about having to make the tea/clean the bathroom/take a trip to Westfield, to the point where you’ll never be asked again. If all else fails, do such a ...
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Shared parenting presumption in law reform proposal
The government seeks to introduce a legal presumption of ‘shared parenting’ where relationships break down, under proposals outlined today. The plans to strengthen the law so children have an ongoing relationship with both parents if they separate are set out in the Ministry of Justice consulation. ...
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Pro bono work celebrated in annual awards
City firm Linklaters and national firm Shoosmiths are among those recognised tonight at the annual LawWorks pro bono awards. Linklaters won the award for the best contribution by a law firm. It was nominated by the Mary Ward Legal Centre for its ‘unwavering and substantial’ support ...
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The Church and Strasbourg
The Church of England (CoE), freshly blooded from its opposition to women vicars and gay bishops, has now turned the big guns of its ecclesiastical conservatism on Europe’s court of human rights. The canonical broadside comes a week after the home secretary decided that our judges, ...
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Executive committee takes reins at regional firm Fosters
A regional firm has ditched the traditional partnership model after clients pressed for a more familiar management structure. Fosters Solicitors, a legal disciplinary practice operating from eight offices across East Anglia, has appointed a new executive committee to take over the day-to-day running of the business. ...
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No reprieve for Specialist Support Service
The Specialist Support Service (SSS) will be scrapped at the end of this month, the Legal Services Commission has announced following a consultation. Under the scheme, lawyers and advisers at Citizens Advice, law centres and law firms across the country can get telephone advice from ...
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ABSs and the potential lock-in of individuals
The legal press is full of articles on the new alternative business structures (ABSs) and the so-called Tesco Law revolution of legal services. A number of major law firms have confirmed that they are seriously considering the option to converting to an ABS and we have already seen high-profile third-party ...
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Will funders start bypassing solicitors?
There is quite a buzz about third-party funding at the moment. Media coverage has spread well beyond the legal press, with recent articles on the topic in the FT and now even the Guardian. But much as funders like to suggest every now and ...
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‘Clumsy’ regulation could thwart innovation, Chancery Lane warns
‘Clumsy’ intervention by regulators to ensure quality could stymie the development of innovative legal services, the Law Society has warned. Regulatory action should be used as a ‘tool of last resort’ in this regard, so firms are free to develop new ways of serving clients, it says. ...
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Geeks of the world, unite
I am an e-identity geek, pale and closeted in my bedroom, unable to raise my eyes from the screen - I must be, since I write more often about this topic than any other. But the European Union has just published major new legislation, a draft regulation 'on electronic identification ...
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LSB report highlights web advice shortfall
Consumers of legal services want more tailored support from the internet as a first point of contact for their legal problems, a report has found. Research carried out by the Legal Services Board found consumers were often ‘swamped’ by information online and gave up halfway through ...
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City’s aid sought for post-LASPO project
The Law Society is seeking the backing of big City firms for a high-profile initiative aimed at helping high street practices and their clients meet the challenges posed by legal aid cuts.
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Is a 'liberal' approach to knife crime working?
Don’t tell the Daily Mail, but the government is getting softer on knife crime - and it might just be working. Yesterday the Ministry of Justice confirmed the offences and sentencing figures for the first quarter of 2012. You can tell they’re ...
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Poor argument
I can see the argument that trainee minimum salaries amount to an anti-competitive measure. If the SRA had justified its decision to abolish the minimum on those grounds I might not have been driven to comment, but the suggestion by the regulator that this measure will result in greater diversity ...
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Avoiding conveyancing complaints
By the end of this article, at least in draft form, I fully expect a page full of red squiggles, erroneously identifying the noun ‘conveyancing’ as a misspelling. I have no idea why Word fails to recognise it, given its widespread and generally quite prolific use in legal circles. Perhaps ...
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Language barrier
There is a requirement, recently introduced, that those applying for Entry Clearance to come to the UK need to have passed an English Language Test in their own country. This is a special test designed for this purpose by the British Embassy/UK Border Agency. Unless an applicant has a certificate ...
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Small firms, big headaches
I am becoming deeply concerned that the greater competition which is going to challenge small firms’ very existence is being compounded by ever-increasing regulation of those that are left.
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London firms ‘boosted’ by foreign competition
A leading representative of City lawyers has said competition from foreign firms has provided a welcome boost to the London market - and he urged government to do everything possible to encourage more. Alasdair Douglas, chairman of the City of London Law Society, told the Gazette ...