All News articles – Page 1472
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News
Call for regulation of legal comparison sites
Comparison websites should commit to a set of voluntary standards to ensure legal service consumers are protected, according to a new report. The Legal Services Consumer Panel today says the websites could help to improve access to legal advice and stimulate greater competition on price and ...
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Witnessing financial documents
A lady comes to the office clutching a mortgage and says it needs witnessing by a solicitor. She explains she is raising money to pay off the victims of her husband’s fraud. The solicitor advises her not to sign it and she goes off. The solicitor is later sued (probably ...
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Storm raging over investing in litigation
Third-party litigation funding (through which investors fund someone else’s case in exchange for a percentage of damages if they win) does not normally receive much mainstream attention in the UK, given that it is a relatively small sector here.
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Private equity investor takes £200m stake in Parabis
Private equity investor Duke Street today confirmed an investment of up to £200m in personal injury umbrella firm Parabis Group in the latest City move into the legal sector. The legal and claims management company, which trades under the names of Plexus Law (defendant firm) ...
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Government to legislate on shared parenting - Clarke
Strengthening shared parenting after divorce and speeding up care and adoption cases are among ‘ambitious and system-wide’ reforms outlined by the government today to improve the family justice system. Responding to the Norgrove Family Justice Review, justice secretary Kenneth Clarke said the government would implement many ...
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Now it is Spain’s turn
I have been writing in recent weeks about the radical changes affecting numerous European Union member states in the wake of the economic crisis. The item on our agenda at the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) called ‘important national developments’ grows longer at every meeting. And ...
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Big bang, big crash
Broadly speaking, computer projects make three sorts of news headline. One is the ‘gee-whiz gizmo’ of fond Tomorrow’s World memory. Second is the ‘big brother’ scare story about surveillance or intrusive data-sharing.
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Chancery Lane appoints former No 10 adviser as corporate affairs chief
The Law Society has appointed a former adviser to the prime minister to the new role of chief of corporate affairs. Dr Patricia Greer will have responsibility for policy, communications and engaging with solicitors, reporting to chief executive Desmond Hudson. Greer will join in March from ...
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City firm guilty of discrimination, appeal rules
An employment appeal tribunal has ruled that City firm Bivonas discriminated against one of its lawyers on the basis of sexual orientation. Lee Bennett’s discrimination claim focused on a memo from one of the firm’s partners which falsely implied that he instructed only gay barristers and ...
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Fix costs to save the planet, says Jackson
Lord Justice Jackson has recommended a fixed costs regime to ensure the government fulfils its duty in environmental judicial review cases. The Ministry of Justice launched a consultation last year to ask how to comply with the UK’s international obligations as part of the UN Aarhus ...
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Regulatory reform of financial services
The chancellor has now set out his detailed proposals for financial services regulatory reform. These seek to address three substantial concerns which became clear in the wake of the banking crisis: 1. The Memorandum of Understanding between the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the Bank of England ...
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An ABS game-changer as UK says g’day to Aussies
Those Aussies just can’t resist a bit of competition. From their cricket team beating us with depressing regularity in the 1990s to Paul Hogan ('you call that a knife?'), it seems a nation devoted to one-upmanship. So we shouldn’t be too surprised to see an Aussie ...
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Law Society outlines initiatives to reinforce access to justice
The Law Society vice-president has outlined initiatives to bolster access to justice following the government’s proposed legal aid reforms - but stressed that Chancery Lane has not given up its opposition to the cuts. Lucy Scott-Moncrieff (pictured) told the Gazette that the Society has given ‘a ...
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Good advice?
The Gazette of 19 January contained two separate items that can be usefully linked: one a call to help the public, the other a warning of how such help can be turned against us.
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Firms warned over letters to Citizens Advice clients
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned firms that they could risk breaching the code of conduct by contacting individuals directly on behalf of clients if those individuals are represented by Citizens Advice.
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Law centres warn on legal aid cuts
Law centres will close, leaving ‘many thousands’ of the poor and marginalised without access to justice if the government’s legal aid cuts are implemented, peers have warned. In a short debate this week, Labour’s former legal aid minister Lord Bach asked what assessment the ...
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Morale low among Ministry of Justice staff
Evidence of poor morale among staff at the Ministry of Justice has emerged from the civil service’s annual ‘people survey’. Among its findings is that staff at the ministry and its agencies have no confidence in decisions made by senior managers. Only 32% of respondents would recommend the MoJ as ...
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Mirror wills invalidated by signature mix-up, appeal judges rule
A simple mix-up when a husband and wife signed mirror wills 13 years ago means they have no value in law, the Court of Appeal ruled today. The ruling disinherits the couple’s intended heir and has left lawyers calling for a more flexible approach to probate law. ...
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Compensation awards restored to solicitors
The body that pays compensation to victims of violent crime has backed down in the face of a judicial review challenge and restored its policy of paying awards directly to solicitors. In a related development, it is also to allow legal fees to be paid out ...