All News articles – Page 1474
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News
Fixed fees to be 'renegotiated’ after referral ban
Claimant lawyers’ legal fees under the Road Traffic Accident portal scheme will have to be renegotiated as a result of the forthcoming ban on referral fees, the Ministry of Justice confirmed to the Gazette today. An MoJ spokesman said the fees, which were calculated including an ...
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Pannone may spin off Affinity
Manchester firm Pannone may spin off its white label legal services arm when alternative business structures are permitted and allow companies using the service to invest and share profits in the business. Pannone launched Affinity Solutions in May, providing a ‘seamless’ consumer law service to non-legal ...
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Abuse of process
Striking out Action - Claimant bringing claim against defendant for collective enfranchisement Westbrook Dolphin Square Ltd v Friends Provident Life and Pensions Ltd: ChD (Mr Justice Arnold): 14 September 2011 ...
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Abuse of process
Striking out Action - Claimant bringing claim against defendant for collective enfranchisement Westbrook Dolphin Square Ltd v Friends Provident Life and Pensions Ltd: ChD (Mr Justice Arnold): 14 September 2011 ...
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City law firms cool on ABSs
City law firms do not generally see alternative business structures as attractive, because they are reluctant to cede control of the firm to source external funding that they do not need. This is one conclusion of the first of a series of studies looking at ...
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Hanging about
It’s easy - just don’t look down! That was Obiter’s advice to the brave folk from US firm Reed Smith who, along with paralympic wheelchair racing hopeful Nikki Emerson, abseiled 540 feet from the top of the Broadgate Tower, City of London. They helped the ...
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Income rises at top 100 but ‘nervousness’ remains
Fee income at the UK’s top 100 law firms increased by 4% in the first quarter of the financial year compared with the same period in 2010, according to figures from Deloitte. But the business advisory firm warned that the figures mask continuing weakness in the ...
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Watchdog’s warning on trading standards
Deep funding cuts to Trading Standards could see legal services neglected and leave consumers exposed to rogue operators, watchdog the Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned. The ‘level of detriment’ that could result and the impact on consumer confidence would make savings from slashing funding ...
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India's legal market set for reform
India’s £2.6bn legal services market moved a step closer to full liberalisation this week when professional bodies agreed a 'road map' for reform. Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke, the Law Society and the Bar Council spent three days in Delhi speaking with Indian lawyers, ministers and officials, ...
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Cohabitants should have scope for financial redress, says Chancery Lane
The Law Society has called for legislation to provide financial redress for cohabiting couples in the event of relationship breakdown. President John Wotton expressed disappointment at the government’s refusal to consider changing the law to protect cohabitants in the current parliamentary session. ...
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Greenwich law centre on the brink
Greenwich Community Law Centre is facing closure after the local council axed its funding. The London borough’s cabinet decided last week to discontinue an annual grant of nearly £200,000. Cash will instead be set aside for the provision of legal advice by Citizens Advice, Greenwich Housing ...
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Chancery Lane criticises bar’s ‘special pleading’
The Law Society has voiced concern about the Criminal Bar Association’s intention to approach the judiciary with its fears about the controversial Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA). A Law Society spokesman said: ‘It is surprising that the bar should seek to involve the senior judiciary ...
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‘First credible framework’ to analyse legal market
The Legal Services Board today unveiled what it described as the ‘first credible framework’ to analyse the changing legal services market. Consultancy Oxera was commissioned to help the board evaluate the impact of the Legal Services Act 2007 and the LSB itself. Its approach considers the ...
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High street should embrace ABSs, says regulator
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has urged high street firms to be proactive and take advantage of opportunities presented by alternative business structures. The regulator’s executive director of supervision, risks and standards, Samantha Barrass, said the SRA hopes to start registering ABSs in December. ...
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Right to a lawyer: UK’s wrecking proposal
The debate on the European Unions’s proposed directive on the right to a lawyer at all stages of criminal proceedings is hotting up. The Gazette covered the recent parliamentary motion tabled by the government where the justice secretary recommended that the UK opt out of the draft directive. The motion ...
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New M&A support service for law firms launches
360 Legal Group, which has over 700 UK law firm members, has joined forces with legal recruiters Jepson Holt Consulting to launch new venture 360 Jepson Holt. The latter will offer what it claims to be the first comprehensive legal M&A support service, from pre-merger assessment ...
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Implementing Jackson - who’s making the decisions?
As the legislation to implement Lord Justice Jackson’s reforms of civil litigation costs negotiates its passage through parliament, work on the implementation of the changes continues apace. There have been rumblings from claimant lawyers that Jackson’s 10% increase in general damages - designed to compensate for ...
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Solicitors can take technology into police custody areas
Solicitors have been given permission to take mobile phones and laptop computers into police custody areas, under an agreement reached between the Law Society and Association of Chief Police Officers. New guidance adopted by all forces in England and Wales provides that: ‘Unless there is good ...
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Barristers get green light to take ‘direct action’
The Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association believe it would be lawful for them to take direct action to protect members’ interests, it has emerged.
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Dowler family urges PM to halt ‘no win, no fee’ reforms
The family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler has written to David Cameron urging him to block ‘unjust and unfair’ civil justice reforms. In an open letter to the prime minister and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, the family said the reforms would ‘significantly weaken’ the ‘no ...