All News articles – Page 1509
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News
CPS to go paperless by April, says Starmer
The Director of Public Prosecutions has committed to making the Crown Prosecution Service entirely digital by April 2012. Keir Starmer QC told a Law Society seminar that the criminal justice system needs to move away from a paper-based system and transform the way criminal cases are ...
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Clarke to consult on competitive tendering
The justice secretary has confirmed that the government will publish a consultation on the introduction of competitive tendering for criminal defence services this year. In a letter to the Bar Council chair Peter Lodder QC, Kenneth Clarke sets out the government’s intention to press ahead with ...
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Premier Property Lawyers becomes first firm to register as an ABS
Premier Property Lawyers (PPL) has become the first firm to register as an alternative business structure, taking advantage of the new rules that came into force today. The Leicester-based firm provides the conveyancing service for myhomemove and is one of the largest conveyancing firms in the ...
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Advocacy accreditation scheme back on track
Plans to introduce the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) are back on track. The Ministry of Justice and Legal Services Commission yesterday confirmed that Crown court advocacy fees for publicly funded criminal cases will not be linked to the level of accreditation gained under the new scheme.
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The SRA is adamant that ‘outcomes-focused’ does not mean ‘light-touch’
‘Principles-based regulation will sustain the current, rigorous regulatory environment, but with better and more effective outcomes.’ No, that’s not what the SRA says about today’s implementation of outcomes-focused regulation - but what the Financial Services Authority said about its own switch to an ‘outcome-focused’ compliance ...
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Number of ARP entrants slumps
Some 53 firms entered the assigned risks pool (ARP) after failing to secure professional indemnity insurance in this year’s renewal round, provisional figures have revealed. The figure is well down on the 411 which applied to enter the pool at the same stage in 2010. ...
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Fatal attraction
One of the saddest stories I ever heard about a lawyer in love was that of New Zealander Gary Alderdice - known as ‘Never Plead Guilty Gary’. After the collapse of his marriage in the 1990s, the Hong Kong-based Alderdice started making trips on the hydrofoil to neighbouring Macau (pictured). ...
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News
Fatal attraction
One of the saddest stories I ever heard about a lawyer in love was that of New Zealander Gary Alderdice - known as ‘Never Plead Guilty Gary’. After the collapse of his marriage in the 1990s, the Hong Kong-based Alderdice started making trips on the hydrofoil to neighbouring Macau (pictured). ...
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News
Fatal attraction
One of the saddest stories I ever heard about a lawyer in love was that of New Zealander Gary Alderdice - known as ‘Never Plead Guilty Gary’. After the collapse of his marriage in the 1990s, the Hong Kong-based Alderdice started making trips on the hydrofoil to neighbouring Macau (pictured). ...
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SRA is not balanced
I read with great concern the article by Gregory Treverton-Jones QC and have the following observations. There should be a cause of action against the SRA for negligence in publishing unproven allegations which are subsequently shown to be unprovable (that is, where the solicitor wins the ...
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Libel report calls for cap on hourly rates
Lawyers’ hourly rates in libel cases should be capped so that the cost of defending a libel action does not inhibit free speech or give the wealthier of the two parties an unfair advantage, the Libel Reform Campaign urges in a report published today. The report ...
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News
High Court hears LSC contracts challenge
The High Court has heard a legal challenge against the Legal Services Commission’s decision not to award a contract to a community care solicitor. Yvonne Hossack (pictured), a sole practitioner at Kettering firm Hossacks, sought a judicial review after she failed to win any contracts in ...
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News
Figuring out CLAF
I was interested to read the article by Jon Robins regarding a contingency legal aid fund (CLAF). Robins quoted what former shadow justice minister Henry Bellingham said about the idea of a CLAF. I was in fact the person who put the idea to Bellingham - and the exact words ...
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A new type of client
I am sure the Legal Ombudsman has lots of statistics to support his recently reported statement: ‘People seem to be largely intimidated and in awe of their lawyers and are uncomfortable about challenging them about their legal expenses, which in some cases have increased for no good reason.’ ...
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DPAs will provide effective tool for combating corporate crime
by Edward Garnier QC MP, solicitor general Prosecuting serious and complex economic crime in the UK is difficult. Investigations and prosecutions are long, expensive and resource-intensive. Too few companies are ever held to account for their crimes.
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Competition
European Union - Cartel offence Lucite International Ltd and another v European Commission: General Court of the European Union (Fourth Chamber) (Judges Forwood, President, Labucka (Rapporteur) and O'Higgins): 15 September 2011 ...
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News
Five lessons from Tory Conference
Cats and credit cards may have dominated the news agenda, but legal issues were still big talking points behind the scenes. So what did we find out from the Manchester shindig? 1) The Tories are not for turning.