All News articles – Page 1523
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News
Supreme Court rules on miscarriages of justice
A Supreme Court ruling that widens the definition of a miscarriage of justice has been hailed as a step in the right direction by campaigners. Judges ruled this week that victims of a miscarriage of justice did not have to prove their innocence to receive compensation. ...
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Society issues warning over EU-wide contract law
A proposed new system of contract law that will apply to all 28 member states of the European Union risks adding ‘cost and confusion’ for legislators and businesses, the Law Society has warned. The European Commission (EC) is to push ahead with legislative proposals for an ...
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Make Registry records strictly confidential
It seems that every other piece of paper I read these days warns me of the increasing incidence of identity theft. According to a CPD conveyancing course I attended last month, mortgage and other frauds involving the Land Registry are running at record levels. ...
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Our overhaul of client financial protection is key to long-term sustainability
It is little surprise that our recent announcement about the overhaul of client financial protection arrangements has attracted much interest and debate in the media and among clients, practitioners and insurers. Last month, following extensive engagement and consultation, we announced a staged approach to ...
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Civil procedure
Administration of justice - Delay - Judgments and orders Grahame Henry Bond v (1) Dunster Properties Ltd (2) Dunster Holdings Ltd (3) Grahame Miles James Bond: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, Lady Justice Arden, Lord Justice Longmore): ...
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Mixed reaction to Theresa May's charging switch
Criminal law solicitors have given a cautious welcome to the home secretary’s decision to transfer charging powers from the Crown Prosecution Service to the police. Earlier this week, Theresa May outlined plans for what she called a ‘radical leap forward in policing’, aimed at reducing bureaucracy ...
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Claim caveat
Due to the imminent closure of our local court, claims sent there for issuing are forwarded to Salford Business Centre for processing. I do not have a problem with this, as the case file stays with the local court. It is merely the issuing of ...
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Case management
The decision in R (Firth) v Epping Magistrates’ Court [2011] EWHC 388 (Admin) will, in a number of cases, make it difficult for solicitors to assist the court in case management following a ‘not guilty’ plea. Ms Firth was arrested for common assault and entered ...
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Calendar cover up
It may be more than seven years since Helen Mirren and Julie Walters starred in the hit comedy Calendar Girls, but it is, it seems, the format that never dies. Solicitors at Black Country firm Waldrons are clearly fans of the film, having recently won ...
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New guidelines bring in tougher sentences for burglars
Burglars will face tougher sentences with the impact on their victims at the heart of the process under proposals published today by the Sentencing Council. The draft guidelines, which cover the offences of domestic burglary, non-domestic burglary and aggravated burglary, introduce a single framework for Crown ...
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Wragge & Co reports turnover boost
Birmingham firm Wragge & Co says it has emerged from tough times intact and with rising profits. The international company has posted a 16% rise in turnover for 2010/11, to £112m. Core areas, including corporate, banking and finance, intellectual property, real estate, ...
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Pro bono lessons
I read with interest your leader. You are right to point out that reducing and, in some cases, removing public funding from legal services may create a pro bono default position. That said, the educational and social justice agendas involved in ...
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Insurer blames personal injury solicitors for whiplash claims
A leading UK insurer has blamed claimant personal injury solicitors for a rise in whiplash claims despite a fall in the number of collisions. Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, also suggested that law firms are partly responsible for spiralling motor insurance premiums. The Law Society has hit back at ...
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Comparisons between doctors and lawyers are outdated
by Beth Wanono, the outgoing Law Society Council member for students and trainees Jonathan Goldsmith drew an analogy between lawyers and doctors in his optimistic piece ‘Solicitors pass medical’.
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Sex discrimination case begins
A woman solicitor who alleges that her boss remarked she had ‘all the traits of a blonde’ and should find herself a rich husband has begun tribunal proceedings for sexual discrimination and unfair dismissal. Kate Welch, who worked at Birkenhead firm Nadim Associates from 1 July ...
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Lady Justice Hallett could become the first woman lord chief justice
Lady Justice Hallett’s handling of the London bombing inquests has done her chances of becoming the next lord chief justice no harm at all. There isn’t a vacancy, of course, and Lord Judge, who celebrates his 70th birthday next week, is on excellent form. ...
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Charges plans hardly take justice from Silent Witness back to Life On Mars
As Gazette online reported on Monday, the home secretary has announced plans for the power to decide charges for those suspected of crimes to be passed from the Crown Prosecution Service to the police in 80% of cases. Such plans, we are told, will save ...
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Fixed fees could spark legal aid 'exodus', says top family lawyer
A leading family lawyer has warned that the new fixed fees regime for private family cases, which came into force this week, could lead to a ‘significant exodus’ of firms from family legal aid. Christina Blacklaws, Law Society Council member for child care, said the ...
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NI solicitors withdraw services over legal aid dispute
Criminal solicitors in Northern Ireland have withdrawn their services in Crown court cases in a dispute over legal aid fees. Their action follows the introduction of a payment regime that solicitors say cuts the fees paid for Crown court work by 54% in real terms. ...
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Solicitors from Hell to face legal action
The Law Society is set to launch legal proceedings against the owner of Solicitors from Hell, the website that blacklists law firms and solicitors. Chancery Lane will seek two injunctions against the site and its owner Rick Kordowski: one on behalf of solicitors and firms named ...