All News articles – Page 1542
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News
Motor insurers 'should reveal referral fee arrangements'
Motor insurers should publish on their websites the names of law firms with which they have referral fee arrangements, and indicate the level of fees paid, a House of Commons inquiry recommended last week. Policyholders should be sent this information with their insurance documents, and when ...
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‘Head in the sand’ approach is costly
I find the Legal Services Commission’s assertions that defendants have been assessed as able to pay and that delays are caused by forms having to be returned disingenuous. Just because the LSC has assessed that defendants should contribute 90% of their income does not mean ...
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Polishing the angels
When I tell people I am writing about organised crime down under, they often say ‘I didn’t know there was any’, writes James Morton. Oh, but there is. A big gangland war in Melbourne is coming to an end, mainly because there is only one man left standing. In the ...
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Conveyancing firms alerted over CQS 'risk consultants'
The Law Society has warned conveyancing firms seeking to join its Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) not to incur unnecessary costs by hiring unauthorised risk and compliance consultants to help with their applications. The CQS has received 633 applications from firms since the scheme’s launch in January ...
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Making our voices heard on legal aid
As we await the government’s response to submissions received on its legal aid green paper, I would like to express my thanks to all of you who took the time to write to government to express your views on this important issue. I know that not ...
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Family lawyers face up to challenges ahead
Family law is facing an unprecedented year of change, with practitioners under intense pressure to be innovative if they want to maintain the viability of their practices. Some family law departments are already downsizing, or are being closed, as experienced practitioners move firms or set ...
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News
Taking offence at the aggressive LSC
Solicitors who allege that their clients are suffering ‘aggressive enforcement’ by the Legal Services Commission’s debt collectors should refer to section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970. A person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed, they harass him with ...
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News
UK Border Agency and proposals to change immigration rules
On 16 February, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) released a Statement of Intent detailing proposals to change the eligibility criteria for the Points-Based System (PBS) Tier 2 migrants and the operation of permanent limits on certain Tier 2 applications. Additionally proposals to change the criteria ...
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News
Hudson issues warning on ABS crime risk
The Solicitors Regulation Authority must ensure that solicitors do not end up picking up the bill for inappropriate claims on the compensation fund made by alternative business structures, the Law Society chief executive said this week. Desmond Hudson (pictured) also warned that the SRA’s proposed rules ...
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News
Solicitors warned about website clones
Lawyers are being warned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to keep a regular watch on their websites in order to foil 'cloning' criminals. With just minor changes to a solicitor’s website – such as an almost unnoticeable change of name or contact details – internet fraudsters ...
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News
Don't worry about swear fees
I cannot agree with R M Napier . The reality is that swearing documents is now an anachronistic process that should be consigned to the dustbin of legal history. Few documents now need to be sworn and, where they do, it serves little purpose and is very inconvenient for ...
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News
Legal aid cuts 'to hit 150,000 more'
The government has underestimated the number of people who will be denied legal aid funding because of its reforms by more than 150,000, according to research published today by campaign body the Legal Action Group. LAG said the government’s prediction that 502,000 people would lose access ...
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News
High Court dismisses LSC bid to recoup £100,000
The High Court has dismissed an attempt by the Legal Services Commission to recover more than £100,000 of payments on account (PoA) to a barrister, ruling that the LSC’s delay of almost 20 years in starting the action was an abuse of process. The LSC had ...
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News
Time to challenge councils on mental health
‘I don't believe it!’ That was Victor Meldrew’s signature catchphrase. The irascible character played by Richard Wilson in the BBC sitcom One Foot in the Grave was, I concede, a past master at baffled indignation, but he was a mere tyro compared with me when ...
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Damages awarded in first UK Twitter libel action
A Welsh councillor has been ordered to pay damages in what is believed to be the first libel action resulting from comments posted on Twitter. The High Court in Cardiff last week ordered Caerphilly councillor Colin Elsbury to pay £3,000 in damages, after he used the ...
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Asbestos compensation judgment has profound implications
Following a groundbreaking move by the Supreme Court, in which the family of Dianne Willmore, who died of mesothelioma after she was exposed to asbestos, were found to be entitled to £240,000 compensation, Peter Bennett, partner at Dolmans, explores the implications of the judgment for victims of asbestos and for ...
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News
Transport committee calls for referral arrangements to be published
Motor insurers should publish on their websites the names of law firms with which they have referral fee arrangements, and indicate the level of fees paid, a House of Commons inquiry has recommended. Policyholders should be sent this information with their insurance documents, and when claims ...
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News
Liberal Democrats call for legal aid impact assessments
Liberal Democrats have called for a properly funded legal aid system to be protected, as the government considers the responses to its controversial reform proposals. At their annual spring conference, the coalition partners backed plans to protect access to justice for the most vulnerable by ensuring ...
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High time to investigate insurer delay
As the Ministry of Justice wades through stakeholders' views on proposed reforms to civil litigation, there is an imperative to investigate the critical, yet largely undocumented issue, of defendant behaviour in the personal injury claims process. So far, the debate about rising costs and delays has focused solely on claimant ...
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Ruling ‘sets precedent for thousands of asbestos cases’
A person exposed to even tiny amounts of asbestos who then contracts mesothelioma can claim compensation from those who caused the exposure, the Supreme Court has ruled. In Sienkiewicz v Greif and Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council v Willmore, all seven judges agreed that unless reasonable steps ...