All News articles – Page 1562
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News
Doing a disservice
Mr Digby-Bell is entitled to his opinions, which he is rarely slow to publicise. In doing so in his letter without a word in advance or participation in the council’s debates, he belittles the considerable efforts of the Law Society and its president in fighting for access to justice and ...
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Profession’s growth 'defies gravity’, SRA figures show
The number of practising solicitors in England and Wales has risen sharply to more than 120,000, with their ranks growing at an accelerated rate despite the economic pressures faced by the profession, the latest figures have shown. One leading industry commentator claimed that the rise ...
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Dishonest dealings and tax
I read an article in a Sunday newspaper entitled ‘Self-employed? Make extra money from the VAT rise’. I am perplexed because, while I understand that in the current economic climate it is good to have incentives for smaller businesses, this incentive appears to be, prima facie, dishonest.
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Present danger
Over the Christmas period, many readers will have faced the challenge of having to respond graciously after unwrapping a truly hideous present, such as a reindeer-emblazoned jumper from the in-laws. But how to respond when one cannot even tell what the item actually is? This dilemma was apparently faced by ...
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EU contract law plea
The expert group tasked with advising the European Commission on EU-wide changes to contract law should have more input from English law practitioners, the Law Society said this week. Society chief executive Desmond Hudson expressed concern that the panel is currently made up primarily of academics ...
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Company law
Share valuation – Unlawful distribution of capital Progress Property Co Ltd v Moorgarth Group Ltd: Sup Ct (Lords Phillips (President), Walker, Mance, Collins, Clarke): 8 December 2010 The appellant company ...
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Family lawyers hail new code
Family lawyers have welcomed last week’s publication of the long-awaited Family Procedure Rules 2010, which will come into force on 6 April. The new code, published by the Ministry of Justice, provides a single set of rules for proceedings in the magistrates’ court, county court and ...
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The current practice of investigating deaths must be challenged
In 2009, 22% of all deaths in England and Wales underwent autopsy on the instruction of coroners – one of the highest rates of medico-legal autopsy in the world. The fundamental review of death certification and investigation reported that the autopsy rate was between double and triple the rates of ...
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Premature call on RTA claims process
I write to comment on the item: ‘FOIL president: cut claimant lawyer fees’
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Burger deal, fashion buy, road-building initiative, new listing
Burger buy: Reading firm Pitmans advised restaurant operator Zing Leisure on acquiring three Burger King restaurants in London for an undisclosed sum. Burger King was advised by its in-house team.
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'Boom-bust’ warning for top commercial firms
Top commercial law firms must become more flexible and less reactive to cope with the boom-bust pattern of global markets over the next 10 years, a report by consultants Jomati has suggested. Introducing variable rather than fixed costs, creating links with legal process outsourcers (LPOs), and ...
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The benefits of joining the residential conveyancing scheme
Despite the challenges from licensed conveyancers, it is believed that between 85% and 90% of the conveyancing market are solicitors. However, it is hard to tell how accurate this figure is. Of only 600,000-800,000 transactions last year (which includes remortgages), the largest Land Registry users include Enact and My Home ...
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Has Nick Clegg been 'mugged by reality' on control orders?
Will the government abolish control orders? Or are unconvicted terrorist suspects still going to have their movements and contacts restricted under these much-criticised ‘gag and tag’ orders? ‘Control orders cannot continue in their current form,’ insisted the deputy prime minister last week. ‘They must be replaced.’ ...
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Barrister Billy: quick on the draw
Back in the 1960s and 70s, in a hopeless case – for example, if the defendant refused to plead guilty to bank robbery even though he had been photographed inside the bank, had three identifying witnesses, and was found with the money stuffed behind his fireplace and had made a ...
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MoJ favours ban on cash inducements
Claims farmers would be banned from offering cash inducements and other benefits to the public, under proposals put forward by the Ministry of Justice in a consultation paper. In a move to implement one of Lord Young of Graffham’s recommendations in his October report on the ...
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Probate update: RSPCA appeals
What an exciting month December was. We got decisions in the two big RSPCA appeals. In Gill v RSPCA [2009] EWHC 2990 (Ch), at first instance the court held that the will which disinherited Mrs Gill’s only daughter, leaving everything to the RSPCA, was invalid. It ...
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An important appeal court judgment relating to contact orders
The decision of the Court of Appeal in the matter of L-W Children [2010] EWCA Civ 1253 has surprised many people. Some have probably used even stronger language. It is probably best if, in this article, I concentrate on analysis and practicalities. ...
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Join the new legal aid LinkedIn group
The Gazette and the Law Society launched a joint LinkedIn group specifically for legal aid solicitors this week. The group will be the leading forum for discussion of legal aid topics, and will help the Society’s legal aid team gather input from solicitors to inform next ...
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News
Calls to rethink telephone gateway for civil legal aid
The Law Society and other representative groups have called for a ‘fundamental rethink’ of ‘radical’ government proposals to introduce a telephone gateway for all civil legal aid services. The impact assessments published with the government’s recent legal aid green paper estimate that the introduction of a ...
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Website pioneers advice auction
A Cheshire solicitor has launched a website giving legal advice over the internet to members of the public, who can decide how much they want to pay for it. The site, www.expert-answers.co.uk, was created by property partner James Mather at Ellesmere Port firm Berkson Wallace.