All News articles – Page 1564
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News
Professional negligence litigation rise down to the unscrupulous few
Economically speaking, the law is generally thought to be a counter-cyclical profession. An increase in litigation is usually a side-effect of recession. Often, this litigation is against professionals, an obvious example being the glut of cases during the 1990s against ...
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News focus: sole practitioners face 'perfect storm'
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of the sole practitioner appear greatly exaggerated. Despite their near-universal hostility to alternative business structures, delegates at last weekend’s SPG conference in Harrogate were surprisingly upbeat about the ‘perfect storm’ they must weather. ...
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Running in the family
Law Society president Linda Lee had the unusual pleasure this week of witnessing her own daughter, Gabrielle Maria Lee, admitted to the solicitors’ roll. While it is not often that a sitting president sees their own offspring admitted, it is not unprecedented, with former president ...
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Profits rebound as legal firms slash overheads
Law firms are slowly rebuilding profitability and beginning to hire again, according to a respected annual bellwether of the sector’s financial health. Support staff numbers remain under pressure, however, and practices are bearing down heavily on non-salary overheads to boost the bottom line. ...
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If Question Time can give prisoners a voice, should government too?
You can picture the scene inside the BBC’s creative team meeting. ‘How can we boost the figures for Question Time next week?’ asks a producer, as he munches on a humus and taramasalata pitta on a bed of Guardian pullout pages. ‘Nick ...
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No go logo?
Given the rate at which the government has been slashing the legal aid budget, one could be forgiven for thinking that there are no law firms left out there offering a legal aid service. And indeed, that assumption is precisely what the Legal Action Group ...
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Hanger Sanger
When Obiter first saw this photograph of Simon Sanger-Anderson, partner at Exeter firm Tozers, he naturally assumed that the firm’s lift must have been running slow and the impatient solicitor had decided not to waste another six-minute billing unit waiting for it. But it turns ...
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Personal injury
Asbestos - Duty of care - Proximity David Brian Chandler v Cape Plc: QBD (Mr Justice Wyn Williams): 14 April 2011 The court was required to determine whether a duty ...
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Insolvency
Jurisdiction - Liquidation - Remuneration On the matter of Eurodis Electron Plc (in administration): in the matter of Eurodis Electronics Plc (in administration): in the matter of Eurodis Electronics UK Ltd (in administration): in the matter of Eurodis Electron ...
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Targeting the judiciary
I was sorry to read of the recent death of the delightful judge Ann Goddard (pictured), writes ...
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SRA urges solicitors to report rivals' malpractice
Solicitors are being urged to ring in and report any rival local firms they suspect of wrongdoing. The Solicitors Regulation Authority said doomed business plans drawn up by rogue firms are taking millions of pounds from the compensation fund, and ruining the reputation of the legal ...
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Parent residence orders and relocation
One of the most difficult decisions a family judge can be called on to make is whether to grant permission to a parent with a residence order to relocate outside the jurisdiction of England and Wales. Cheap air travel, emails, mobile phones, Facebook and Skype ...
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Conveyancers council will authorise ABSs
The Legal Services Board has approved an application for the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) to become a licensing authority for alternative business structures. With this approval, the CLC becomes the first ABS licensing authority. Its scope is limited to probate, ...
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Law Society warns health select committee over CFA reforms
The Law Society today told MPs that the government’s reforms to litigation funding will cause ‘rejoicing in the boardrooms of insurance companies’. Chief executive Desmond Hudson appeared before the Health Select Committee to tell MPs that coalition government proposals go too far. ...
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Lessons for lawyers in Northern Ireland from past lawyer ‘strikes’
Following the introduction last month of new fees for criminal legal aid work, solicitors in Northern Ireland have withdrawn their services in Crown court cases. Pearse MacDermott, executive member of the Solicitors Criminal Bar Association told the Gazette that the rates of pay for Crown court ...
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How long will ABSs last?
History has a habit of repeating itself. Why do we never learn from previous experience? There are many good things. The introduction of non-lawyers to ownership is one following years of consideration. Some other factors are, however, doubtful in my ...
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Lawyers unaware of pro bono costs orders, charity warns
Legal charities are missing out on funding because the majority of lawyers are unaware of the existence of ‘pro bono costs’ orders, research has suggested. Where a civil case is won by a lawyer providing free legal representation, under Section 194 of the Legal Services Act ...
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Ethics, the public interest and regulation
by Dr Richard Willis, a historian and published author Law Society president Linda Lee pointed out in President’s Podium that the critical importance of legal ethics must not be sidelined as the market changes – opening up to greater competition with the licensing of Alternative Business ...
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Landmark ruling on miscarriages of justice expected
Hundreds of people wrongly convicted of a serious crime will hear this week if they can make a fresh bid for compensation. Nine senior judges from the Supreme Court will decide the exact definition of a ‘miscarriage of justice’ in a landmark ruling expected tomorrow. ...
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Implications of new product placement regime for lawyers
On 28 February 2011, viewers of the This Morning breakfast show witnessed the first paid-for product placement on UK TV – the Dolce Gusto coffee machine. This cost Nescafé a reported £100,000, but what return on investment (ROI) did it generate, how was the price ...