All News articles – Page 1653
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News
The MoJ’s structural reform plan replaces targets with timetables
At last, we have some idea of what the Ministry of Justice is planning to do during the coming months. It was one of the first departments to publish its so-called structural reform plan, setting out how it will implement the coalition agreement. We can gloss ...
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The yoke's on you
Is there, Obiter sometimes wonders, a genetic imperative encoded into the DNA of every solicitor, that makes them physically unable to allow any error to slip past uncorrected? It is, no doubt, this unrelenting quest for accuracy – rather than any desire to make mischief – that prompted Neil Howlett, ...
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Justice Committee announces inquiry into family law
The House of Commons Justice Committee has announced an inquiry into the operation of the family courts. It has called for written evidence addressing four issues: the effect of CAFCASS’s (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) operations on court proceedings; the impact on court ...
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CPS case preparation ‘neglected’, chief inspector’s report finds
‘Initiative overload’ has caused case preparation at the Crown Prosecution Service to be ‘neglected to an acceptable degree’, according to the annual report from the organisation’s chief inspector. Published this week, the report covers the performance of the CPS from April 2009 to March 2010. ...
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Butler-Sloss calls for focus on children
A former president of the Family Division has called on the government to cut the number of children in custody and safeguard access to justice in child welfare cases. Delivering the Law Society’s first Henry Hodge memorial lecture last night, Lady Butler-Sloss said too many children ...
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The role of coaching in law firms
How do we get the best performance from our lawyers? By using a coaching style of leadership and management. I do not set out a complete argument for choosing coaching below, but I proceed on the assumption that you are not happy with your present management style and feel something ...
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Contract law: this summer’s essential beach reading from the EC
A sure sign of the beginning of the summer, as fixed as hot weather and crowded airports, is the publication by the European Commission of an important consultation document. They clear their desks before packing their bags, and woe to the rest of us who want to enjoy the summer. ...
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How to cross the TUPE minefield
The transfer of undertakings minefield should not be allowed to obliterate new business opportunities. Gordon Turner offers guidance how to cross it safely
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Legal aid budget to be slashed by half a billion
Justice secretary Ken Clarke is expected to submit plans to the Treasury today that will slash the £2.1bn legal aid budget by a quarter. The huge cut of half a billion pounds is a response to chancellor George Osborne’s demands for sweeping cuts to be made ...
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Morale has never been lower in legal aid
Over the last couple of years covering legal aid for the Gazette, I have got used to writing stories of the doom and gloom facing lawyers and their clients, as fees are cut and bureaucracy increased.
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Firms that fail to pay ARP premium will face closure
Firms in the assigned risks pool that have not paid their premiums by October will be closed down, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said today as it unveiled a tough new enforcement programme to clamp down on ‘financially unstable’ firms in the pool. The SRA said that ...
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News
ABI demands tougher indemnity terms
Insurers must be given better access to solicitors’ disciplinary histories before granting them indemnity cover, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said this week. Outlining proposals for reform of the professional indemnity insurance (PII) market submitted to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the ABI said insurers want ...
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News
Research casts doubt on notion ABSs will trigger mass closures
One day, an enterprising author will write a novel after James Herriot, chronicling the exploits of a peripatetic solicitor travelling up hill and down dale to visit immobile clients in all weathers. A fanciful notion, perhaps – but Oxera’s report for the Law Society about the impact of ABSs on ...
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Small firms will be ‘resilient’ in the face of ABSs
Small law firms are likely to be ‘resilient’ to the impact of alternative business structures, research has suggested. A report by consultants Oxera, commissioned by the Law Society, also concluded that ABSs are unlikely to be detrimental to geographic access to justice for consumers. ...
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Legal aid is under threat across Europe and it is time to fight to save it
Let’s be honest. You are not going to plough your way through the 657 pages of the newly published Effective Criminal Defence in Europe, nor even the more accessible 30-page summary. However, you should know what you have missed. These reports have important lessons relevant to the upcoming battle for ...
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Legal aid firms suffer LSC payment blow
The Legal Services Commission has dealt a further blow to legal aid firms by reducing the financial help it gives to firms while they wait for their bills to be paid by the commission. The LSC said it has had to reduce the amount of ...
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Companies ‘complacent’ on anti-corruption measures
Companies have failed to invest in anti-corruption schemes ahead of legislation that will punish domestic and foreign bribery, research has shown. More than three-quarters of companies have not invested any money in anti-corruption strategies, and only 12% have spent more than £500 on preparing for the ...
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Family law: Barder appeals – recent developments
There has recently been a series of Barder appeals, all based upon a significant change in the value of an asset soon after the final order was made. None of them have succeeded. As Thorpe LJ stated in Myerson v Myerson [2009] EWCA Civ 282, ‘very few successful applications have ...
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AWS extends awards deadline
The deadline for entering the Association of Women Solicitors awards 2010 has been extended by one week to Friday 23 July. The seven categories are: best woman solicitor retaining and developing legal talent; and best woman solicitor managing a large practice, medium-sized practice, small practice, legal aid practice, probate ...