All News articles – Page 1665
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News
If Jackson gets his way, non-commercial litigation will be a different world
That sound you can hear is claimant personal injury solicitors, claims management companies and after-the-event insurers canning their business plans and polishing their CVs. Jackson has left us with two known unknowns: will the next government implement his recommendations (let us not forget that it was ...
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Supply and demands
Your editorial ‘Future in the balance’ (7 January) told us nothing new. There has always been an imbalance between those wanting to enter the profession and those for whom there is an opening.
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Land Registry urges conveyancers to sign up to web portal
The Land Registry has urged conveyancing solicitors to sign up to access its new web portal in advance of the closure of Land Registry Direct (LRD). On 31 March, LRD, the means by which solicitors access the Land Registry’s e-business services, will be shut down and ...
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Train judges to control costs, says Jackson
Judges and lawyers involved in high-stakes commercial court disputes should be trained in costs budgeting and costs management, Lord Justice Jackson’s review of civil litigation costs has recommended. The report suggested that costs budgeting and costs management be included as part of lawyers’ CPD training, while ...
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SRA poised to relax conflict of interest rules
Law firms will be able to advise rival clients on the same deal after the Solicitors Regulation Authority laid down plans to relax conflict of interest and confidentiality rules in a shortened consultation which will close next month. The proposed rule changes being pushed through by ...
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Solicitor comparison wesite for legal fees
A new solicitor comparison website will allow consumers to compare law firm fees for the first time, the Gazette can reveal. CompareLegalSolutions.com, to be launched in March, claims it will allow consumers to compare firms on price across 90 areas of law.
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How can we help make more commercially minded lawyers?
As a non-lawyer (I refuse to use the terms fee-earner and non fee-earner, or 'fee-burner' as I heard it called recently), I find it frustrating that many lawyers lack commercial awareness, that is the ability and desire to really talk to clients...
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Family solicitors report rise in 'collaborative prenups’
Family solicitors have reported a rise in the number of clients asking for prenuptial agreements to be prepared using the collaborative law model. Suzanne Kingston, a partner at London firm Dawsons, said about 50% of the pre- and postnuptial agreements she completed last year were done ...
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Client conflict
Shamil Purohit ( letters, 7 January) defends referral fees – which are in my view indefensible.
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Withers faces investigation into contempt claims
City firm Withers faces an investigation into claims that it committed a contempt of parliament by seeking to prevent an MP from talking about one of its clients there. The Commons held an emergency debate on the matter last Thursday, and it was referred to the ...
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Jackson LJ on civil litigation costs – your views
I believe Lord Justice Jackson’s emphasis on before-the-event (BTE), and the removal of after-the-event and adverse success fees, is linked to the onset of the Legal Services Act (LSA) and the introduction of alternative business structures.
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Charities may be in for a difficult year, but there remains cause for hope
Charities may still be facing the worst effects of the recession after suffering mixed fortunes during 2009, say practitioners looking ahead to the coming year.
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LawCare helpline sees surge in solicitor calls
A charity that provides pastoral support to solicitors has recorded its busiest year to date, with a 10% rise in lawyers reporting stress and other problems. LawCare opened 549 case files last year, up 10% on 2008. Calls to the helpline were becoming ‘longer and ...
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Judgement call
I write in response to the letter from Shamil Purohit (7 January) headed ‘Wake up and smell the coffee’.
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Lawyers report upturn in takeover bid success
The proportion of takeover talks involving listed companies that end in a successful deal has almost returned to pre-credit crunch levels, research has found, signalling a greater confidence in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market as lawyers succeed in driving deals through. A failure rate for ...
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What is the real motive behind defamation costs reform?
Lord Justice Jackson published his review on civil costs on 14 January, recommending the abolition of success fees and after-the-event insurance in all civil cases where conditional fee agreements (CFAs) were used.
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Costs regime bad for environment
The UK’s ‘shabby and mean-spirited’ costs regime has halted more than half the cases referred for judicial review by an environmental charity, a report has revealed. The Environmental Law Foundation (ELF), a charity that helps people use the law to protect and improve their surroundings, said ...
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Vein attempt
Lawyers are often portrayed as bloodsuckers, so it is nice to hear of one solicitor who has been doing her best to reverse that perception. Helen-Marie Tobin at London’s PSP Law has been splashed across the local press after making more than 100 blood donations and receiving a prize from ...
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Claimant personal injury lawyers angry over Jackson review
Furious claimant personal injury (PI) lawyers have accused Lord Justice Jackson of bowing to the defendant insurance lobby with his radical proposals to cut the costs of litigation, which they say will also reduce access to justice.
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Family justice review aims to foster positive relationships’
The government was expected to launch a ‘family justice review’ as the Gazette went to press to consider how family courts can take a more ‘positive’ role in proceedings. The review will coincide with the publication of a ‘family green paper’ offering greater support for separating ...