All News articles – Page 1703
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News
Conveyancing solicitors face higher bank charges over Registry portal
Conveyancing solicitors will face higher bank charges as a result of the Land Registry’s new electronic portal. On 31 March, Land Registry Direct, the means by which solicitors access the Land Registry’s e-business services, will be replaced by a new electronic platform. ...
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Website for blacklisted solicitors plans expansion
A website that blacklists solicitors and law firms is set to expand its capacity, with the number of visitors to the site now exceeding 1,000 a day, its owner claimed this week. Rick Kordowski, who runs solicitorsfromhell.co.uk, told the Gazette that he plans to expand the ...
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Watching brief
Readers may recall that Obiter recently reviewed the BBC’s entertaining 18th century courtroom drama, Garrow’s Law. The pioneering and passionate hero William Garrow made great strides in respect of the rights of defendants, coining the term ‘innocent until proven guilty’, and driving through the principle that defendants should have legal ...
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Trial bundles: why they are important and how to get them right
A well-prepared trial bundle, available in good time, gives you an advantage in negotiations and the prospect of making a favourable impression on the court. Let us consider paragraph 3 of the practice direction to Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) rule 39 for civil cases and the ...
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Firms feel the burden of SRA regulation
More than three-quarters of firms think the regulatory burden imposed on them by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority is excessive, research commissioned by the Law Society has shown. However, the study showed a high level of satisfaction with the SRA’s ethics helpline, and an understanding ...
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Probate: revocation of will by subsequent formation of civil partnership
Revocation of will by subsequent formation of civil partnership: Court and Others v Despallieres [2009] EWHC 3340 (Ch).Section 18B (1) of the Wills Act 1837 contains provisions with regard to the revocation of a prior will by the formation of a civil partnership, which parallel those contained in section 18 ...
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Firm launches website for 'undersettled’ coal miner compensation claims
A Yorkshire firm has set up a new website to gather claims from former coal miners who believe that solicitors undersettled their original government compensation claims. The site, Minerscompensationclaims.com, was launched in December by nine-partner firm Jordans. The website aims to gather previously settled claims from ...
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MPs condemn 'serial litigant’ website
A website set up by an employment solicitor to enable lawyers to identify ‘serial litigants’ in employment cases has been ‘condemned’ in a parliamentary early day motion (EDM) signed by more than 40 MPs. The website, serial-litigants.com, uses records ...
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Conflicting interests
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is consulting upon relaxing the rules on conflicts of interest for solicitors (see [2010] Gazette, 21 January).
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Recession fears leaves corporate and property lawyers overstretched
Corporate and property lawyers are being overstretched as firms remain fearful of a double-dip recession and refuse to recruit new staff to deal with an upturn in work, the Gazette has learned. At a national meeting of the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD), which represents lawyers from ...
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Criminal procedure
Bail – Legitimate expectation – Reasonableness – Crown Prosecution Service R (on the application of Burns) (claimant) v Woolwich Crown Court (defendant) & Crown Prosecution Service (interested party): DC (Lord Justice Aikens, Mr Justice Openshaw): 14 January 2010 ...
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Vietnamese lawyer escapes death sentence
A Vietnamese lawyer who acts as a consultant for a magic circle firm has been found guilty of activities aimed at ending communist rule, but his death sentence has been commuted to five years’ imprisonment. Le Cong Dinh was charged with activities including posting articles ...
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Plumbing depths
In the months since Home Information Packs (HIPs) were introduced, we at the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors have seen and are still seeing alarmingly poor quality in all aspects of building work which requires notification.
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Web entrepreneurs entitled to target serial litigants
Early day motions (EDMs), formal motions submitted in principle for debate in the House of Commons, can sometimes lack gravity as well as credibility. MPs have in the past seen fit to spend your money extolling the virtues of Dolly Parton’s oeuvre and the quality of Stornoway’s black pudding. Not ...
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Unlevel playing field
Lord Justice Jackson is to be applauded for bringing forward proposals which will so clearly reduce the cost of litigation by providing a cap on success fees, non-recoverability of after-the-event insurance premiums, and fixed fees across the fast-track.
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Jackson’s final report has sent shockwaves through the industry
The weekend after Lord Justice Jackson published his final report on civil litigation costs, says Simon Gibbs, would have seen many of those working in the costs industry updating their CVs.
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Top US firms plan London push
Top US firms are planning to expand in London in 2010, with trainee, associate and partner positions expected to be up for grabs over the course of the year. White & Case will bring in between 25 and 30 new associates in London this year, London ...
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Human rights
Delay – Detention – Parole – Prisoners’ rights Ian Gray v (1) Secretary of State for Justice (2) Parole Board: QBD (Admin) (Mr Justice Burnett): 11 January 2010 The claimant ...
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Personal injury
Breach of duty of care – Contributory negligence – Driving – Police officers Michael H v Thames Valley Police: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Justice Pill, Lady Justice Arden, Lady Justice Smith): 14 January 2010 ...
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Memory lane
Law Society’s Gazette, January 1970 The Piccadilly Ball, 1969The festive spirit (was) with us once more, even percolating ...