All News articles – Page 1736
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News
Hunt to recommend pre-emptive role for the SRA
The review of legal regulation commissioned by the Law Society is likely to recommend that the Solicitors Regulation Authority carry out more pre-emptive and advisory visits to firms, especially those deemed to be ‘at risk’, its author has revealed. Lord Hunt of Wirral , the man ...
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PII working group
I would like to express my disappointment that the recent article headed ‘PII premiums to rise, crisis group warns’ used the word ‘crisis’ to describe the situation and the purpose of the group...
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First impressions
Kevin Beach acknowledges that it is ‘a long time since I practised criminal law’ (see [2009] Gazette, 17 April, 9). This comment is unlikely to inspire confidence in readers seeking to derive an informed judgement on the abilities of associate prosecutors.
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Keep it in the family
A father and son team of solicitor advocates is poised to take on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) this week. John (the father) and William (the son) Mackenzie represent Lance Bombardier Kerry Fletcher, who was awarded over £170,000 damages by Leeds Employment Tribunal last autumn for sex and sexual-orientation discrimination ...
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Work out what pricing means or expect to go under
‘Most lawyers haven’t got a clue about pricing – no other industry in the world can do "cost-plus", and now neither can law firms. We’ve got to start training lawyers to estimate pricing.’
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Which? enters online wills market
Which? Legal Service is entering the wills market in a tie-up with law firm Blake Lapthorn. The service uses an online questionnaire which takes customers through 1,500 questions tailored to individual needs. Once the questionnaire is completed, a solicitor at ...
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Manifold delights of Italian wine
Alfresco eating in the garden, balmy nights watching the football season play out its final act, firing up the barbecue and the excitement of four months of parties, festivals and cricket – can it really be happening? Has summer finally arrived? It may be a little ...
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Lukewarm defence
The defence by Barry Hughes, chief Crown prosecutor, London, of his associate prosecutors can be described as lukewarm at best (see [2009] Gazette, 9 April, 9).
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Solicitors debate referral fees
Solicitors are ‘crap at marketing’ and need claims management companies (CMCs) to fill the gap, a delegate told the APIL conference. A debate, ‘Referral fees and advertising – is it too late to put the genie back in the bottle?’, chaired by TV presenter John Stapleton (pictured), aroused strong passions.
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Law Society complains over judge’s remarks on solicitor-advocates
The Law Society has made an official complaint over what it says were ‘inappropriate comments’ by a Crown court judge about the alleged incompetence of three solicitor-advocates. Chancery Lane has written to Mr Justice Calvert-Smith, the presiding judge of the south-eastern circuit, about remarks made by ...
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SRA considers rise in Compensation Fund levy
Cash-strapped solicitors may have to pay ‘a significantly larger’ sum into the Compensation Fund as more firms require intervention in a deepening recession. Papers considered last week by the Solicitors Regulation Authority board forecast that the number of interventions is expected to rise from 71 in 2008 to more than ...
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Jackson commends German costs recovery model
Lord Justice Jackson (pictured) may consider a costs recovery system based upon the German model when he releases the preliminary findings of his 1,000 -page review into civil litigation costs early next month.
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Hundreds of Colombian lawyers murdered but no one prosecuted, report reveals
More than 400 Colombian lawyers have been murdered since 1991 but no one has been prosecuted for a single killing, a devastating report from 42 British lawyers who visited Colombia last year has revealed.
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RCJ goes green to mark new chapter
As you can see from the picture, it is that time of year again. No, not Halloween, but the arrival of this year’s edition of The Civil Court Practice, known to all as the Green Book. To mark the tenth anniversary of the Woolf reforms, LexisNexis, the publishers of the ...
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If the cap doesn't fit, don't wear it
Attention corporate counsel – the big four accountancy firms are trying yet again to limit the extent to which they can be sued for audit failures.
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SRA’s submission to Hunt review calls for clarity
The division between regulatory and representative functions of the Law Society is ‘inconsistent with the requirements of the Legal Services Act’ and ‘baffling to many consumers and solicitors’, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has told Lord Hunt’s regulation review. In its submission to the Law Society-commissioned ...
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Budget savings through IT? Don’t make me laugh
Alistair Darling’s budget was always going to be about saving money. A lot of money. It turns out that the Ministry of Justice has to find nearly £1.1bn in savings, and the Law Officers Departments must find £94m (see online news).
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On yer bike
Hannah Cash, a commercial law solicitor at Rooks Rider in London, has completed a 760km bike ride across the Andes from Argentina to Chile, raising £3,000 for MENCAP. The seven-day route climbed to 1,320 metres through the Puyehue Pass, finishing at the Pacific Ocean. The money raised by the ...
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Cash-strapped universities hold out begging bowl
British law students are in for a rough ride, it seems. The Financial Times reported yesterday that top universities are losing money at an astounding rate, pointing to huge deficits in the funding they receive from the government and the actual cost of education.
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More City firms wield the axe
Two big City firms have today announced another raft of redundancies, with a combined total of up to 50 lawyers and up to 115 support staff facing the axe. Berwin Leighton Paisner will cut up to 30 lawyers and up to 55 support staff, while CMS ...