All News articles – Page 1776
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News
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Society survey will reveal salary inequalities
An in-depth investigation into solicitors’ salaries will reveal ‘significant inequalities’ between white members of the profession and those from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups. The warning came from Law Society president Paul Marsh (pictured) at the Minority Lawyers’ Conference at Chancery Lane on Saturday. ...
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Kenny says LSB will transform the market
Chris Kenny (pictured), chief executive of the Legal Services Board, last week vowed to transform the legal services market, promising to promote competition and – as early as mid-2011 – license the first alternative business structures.
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Land Registry overhauls registration procedure
The Land Registry is to apply a new ‘early completion’ practice from 3 August, to ensure that registration applications are completed as quickly as possible. The practice will apply to all situations where an application for a discharge of whole has been received with another ...
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Memory lane
The President reads the Barristers and Solicitors (qualification of women) Bill and the 1999 Women Lawyer Forum ‘Mainstreaming: dismantling the barriers’ The Law Society's Gazette, April 1919 ...
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Missed opportunities for reform
On 5 March Gazette reporter Jonathan Rayner wrote a deeply personal and disturbing account of his son’s experiences of the criminal justice and mental health services.
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Plain speaking
Obiter would like to remind readers of the following article that no liability shall be implied by any failure to take, perfect or enforce any indemnity, guarantee or security in respect of the obligations to which this article relates or by any other ...
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Criminal law: defence costs orders and more
Important provisions in relation to the taxation of defence costs orders, made in the magistrates’ court, came into effect on 13 October 2008. All such bills delivered after that date will now be taxed by the appropriate National Taxing Team rather than by the court itself.
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Regulator probes 10 firms over misleading debt claims
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is investigating 10 firms for accepting business from claims management companies that have misled consumers about the prospects of getting debts written off. The regulator renewed an earlier warning about doing business with such introducers, following what it described as a ‘rash ...
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Youth custody review cuts imprisonment by 42%
A pilot scheme to review youth imprisonment cases has cut the number of custodial sentences by 42%, a study revealed this week. In a joint report on custody panels, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Local Government Association said the number of young people ...
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Someone remind the MoJ what the Legal Services Act is for
This week’s news that price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com is getting into personal injury leads, or referrals as lawyers might see them, is more interesting than it seems in terms of regulation and the new landscape of what a legal business actually is.
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Fraud case judge slams solicitor- advocates for ‘incompetence’
An extraordinary public row has erupted over the role of solicitor-advocates after a Crown Court judge told a court that he came close to discharging a jury because of concerns that a solicitor lacked the competence to represent his client properly. Speaking in open court at ...