All News articles – Page 1781
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News
Exhibiting unease
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) Crown Court litigator fee scheme was introduced to cut costs by 10% and simplify the billing process. At training sessions, LSC staff were confident there would be few disputes and described the appeal procedure as unlikely to be used.
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How to start 'em young
We like to think that the Gazette has a broad appeal, so our thanks to James Nathan, a director of legal recruiters West Associates, for this heart-warming picture of his two-year-old son Ben, which we are assured was not staged. Nathan Jr was so taken with our 25 September issue ...
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Freedom of information: documents and diplomats
Lawyers who act as external legal advisers to large public authorities will inevitably hold a lot of documents about the subject of their instructions. Consequently, when their clients receive Freedom of Information Act requests, some of these documents may be caught by the act as being information ‘held by another ...
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Purchases, developments and leasing
Energy boost: City firm Norton Rose acted for Vattenfall, the Swedish energy company, on its £52m purchase of Eclipse Energy UK, which was advised by City firm Watson Farley & Williams. West ...
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Members deliver their verdicts
This was an apposite time to engage more directly with the many different constituencies in the legal services market. It has been a fortnight of mixed fortunes for Chancery Lane. On the upside, the Law Society Excellence Awards were an unqualified success, attracting hundreds to ...
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Sir Rupert to review costs
Sir Rupert Jackson, who was promoted this month to the Court of Appeal, is to head the Master of the Rolls’ fundamental review of the costs system, it will be announced this week. The review, which was first revealed in the Gazette in June, will begin ...
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Contingency fees 'can work but risk justice'
Contingency fees could operate effectively in England and Wales with or without cost shifting, a major report is expected to say this week. However, the Gazette understands that the report, commissioned by the Civil Justice Council, warns of the risk that contingency fees may narrow access ...
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Loose connection
A reader called the other day to propose an idea for a feature in the Gazette. Usually our features editor is a tough nut, but on this occasion he was impressed enough to invite the caller to email the piece in. Except it turned out that the reader, a practising ...
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CMC plans regulation for mediation providers
The Civil Mediation Council (CMC) is developing a voluntary registration and regulation scheme for mediators and provider organisations, it has emerged. The CMC aims to draft two registration schemes to replace the pilot accreditation scheme it has been running for the last three years. ...
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Tories probe client rules
The government will be put under political pressure to clarify what would happen if a bank’s collapse wiped out client money held in law firms’ accounts, the Gazette has learned. Jonathan Djanogly, the Conservative shadow Solicitor General, told the Gazette he would press the Treasury for ...
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Cash hitch for KBF suitors
The search by Key Business Finance (KBF) for a new backer could be hampered because potential buyers will struggle to find cash in the current climate, accountants have warned. However, solicitors who have taken out KBF loans are unlikely to be forced to repay them if ...
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The case for sense and sensitivity
An increasing diverse legal profession demands a regulatory approach that reflects that diversity. There ought not to be controversy over the Law Society’s decision to set up an independent profession-wide review of whether the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) ‘one size fits all’ approach is appropriate to ...
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Discharge call
I am writing with regard to the article ‘Conveyancing warning’ (see [2008] Gazette, 16 October, 2). Perhaps the Law Society, particularly in view of the current financial climate, should consider approaching the main financial institutions to change what has become common conveyancing practice for undertakings.
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Market regulation overhaul call
Stricter regulation, broader regulatory powers and effective global cooperation are needed to ensure financial regulators can manage markets better in the future, markets watchdog the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned lawyers in London last week. Companies and individuals responsible for the recent fall-out should ...
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Home information packs: happy birthday?
‘If ever a government needs a salutary lesson in what happens when you ignore what the stakeholders say, I introduce to you the home information pack,’ reflects Richard Barnett, chairman of the Law Society’s conveyancing and land law committee. There was never going to be much ...
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On a big bender
Driving at 140 miles per hour in a petrol-guzzling dinosaur of a car is personal injury solicitor Andrew Harrison’s idea of fun. It’s not without its risks, however – he once hurt his thumb spinning off at a bend, poor love. Harrison, an assistant ...
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An end and a beginning
Richard Susskind envisages a future in which bespoke legal services will be the exception. For many lawyers, says Richard Susskind, it looks as if the party may soon be over. Clients are demanding more for less. ‘The legal market looks set to be a buyer’s ...
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Law Society's excellence awards
Saimo Chahal, head of the civil liberties and social welfare team at London firm Bindmans, was last week named solicitor of the year at the Law Society’s second annual Excellence Awards. Chahal (pictured) was cited for her work on behalf of vulnerable and disadvantaged clients in ...
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News
Arresting issue
I was interested to read the letter you received from District Judge Peter Glover concerning the abolition of powers of arrest in relation to non-molestation orders (see [2008] Gazette, 25 September, 7). I fully agree with the observations made by him that an issue of ...