All News articles – Page 1835
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News
HIPs questionnaire 'biased against solicitors'
The proposed home information pack (HIP) questionnaire has been branded a ‘crude attempt’ to help non-solicitor pack providers and push solicitors out of the conveyancing market. A year after the introduction of the controversial packs, the government has launched a consultation to add an extra document ...
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Call to divide AG's dual role
Parliamentary support for the government’s decision not to split the Attorney General’s legal and political functions has attracted scathing criticism from experts. Last Thursday, the Joint Committee on the Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill published its report that, controversially, ignored the advice of the Justice Committee to ...
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Helpline to make appointments at law firms for legal aid clients
A pilot helpline enabling civil legal aid clients to book face-to-face appointments with solicitors could boost the numbers of people receiving publicly funded advice, the chairman of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) has told the Gazette. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) launched the trial Community ...
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Blast from the past
It does worry me when our own professional magazine still thinks that writs exist (‘Solicitor slaps writ on county court’, [2008] Gazette, 24 July, 3), when they were abolished (at least in terms of the issue of an originating action) in 1999 with the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules ...
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Blunt words from the sharp end
Why should executive directors at the LSC earn so much more than those at the sharp end of legal services? I see that the Legal Services Commission (LSC) is advertising for no less than three executive directors at salaries of up to £140K each, ‘possibly more ...
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Challenging times
The new President of the Law Society looks at what lies ahead for the profession The presidency of the Law Society of England and Wales is a great privilege, and I consider myself particularly fortunate in having Robert Heslett as Vice-President and Linda Lee as Deputy ...
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Chancel be a fine thing
The providers of chancel repair searches and insurance have displayed an enviable instinct for business, but some of their advertising is lamentably wide of the mark. ChancelCheck’s paperwork features the west front of Westminster Abbey, which is not a parish church and therefore (perhaps fortunately ...
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Courting controversy
The time has come for the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court to stand down Radovan Karadzic’s first appearance at the United Nations war crimes tribunal last week must have come as a welcome distraction for those working at ...
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Costs warning to solicitors over terminating retainers
A solicitor should not terminate his retainer because he disagrees with the client’s legitimate instructions, the High Court ruled last week.
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Libel success fees decision
The government has decided not to push ahead with imposing fixed recoverable success fees and capped recoverability on after-the-event insurance (ATE) premiums in defamation and privacy cases. After eight months of waiting for an announcement following its defamation consultation last year, the government has opted to ...
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Learning by degrees
Retired solicitor Robert Benjamin, 82, has finally finished his university degree more than 60 years after being forced to abandon his studies because he was conscripted to work in Britain’s mines during World War Two. The former Bevin Boy, as the mining conscripts were known, graduated ...
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Supply and demand
For some years now the number of LPC passes (first sitting and after re-sitting) has been around 6,000 each year, while the number of training contracts signed has also been around 6,000. There is some slippage, which probably amounts to a few hundred not finding a training contract and, of ...
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Employment
Automatically unfair dismissal – Completion – Delay - Disability discrimination - Completion of statutory procedure M Selvarajan v S Wilmot & Ors: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Mummery, Wilson, Stanley Burnton): 23 July 2008 ...
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The rise in equine law
With riding an increasingly popular pastime there is a growing demand for equine lawyers to advise horse owners, both private and commercial. Around £4bn a year is spent on horses in Britain, according ...
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Family law
Allocation of jurisdiction – Consent - Habitual residence - Parental responsibility Mark Ian Bush v Neena Bush: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Thorpe, Lawrence Collins, Rimer): 24 July 2008 ...
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Lawyers targeted in insurance fraud fight
The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) and Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) are planning a joint crackdown on criminal gangs and solicitors involved in fraudulent insurance scams, the Gazette can reveal. The IFB and APIL have held talks with a view to thrashing out an information-sharing ...
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Reality warning for 'optimistic' firms
Experts have warned small firms not to be ‘blind to reality’ after a new survey indicated the vast majority have no intention of cutting spending over the next six months – despite turbulent economic conditions. More than a quarter (27%) of UK firms with three to ...
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Public guardian to order LPA review
A fifth of applications to register a lasting power of attorney (LPA) contain mistakes that render them invalid or prevent registration, the new public guardian has told the Gazette. Martin John, who was appointed in June, said ‘about 20% of applications have real issues’ and announced ...
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Opportunity knocks
A ten-strong team at Sheffield-based solicitors Watson Esam swapped legal briefs for chasing fish in penguin suits as they raised £750 in the fun-filled It’s a Knockout competition. The obstacle event, held at Totley Primary School in Sheffield, raised £8,000 for St Luke’s Hospice. Senior partner Jay Bhayani enthused: ‘We ...