News – Page 206
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First grants from Foundation
The legal education charity established with a £200m endowment following last year’s sale of the College of Law to private equity firm Montagu has awarded its first six grants, amounting to around £550,000. The grants were announced at the launch of the Legal Education Foundation (LEF). Guy Beringer, former managing ...
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Regulator defiant over licensing One Legal
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has defended its decision to grant an alternative business structure licence to a company owned by Trevor Howarth, the legal director of Stobart Barristers, who faces a possible trial for contempt of court. The SRA last week licensed One Legal, a company set up in September ...
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BLP, Travers Smith and Dentons post flat results
Revenue at Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) dropped 5% to £233m, as more City firms continued to post flat results for the financial year 2012-2013. Last year BLP, a key adviser for financial institutions, increased revenue by 7.4% to £246m. The firm has sought to cut staff costs by around 15% ...
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Merger talks reach record high as firms battle cuts
The number of law firms opting to merge has reached an all-time high as practices respond to the prospect of reduced income. Analysis by accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy found 234 mergers involving UK law firms in the past year, up from 220 in the previous 12 months. The number of ...
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CMCs ordered to show they comply with fee ban
More than 140 claims management companies (CMCs) are being asked to prove they have not breached the referral fee ban since April, the government has revealed. The Claims Management Regulation Unit, managed by the Ministry of Justice, has visited more than 450 companies across England and Wales since the ban ...
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APIL chief joins call for ban on incentives
The leader of the UK's biggest claimant representative group has said it is a 'mystery' why regulators have opted not to ban inducements for personal injury claims.
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SRA approves £50-£350 charge scale for advocacy accreditation
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has approved the fees that solicitors will be required to pay for accreditation under the controversial Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA). Fees are set for the four accreditation levels and solicitors will have to make payment on registration, on progression and when seeking reaccreditation. To ...
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Ombudsman tries to extend reach as job cuts loom
The Legal Ombudsman will next week set out plans for a voluntary scheme to cover unregulated parts of the legal sector. A discussion paper will be released just days after proposals to cut 10% of its staff were confirmed. The ombudsman told workers this week that 25 roles are being ...
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Challinors confirms appointment of administrator
Midlands firm Challinors has confirmed it has filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator. The multi-service firm, with offices across the west and east Midlands, said in a statement today the move will protect its position pending a sale of the business. ‘This will allow an orderly transfer ...
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‘Corporation’ future considered for courts as government denies sell-off
An ‘independent public interest corporation’ may take over the ownership of courts and tribunals, the government revealed today. In a letter to judges on plans to reform HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), the lord chancellor Chris Grayling, the lord chief justice Lord Judge and the senior president of tribunals ...
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PII renewals: just like Christmas
This week the staff asked when we are closing for Christmas. They want to make plans, and why not?
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Private equity investor in £4m probate deal
Private equity investor Smedvig Capital has confirmed it has pumped £4m into probate company Kings Court Trust..
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Profits soar by 32% at TLT
Profits at national firm TLT soared by 32% to £7.4m in 2012 – on turnover up 11.6% to £49.6m, according to financial results released today. Profit per equity partner rose 7.5% to £274,00. Last year TLT merged with Scottish firm Anderson ...
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Next year's PC fees agreed today – full details
Individual solicitors will be shielded from significant fee increases next year but most firms will pay more. The Law Society today agreed that its net funding requirement for 2014 will be £116.8m, an increase from £103.5m the previous year. The funds cover the Society, Solicitors Regulation Authority and external bodies ...
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Petition calls for civil claims centre closure
An online petition is calling on the government to halt the ‘industrialisation of the judicial system’ by immediately shutting down the Salford civil claims centre. The centre, which was opened in early 2012, is the HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s (HMCTS) centralised facility for handling civil claims. It aims to ...
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60 lawyers to go at global giant
A US law firm with a significant presence in London has confirmed it is making 170 redundancies worldwide. Top 20 global firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges told staff in a mass email that 60 lawyers were being cut along with 110 support staff. A spokesman for the firm declined to ...
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Solicitors Regulation Authority shuts two firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has closed immigration firm Mulberry Finch Limited and Gloucestershire practice Peter Stafford Eales. The SRA said that Mulberry Finch, based in Conduit Street, London, failed to comply with the SRA Principles, the Code of Conduct and Accounts Rules. Peter Stafford Eales, of Turnpike Gate, Gloucestershire, was ...
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Firms asked to cut rates for armed forces
A nationwide scheme to offer discounted legal fees to armed forces personnel is being set up by a solicitor in the RAF, the Gazette has learned. Armed Forces Legal Action (AFLA) is the brainchild of Wing Commander Allan Steele supported by Scottish solicitor Janet Hood. Firms across the UK will ...
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Portal extension rules published – with just 14 working days to go
The Ministry of Justice has finally published the rules that will frame the long-awaited extension of the online claims portal – just 14 working days before the new arrangements come in to force. The 65th update to the Civil Procedure Rules extends the low-value personal injury scheme for RTAs to ...
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'Little hope' for sole practitioners in criminal defence
There is ‘little hope for the future’ for sole practitioners and many small law firms under either the government’s or Law Society’s proposals for reshaping the criminal defence market, the Sole Practitioners Group has claimed. The group’s legal aid spokesperson, former chair Hilary Underwood, told the Gazette that under either ...