Opinion – Page 323
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Opinion
Surcharge sham
Joshua Rozenberg is right to rail against the swingeing increase in compulsory victim surcharges.
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Opinion
Missing Link
Until recently, periodic surveys revealed overwhelming satisfaction with services provided by solicitors, and dishonesty was reported and hopefully occurred very infrequently – when we were professionals, in other words. Could recent reports expressing contrary views be linked to the commoditisation of our profession – to say nothing of the complaints ...
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Opinion
Profession name change
We share with members of the oldest profession the use of the word ‘client’
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OpinionBusiness booming in insolvency funding
With most areas of civil litigation beginning to feel the effects of the Jackson reforms, there was some interesting news this week from the insolvency quarter
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OpinionBoundaries of behaviour
My first day as an agent for the Crown Prosecution Service did not begin auspiciously.
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Opinion
£10 too wealthy for legal aid
Today I received an application from an individual who was roughly £18 per month too wealthy to qualify for legal aid.
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Opinion
Avoiding costs disputes with clients
The next growth industry for costs disputes will be between solicitor and client.
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Opinion
Repaying a debt
Armed Forces Legal Action is a nationwide initiative calling on law firms across the UK to provide members of the armed forces community one-third off legal fees. Its aim is to benefit serving personnel and those who have served within two years of engaging the law firm. It also seeks ...
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Opinion
Motor insurance: health checks
I was interested to see AXA’s recent report on whiplash – an issue on which we have submitted evidence to the Transport Select Committee. The insurance industry continually issues figures about how much whiplash claims allegedly add on to motor insurance policies every year. However, no one appears to be ...
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Opinion
Painting by numbers
I need an outside painting job done at my house. It needs to be done in the summer months in the good weather. So I asked two decorators to give me a quote. One came and looked and I never heard from him again. The other came and looked and ...
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Opinion
Legal aid: children suffer
Comments by Charles Falconer QC in The Times law section regarding a tightening of the process in criminal and family care cases are worthy of careful attention. On the face of it, removal of private law family legal aid is serving the same purpose, except that it has produced the ...
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Opinion
A review of pre-packs is well overdue
Cadbury, Greenbury, Hampel, Turnbull, Higgs, Myners, Smith. No, this is not Blackpool’s backline from the 1953 cup final, but a list of grandees commissioned to review aspects of company law and corporate governance in the 1990s and early 2000s. Fading memories of attending their dessicated and often inconsequential press conferences ...
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OpinionGovernment bank sanction plans are flawed
The Treasury has accepted the recommendation of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards
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OpinionLawyers need to think tactically on costs
A few months in to the new costs budgeting regime, many litigators have already had to knuckle down and complete Precedent H
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Opinion
Embracing compliance - like going to the gym
Much has been said and reported about the cost of regulatory compliance, but not so much about the benefits of compliance as a driver of quality and competitive advantage through creating better processes and controls. The SRA’s report Attitudes to regulation and compliance in legal services showed that the majority ...
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OpinionMesothelioma and Monopoly
There's a moment in most games of Monopoly when you have to make the choice. Your opponent needs your Pall Mall to complete their set, and they'll offer you a red, a green and a station in return. The deal looks too good to be true - what the hell ...