Opinion – Page 19

  • Letters
    Opinion

    Chain reaction

    30 October 2017

    ‘Blockchain deal bodes ill for conveyancers’, the Gazette reported on 16 October. At their own risk, parties can always bypass solicitors and, for example, prepare their own transfer deed, so it is surprising the Gazette devotes space to this. Neil Singer seems not to understand the purpose of land ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    Heavy price of 'efficiency'

    30 October 2017

    One of the reasons why the defence solicitor son of your recent correspondent is ‘paid a pittance’ (letters, 16 October) may be the profession’s lemming-like acceptance of so-called ‘franchising’ and the time-limited criminal contracts in the late 1990s. Such unthinking acceptance eliminated local independence and competition. It ceded effective control ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    The force is against you

    30 October 2017

    I read with sympathy the letter headed ‘Why is my son paid a pittance?’. The answer, however, is very simple: market forces. I am told that when I qualified in 1969 there were about 26,500 practising solicitors in England and Wales. There are now over 140,000 (news, 23 October). Michael ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    It all adds up

    30 October 2017

    With regard to VAT on online property searches, surely any solicitor acquiring such a search will spend time on assessing the search, charge for that time and add VAT on that charge. Perhaps I am over simplifying, but does that not answer all the tribunal judge’s (and HMRC’s) arguments? ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    System failure

    23 October 2017

    The government should acknowledge that court fees are a hidden tax – its deceit is made worse by deteriorating service levels.

  • Letters
    Opinion

    ​Flat fee is disproportionate

    23 October 2017

    We are a small firm with two partners and no staff, and a turnover of less than £200,000. We are currently carrying out our renewal of Solicitors Regulation Authority registration and have come to the fees. We understand that a periodical fee has to be paid. However, we take great ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    Prison shame

    23 October 2017

    It is a source of immense pride to me and I am sure to many other Law Society members that solicitors such as the redoubtable Laura Janes continue to play a pivotal role in the endeavours of the Howard League for Penal Reform on behalf of the rights of offenders. ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    ​Proof point

    23 October 2017

    I wanted to clarify one point in relation to your article about the standard of proof. You said that the ‘discussion paper… does not explicitly back requiring prosecutions to be proved “beyond reasonable doubt”’. This is not quite accurate. The Law Society is keen to hear members’ views. However, I ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    Too few judges

    23 October 2017

    It is a strange little world, that of the deputy district judge, particularly those retired who come back and sit a few times a month. Every month a list is sent out of perhaps a hundred unfilled court sittings around the country. It is first come, first served for venues. ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    Quality controllers

    16 October 2017

    If legal services are to expand further by deregulation, lawyers must help educate the public on how to steer clear of cowboy practitioners

  • Letters
    Opinion

    Why is my son paid a pittance?

    16 October 2017

    Gone are the days when the social worker envied the solicitor (all that kudos, all that pay!). How the tables have turned in family and criminal law. Qualified social worker – three-year degree, lots of job opportunities, starting salary of £27k-30k, five weeks holiday plus public holidays, good pension, regular ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    ​Home improvement

    9 October 2017

    Property developers attempting to maximise the value of their reversion portfolios is one of the main problems with the leasehold system

  • Law Society HQ following 2016 refurbishment
    Opinion

    ​Society governance latest

    9 October 2017

    The review of Law Society governance is now resulting in change being implemented, with more being considered.

  • Opinion

    ​Health check

    9 October 2017

    ‘Removing the stigma attached to mental health problems is vital’, the Gazette reported last week (2 October).

  • Opinion

    ​Barrier grief

    9 October 2017

    ‘Wild West Law’ seems like a good name for a thrusting firm of media lawyers (‘Chancery Lane slams “Wild West” regulation’, 2 October)

  • Letters
    Opinion

    Sad indictment of judiciary

    2 October 2017

    Clare Moulder’s elevation to the High Court bench is not a ‘significant’  cause for celebration in the context of boosting diversity.

  • Opinion

    Flawed petition

    2 October 2017

    The new-style divorce petition uses clearer language to explain how it should be completed, hopefully making life easier for the litigant in person, and court staff. However, in respect of a petition based on adultery, the new petition may cause greater confusion, complication and cost. Whereas the old-style petition asked ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    Taxing times

    2 October 2017

    I have before me a letter dated 18 September 1967 from a long-deceased client to my long-deceased partner John Mossop. Dear John Income tax returns I am pleased that the inspector has had no difference of opinion with you over the capital section. All my life time ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    A gilded age for lawyers?

    2 October 2017

    There is a growing tendency for the current generation of lawyers to cast a somewhat jaundiced eye on those of us of an earlier time. They may well have a point. The past is indeed a different country; we did things very differently there. How did we ever justify the ...

  • Letters
    Opinion

    Signing off on LPA abuse

    2 October 2017

    I was concerned to read about suggestions from the Financial Conduct Authority on removing the requirement for a physical signature on a lasting power of attorney. An LPA is a powerful legal document that allows a person to appoint trusted individuals to make important decisions about their health and financial ...