All articles by Rachel Rothwell – Page 21
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News
RTA portal fee fracas
As the Gazette revealed last month, the government’s plans to ban referral fees in personal injury cases have led insurers to start pushing for a cut in the fixed fees payable to claimant lawyers under the RTA portal scheme. The Ministry of Justice itself acknowledged that the fees would need ...
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News
De-lawyering small claims
Amid all the hoo-ha over the headline aspects of the government’s reforms to civil litigation - the end of many of the rules underpinning conditional fee agreements in personal injury, for example - it is easy to overlook a rather quieter change that could have a big impact on commercial ...
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News
Fixed fees to be 'renegotiated’ after referral ban
Claimant lawyers’ legal fees under the Road Traffic Accident portal scheme will have to be renegotiated as a result of the forthcoming ban on referral fees, the Ministry of Justice confirmed to the Gazette today. An MoJ spokesman said the fees, which were calculated including an ...
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News
Pannone may spin off Affinity
Manchester firm Pannone may spin off its white label legal services arm when alternative business structures are permitted and allow companies using the service to invest and share profits in the business. Pannone launched Affinity Solutions in May, providing a ‘seamless’ consumer law service to non-legal ...
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News
Implementing Jackson - who’s making the decisions?
As the legislation to implement Lord Justice Jackson’s reforms of civil litigation costs negotiates its passage through parliament, work on the implementation of the changes continues apace. There have been rumblings from claimant lawyers that Jackson’s 10% increase in general damages - designed to compensate for ...
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News
Regulator considers ‘reflective approach’ on continuing professional development
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to commission research on continuing professional development schemes in other professions and internationally as part of its review of CPD, the Gazette has learned. The regulator said it will examine a range of schemes in use, including the more ‘reflective’ approach ...
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News
Stephen Mayson - ABS licensing is a 'shambles'
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s failure to meet the 6 October target date for licensing alternative business structures was branded a ‘shambles’ by a leading market commentator this week. Professor Stephen Mayson (pictured), director of the Legal Services Policy Institute, told delegates at a Westminster Legal Policy ...
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News
SRA has '50 in-depth discussions’ with potential ABS applicants
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has had 'in-depth discussions’ with 50 firms and businesses looking at becoming alternative business structures, its chief executive Anthony Townsend told the Gazette last week. He also confirmed that the SRA hopes to be able to license ABSs 'at the turn of ...
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News
Society will fight slander claim brought by site owner
The Law Society will seek to strike out a claim for slander being sought against chief executive Desmond Hudson by the owner of the Solicitors from Hell website, it said today. Site owner Rick Kordowski has filed a claim in the High Court in relation to ...
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News
Are claimant lawyers winning the argument on recoverability?
With the Civil Justice Council having just set up a working party to implement the Jackson reforms, one could be forgiven for assuming that the government’s plans to shake up civil litigation costs are a done deal by now. But of course the Legal Aid, Sentencing ...
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News
A good way of saving costs without merging?
In the run-up to the 6 October start date for alternative business structures, various surveys have reported a distinct hotting up of the number of mergers among law firms. At the High Street end, part of the reason for this will be firms’ very sensible desire to achieve greater economies ...
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News
Bankruptcy petition filed against Solicitors from Hell owner
A solicitor who won libel damages from the owner of the Solicitors from Hell website has filed a bankruptcy petition against him after he failed to pay damages ordered by the court. The solicitor, from London firm Hickman & Rose, is seeking £31,105.44 from website owner ...
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News
Society sends letter of claim to Solicitors from Hell owner
The Law Society sent a letter of claim to the owner of the Solicitors from Hell website last week, as it prepared to launch a class action against him on behalf of the profession. The letter demands that website owner Rick Kordowski must close the site, ...
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News
Lawyers see rise in insolvency and employment work
Law firms have seen a surge in insolvency-related work and employment advice, as tough economic conditions continue to affect clients. Figures from law firm referral service Contact Law showed a significant rise in calls from members of the public and businesses relating to employment and insolvency. ...
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News
Is the Legal Services Board expecting a slow start to ABSs?
The Legal Services Board published a research paper last week outlining its ‘latest thinking’ on the impact of alternative business structures. The paper seems to be preparing the ground for a slow start, with bigger developments later on. It predicts that the ...
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News
Targeting a section of the client base is the way forward
It was heartening today to learn of the strategy adopted by Lancashire firm Joseph Frasier, which is setting out to become the first practice specially dedicated to deaf and hard-of-hearing clients. The move to target a particular niche area of the market is precisely what consultants ...
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News
Code of conduct for litigation funders moves closer
The Civil Justice Council is expected to agree a new code of conduct for third-party funders of litigation by the end of the year, to be combined with the launch of a new association of litigation funders. Compliance with the new voluntary code will be monitored ...
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News
ITV clarifies Holden’s comments on QS
ITV’s This Morning has today clarified comments which were made by Amanda Holden in relation to QualitySolicitors. Following representations from the Law Society, QualitySolicitors agreed to ask the show to correct some comments made by the television presenter when she appeared as a guest of the ...
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News
Will solicitors want to disclose their diversity information?
The publication of magic circle firm Linklaters’ diversity statistics last week was made all the more interesting by the fact that the Legal Services Board has just laid down in statutory guidance its expectation that all firms will need to be publishing similar information by 2012. ...
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News
LSA changes ‘flying under the radar’ of law firms
Provisions of the Legal Services Act permitting law firms to take on external investment are ‘flying under the radar’ of most small and medium-sized firms, research has suggested. A survey of 75 firms with turnover between £5m and £25m by accountants HW Fisher & Company found ...