All articles by Rachel Rothwell – Page 22
-
News
New Law Society president sets out his stall
Improving the Law Society’s relationship with the in-house sector and ensuring the success of the Conveyancing Quality Scheme will be two key areas of focus for the Society’s new president in the year ahead, he told the Gazette this week. John Wotton (pictured), who takes over ...
-
News
Disgruntled clients: the Ombudsman gives us a glimpse
This week the Legal Ombudsman took a small baby step on a very long and distant path that may - or may not - ultimately end in the publication of complaints upheld by LeO against named law firms. That may or may not happen, and ...
-
News
Government ‘sympathetic’ to introducing referral fee ban
The government is ‘sympathetic’ to the idea of banning referral fees, Ministry of Justice minister Lord McNally told the House of Lords yesterday. McNally said that if public opinion demands a ban, the government will respond to that demand. In ...
-
News
Insurance lawyers call for lower fixed-fee rates
Insurance lawyers are pressing the Ministry of Justice to reduce the fixed-fee rates payable to claimant lawyers under the Road Traffic Accident portal. Responding to a government consultation on speeding up county court cases, which closed last week, the Forum of Insurance Lawyers said the ...
-
News
Society formally urges Clarke to ban referral fees
The Law Society has written to justice secretary Kenneth Clarke urging him to act immediately to ban referral fees, after he revealed last week that he is ‘considering’ the issue. Society president Linda Lee said she had met with Clarke and minister for employment Chris Grayling ...
-
News
Conveyancing Quality Scheme applications pass 1,000
The Law Society has received more than 1,000 applications for its Conveyancing Quality Scheme, it said today. Some 1,034 applications have been submitted since the scheme opened in January, and 317 have been accredited so far. Law Society president Linda Lee ...
-
News
Transport Committee re-opens insurance premiums inquiry
The transport committee has re-opened its inquiry into cost of motor insurance and has called on former justice minister Jack Straw to give oral evidence. Committee chair Louise Ellman, a Labour/Co-operative MP, said Straw’s recently published report on the rising cost of premiums would make a ...
-
News
Solicitors launch new third-party litigation funder
Two solicitors launched a new third-party litigation funder Vannin Capital today, set to invest ‘significant sums’ in litigation. The funder, founded by solicitor Nick Rowles-Davies and solicitor and barrister William Evans of Ely Place Chambers, is backed by Isle of Man-based private equity firm Bramden Investments. ...
-
News
Lawyers seek deal with insurers over freedom to choose non-panel firms
The Law Society’s civil justice committee is in negotiations with legal expenses insurers to agree rules that will ensure freedom of choice of solicitor in personal injury claims. The committee has held two meetings with insurers in a bid to agree terms enabling clients to choose ...
-
News
LSB publishes final referral fees decision
The Legal Services Board has dropped plans to force law firms to publish their referral fee arrangements on their websites, in its final decision on the regulation of referral fees published today. The LSB said it would no longer seek to prescribe the precise measures that ...
-
News
LSB to further probe value of quality schemes
The Legal Services Board is to seek further evidence to assess the usefulness of quality schemes for indicating whether law firms provide a good service to consumers, it revealed today. The LSB has asked its Legal Services Consumer Panel, the body that advises it on the ...
-
News
Legal executives should be on ‘equal footing’ to solicitors, claims ILEX
Legal executives should be able to provide the full breadth of services ‘on an equal footing’ to solicitors, the president of the Institute of Legal Executives said yesterday. David McGrady said securing further rights for ILEX members remains the goal of the professional body. ...
-
News
Law firms in cash call to partners
At least five of the top-20 law firms are planning to make a capital call on partners, the Gazette has learned. Mid-tier firms are also seeking to shore up their balance sheets, with at least 15 of the firms in the 20-50 size bracket seeking to ...
-
News
LSB recommends new powers for solicitors’ regulator ahead of ABSs
The Solicitor’s Regulation Authority will be given new powers to operate a single compensation fund for alternative business structures and non-ABSs, if parliament follows a recommendation made by the Legal Services Board yesterday. The LSB also recommends that the SRA should be able to charge non-ABS ...
-
News
Giving greater influence to victims could prove dangerous for justice
Of all the various parties involved in the criminal justice system, ‘the victim’ has always had a pretty raw deal. Not only was he or she unfortunate enough to have a crime committed against them in the first place, but they then become entangled in ...
-
News
What do men and women solicitors really think about discrimination?
The Gazette’s recent survey about whether gender discrimination exists within the legal profession clearly struck a chord with many readers. Not only did we get a pretty good response rate, but also a huge number of detailed comments and opinions from those who participated. ...
-
News
Gazette survey: work-based discrimination still rife, say women solicitors
A Gazette survey has highlighted the extent to which women solicitors feel unable to progress within the profession. The research also shows that a significant percentage of women believe they have personally been discriminated against during their legal career. The survey, completed ...
-
News
Legal Services Board reveals high level of ABS interest
The Legal Services Board has seen a high level of interest from banks and private equity houses in the run-up to the introduction of alternative business structures, its chair David Edmonds told the Gazette in an interview last week. Edmonds, who was reappointed for a further ...
-
News
Employment lawyers see surge in disputes
Employment solicitors have seen a surge in clients seeking advice on work-related disputes, according to figures seen by the ...