All articles by Rachel Rothwell – Page 22
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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RBS offers legal documentation to small business clients
The Royal Bank of Scotland launched a product that will provide legal documentation and advice to its small business customers this week. The service, Smarta Business Builder, incorporates a range of online accounting, business and legal services, with legal software provided by Epoq. ...
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News
Is WHSmith deal a smart move for QualitySolicitors?
Today’s news that QualitySolicitors is to put a member of staff in WHSmith stores throughout the country has provoked a strong reaction from the profession; as any regular visitor to the Gazette site would expect. Whenever the Gazette reports on the latest QS initiative, the ...
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News
Legal Ombudsman is 'consumer-unfriendly'
The Legal Ombudsman was last week accused by a consumer watchdog of capitulating to ‘spurious objections from the legal profession’, after announcing plans for a ‘staged approach’ to publishing information about complaints against law firms. In the first part of a three-stage approach, LeO has begun ...
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News
Solicitors Regulation Authority unveils handbook
The Solicitors Regulation Authority published the final version of its new solicitors handbook this week, as it revealed it had received ‘quite a number’ of enquiries from potential new market entrants about becoming alternative business structures. The SRA has applied to become a regulator of ...
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News
Personal injury solicitors will cut use of CFAs, poll finds
Personal injury lawyers will cut the number of conditional fee agreements they offer to clients as a direct result of the civil justice funding reforms announced by the government last week, according to research seen exclusively by the Gazette. A survey of 100 claimant personal injury ...
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Report shows drop in training contract places
The number of training contracts offered by law firms fell by 18% last year, Law Society figures have shown. The Society’s annual statistical report reveals that only 4,784 training contract places were offered in 2010, compared to 5,809 in 2009. The ...