All articles by Rachel Rothwell – Page 26
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News
Outsourcing association for law firms launched
Eight UK companies have formed an association, chaired by a solicitor, to provide outsourcing services for law firms across the country. The Solicitors Outsourcing Association said it aims to assist solicitors in reducing their overheads. The association, chaired by solicitor ...
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How should oversupply of LPC graduates be tackled?
This week’s news that BPP is to open three new legal practice course (LPC) centres this autumn, in Newcastle, Cambridge and Liverpool, has given fresh impetus to what is an ongoing debate about the oversupply of LPC graduates.
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‘Nothing is off the cards’ in ABS era, says Co-op
Co-operative Legal Services may offer firms a franchise arrangement for some legal services, its sales and marketing director suggested in an interview with the Gazette today. Jonathan Gulliford said that a franchise or licensing model, whereby firms could operate under the Co-op brand, was one ...
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Law Commission launches consultation over new fitness test
The Law Commission has launched a consultation proposing an overhaul of the rules governing who is considered mentally fit to stand trial. The commission suggests scrapping the current ‘fitness to plead’ rules which have been in place since 1836, and replacing them with a procedure that ...
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Employment fears spark call surge
Government spending cuts have triggered a sharp rise in employment law queries from consumers in the last three months, according to statistics from law firm network Contact Law seen by the Gazette. Employment-related calls accounted for one-fifth of the 28,000 calls received by the service in ...
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BPP Law School defends new centres
BPP Law School has defended its decision to open three new branches next year, amid concerns over the lack of training contract places available for legal practice course graduates. The law school will launch LPC courses in Newcastle, Liverpool and Cambridge next autumn, providing 180 new ...
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Des Collins named Gazette Legal Personality of the Year
High-profile civil litigation solicitor Des Collins, senior partner of Collins in Watford, was named Gazette Legal Personality of the Year at the Law Society’s Excellence Awards last night.
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SRA publishes ‘final draft’ of its radical reforms to the code of conduct
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has today published the ‘final draft’ of its move to principles-based regulation, which will see a radical overhaul of the current code of conduct, abolishing many of the current detailed rules in favour of 10 broad principles.
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Legal services reforms will create ‘tougher market’, says LSB
The ‘competitive effect’ of new players coming into the market from October next year will mean that ‘existing firms need to improve their levels of service [and] focus on consumers, to be able to compete in a tougher marketplace’, Legal Services Board chairman David Edmonds has said.
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Consumer’s voice in legal reforms under threat
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned the government against pressing ahead with its ‘surprise’ plans to merge it with campaigning group Citizens Advice, at what it said was a ‘crucial period in legal services reforms’.
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Why are lawyers worried about probate rights for accountants?
As it is now less than a year until the non-legal big brands are permitted to begin their grab for high street legal services next October, those areas of work that are reserved (more or less) exclusively for solicitors are beginning to seem increasingly precious in the eyes of the ...
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More general counsel facing regulatory investigations
UK general counsel have reported a huge increase in the number of regulatory investigations initiated against them, according to research by the London office of US firm Fulbright & Jaworski. The firm’s Litigation Trends survey of 128 UK in-house lawyers across a range of sectors found ...
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Lord Young declines meeting with profession’s regulator
Lord Young of Graffham turned down an offer to meet with the solicitors’ regulator in advance of his report on health and safety and the ‘compensation culture’, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said. ...
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House price fall could prove fillip for conveyancers
Conveyancing solicitors moved to calm concerns over a looming housing crash this week, and suggested that a fall in house prices could have a ‘silver lining’ for the profession. Last week, the Halifax reported a 3.6% decline in house prices in September, the biggest monthly fall ...
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High Court defamation claims soar
The number of High Court defamation claims has risen to the highest level since the Woolf reforms, figures have shown. Defamation claims in the High Court rose to 298 last year, up 15% from 259 in 2008, according to an analysis of judicial statistics carried out ...
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Intestacy rules in need of updating
Nearly two-thirds of the public do not have a will, and a change in family relationships points to a need to amend the current intestacy rules, research has suggested. A report by the National Centre for Social Research, conducted to provide the Law Commission with up-to-date ...
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Chancery Lane calls for appraisal system for family judges
An appraisal system should be introduced for family judges, so that they can hear feedback on their performance and to reassure the public about the quality of the judiciary, the Law Society has suggested. In its response to the government’s family justice review, Chancery Lane said ...
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Small conveyancers still have weaponry against big brands
The Gazette reported recently on some figures released by Contact Law showing the level of anxiety among the profession over the ‘threat’ of alternative business structures.
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Five solicitors shortlisted for Gazette Legal Personality of the Year Award
Five solicitors have been shortlisted for the Gazette’s Legal Personality of the Year Award, with the winner to be announced at the Law Society’s Excellence Awards ceremony in October.
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‘Allegations’ against solicitors in decline
The number of ‘allegations’ made against solicitors which have led to risk assessments by the profession’s regulator has fallen, with a sharp drop in the number relating to mortgages and property, figures have shown. A paper submitted to the Law Society’s management board last week suggested ...