All articles by Rachel Rothwell – Page 27
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News
Is trial by jury under pressure from judges?
Jury trials have been in the spotlight in the last few weeks, with two significant speeches by senior judges focusing on juries. The lord chief justice called for tough sanctions against jurors who surf the web to find information about defendants and witnesses in the case they are sitting on ...
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Trial judges should put questions to jurors, says Lord Justice Moses
Judges should present a list of questions to jurors in criminal trials to guide them in reaching a verdict, a senior judge suggested yesterday. Lord Justice Moses said the move, which was recommended in Lord Justice Auld’s 2001 review of the criminal courts, would reduce the ...
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Forensic expert witnesses should be accredited, warns judge
A lack of accreditation of expert witnesses means that anyone with a scientific background and sufficient ‘brass neck’ could set themselves up as a forensic science expert and mislead the court, a Court of Appeal judge has warned. Lord Justice Leveson told the Forensic Science Society ...
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More than 300 firms reform as LDPs
More than 300 firms have registered as legal disciplinary partnerships (LDPs), according to the latest figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, indicating an acceleration of takeup in advance of the rules permitting alternative business structures (ABSs) next year. There were 304 registered LDPs at the end ...
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Increase alcohol tax to fund legal aid, says Law Society
The government should increase tax on alcohol to fund legal aid, in recognition of the extent to which criminal behaviour results from alcohol abuse, the Law Society has suggested. In a report to be published today reflecting the findings of the Society’s Access to Justice Review, ...
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Solicitors ‘not doing enough’ to market themselves as ABSs approach
Nine out of ten solicitors think they are not doing enough to promote their businesses in the face of forthcoming competition from alternative business structures, research seen exclusively by the Gazette has suggested. A survey of 330 solicitors by law firm referral service Contact Law found ...
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LSC extends family contracts
The Legal Services Commission has today extended the present family and combined family/housing legal aid contracts until 30 November next year. The contracts had previously been extended until 14 December 2010. The LSC said the additional extension of almost a year ...
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SRA to launch ‘strategic review’ of training
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to undertake an ‘independent, strategic review’ of education and training, in collaboration with the Bar Standards Board and the Institute of Legal Executives. The three regulators will form a joint ‘review group’ to inform the research, which will be a wide ...
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Solicitors believe ABSs will create ‘more opportunity’
Solicitors believe alternative business structures will create ‘more opportunity’ in terms of their careers, and are more motivated by work/life balance than financial gain, the results of exclusive Gazette research have suggested. In a survey completed by more than 180 lawyers, 55% said ABSs would provide ...
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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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‘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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News
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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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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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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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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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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News
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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News
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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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.