All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 110
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News
Lawyers blamed for negligence fees rise
Clinical negligence practitioners have hit back at claims they are fuelling a‘compensation culture’ by charging too much, after it emerged that the NHS’s bill for patients’ lawyers has more than doubled in the last four years. The NHS paid out £90.7m in costs to claimant solicitors ...
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Victims wary of orders
A change in the law has put women ‘at risk’ as domestic violence victims do not want partners who breach non-molestation orders to be jailed, practitioners have warned. Family lawyers claim the number of applications for non-molestation orders has ‘fallen significantly’ since the law was changed ...
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Mediation nod for PI
Mediation is just as suitable for settling personal injury (PI) cases as it is for other disputes, the former vice-president of the Court of Appeal’s civil division has said. Speaking at a conference for personal injury lawyers this week, Sir Henry Brooke, who chairs the Civil ...
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Virtual court pilot in jeopardy over fees
A pilot scheme that could see defendants sentenced via video-link within hours of being arrested could be derailed as three leading practitioner groups consider withdrawing their support over pay, the Gazette has learned.
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'Put council notices online'
The law should be changed to give statutory notices posted on the internet the same legal status as those in local newspapers, according to the founder of a new website. Andrew Bullen, managing director of Public Notices UK, aims to secure the support of a Conservative ...
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Thumbs-up for mediation pilot
Employment lawyers have given the thumbs-up to a judicial mediation pilot and called for it to be available in tribunals across England and Wales. Results of a survey carried out by the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) revealed that the majority (78%) of the 123 respondents who ...
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News
Registry fraud payouts soar
The Land Registry is facing a compensation bill up by £5 million on last year because of an increase in fraudulent title registrations. Figures in its annual report, published in August, show the value of claims pending for losses resulting from errors on the register caused ...
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Child welfare fears add to justice burden
Applications for children to be separately represented in private law family cases have soared by almost 25% in two years, as courts battle to ensure the children’s voices are heard in complex disputes, the Gazette has learned. The number of rule 9.5 applications to appoint a ...
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Helpline to make appointments at law firms for legal aid clients
A pilot helpline enabling civil legal aid clients to book face-to-face appointments with solicitors could boost the numbers of people receiving publicly funded advice, the chairman of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) has told the Gazette. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) launched the trial Community ...
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HIPs questionnaire 'biased against solicitors'
The proposed home information pack (HIP) questionnaire has been branded a ‘crude attempt’ to help non-solicitor pack providers and push solicitors out of the conveyancing market. A year after the introduction of the controversial packs, the government has launched a consultation to add an extra document ...
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Lawyer hits out at Red Cross confidentiality
A leading human rights lawyer has condemned the Red Cross’s confidentiality policy as ‘colluding in the secrecy’ of regimes that torture and breach the rule of law, and called for its charitable status to be questioned.
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Changes in dentistry prompt hike in negligence claims
The decline in NHS dentistry and an increase in cosmetic dental treatment have led to an surge in negligence claims referred to solicitors, practitioners have told the Gazette. Simon Elliman, head of clinical negligence at regional firm Withy King, said the department has seen more enquiries ...
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News
Starmer sets out CPS brief
Ensuring the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has the public’s full confidence will be top of the newly appointed Director of Public Prosecutions’ (DPP) to-do list, Keir Starmer QC has told the Gazette.
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Automatic higher rights plan 'threat to standards'
Proposals to give solicitors automatic rights of audience in all courts undermine consumer interest and will enable barristers to market themselves as superior advocates, the chairman of the Bar Council has told the Gazette. Tim Dutton QC said the proposals to end the current requirement for ...
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Alcohol test for care cases
A new rapid call-out service to test for evidence of alcohol abuse by parents might be used to speed up the launch of child care proceedings, its manufacturers claim. Trimega Laboratories says hair samples will be taken within 90 minutes of an initial request. Test results, ...
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News
'Shoddy' phone advice for bail defendants
The telephone advice service for people detained by police on less serious offences is giving a ‘shoddy service’ to some defendants arrested in breach of bail terms, a leading criminal lawyer has claimed. Rodney Warren, director of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, said practitioners were beginning ...
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Legal recruiters swamped as conveyancers feel the pinch
Legal recruiters have been inundated by approaches from conveyancing practitioners looking for work as the credit crunch takes its toll on the housing market. The decline in the property market has led to job losses for lawyers and support staff across the country. Volume conveyancers Barnetts ...
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Tender pilot for legal aid
Competitive or best value tendering (BVT) for criminal defence legal aid work will be piloted before its full introduction in 2011, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) announced last week. The scheme will be trialled in Avon and Somerset, and Manchester, in 2010. It was expected to ...
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News
£32k copyright dispute
The dispute with two silks over copyright issues related to the Society’s Code of Conduct cost the Law Society more than £30,000, council members were told last week. Chief Executive Des Hudson said the total spend on the litigation – which was settled in April on ...
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Day In The Life
Solicitor Anthony Edwards tells Catherine Baksi why, after 36 years in practice, he still enjoys going to work Anthony Edwards is a solicitor-advocate and senior partner at East End of London crime and family firm TV Edwards, which recently merged with Finsbury firm Taylor Nichol. He ...