All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 71
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News
High Court dismisses LSC bid to recoup £100,000
The High Court has dismissed an attempt by the Legal Services Commission to recover more than £100,000 of payments on account (PoA) to a barrister, ruling that the LSC’s delay of almost 20 years in starting the action was an abuse of process. The LSC had ...
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Damages awarded in first UK Twitter libel action
A Welsh councillor has been ordered to pay damages in what is believed to be the first libel action resulting from comments posted on Twitter. The High Court in Cardiff last week ordered Caerphilly councillor Colin Elsbury to pay £3,000 in damages, after he used the ...
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Liberal Democrats call for legal aid impact assessments
Liberal Democrats have called for a properly funded legal aid system to be protected, as the government considers the responses to its controversial reform proposals. At their annual spring conference, the coalition partners backed plans to protect access to justice for the most vulnerable by ensuring ...
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Defence solicitors warn MoJ over interpreter outsourcing
Criminal defence solicitors have urged the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the standard of interpreters does not deteriorate as a result of cost-cutting plans to outsource translation services across the criminal justice system.
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LSC debt collection tactics criticised
Delays in granting legal aid by the Legal Services Commission and ‘aggressive’ enforcement by its debt collectors of legal aid contributions are causing anxiety for clients and have driven some to attempt suicide, the Gazette has learned.
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CLA telephone helpline survey results questioned
A survey of users of the Community Legal Advice (CLA) telephone helpline has called into question government claims that ‘many vulnerable groups’ prefer telephone advice. In its legal aid consultation, which proposes making the CLA compulsory for most areas of civil work, the Ministry of Justice ...
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News
Leading judge was libelled
A Court of Appeal judge has today received a libel apology and damages from a daily newspaper. Lord Justice Sedley, represented by London firm Bindmans, has accepted an apology and damages, which will be paid to charities, from the ...
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Disability hate crime victims ‘let down’ by system, says DPP
Victims and witnesses with disabilities have been let down by the criminal justice system, the Director of Public Prosecutions said this week as he called for a change in society’s attitude towards disability hate crime. Keir Starmer QC said victims and witnesses with disabilities ‘have not ...
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Landmark judgment highlights retainer letter lapse
A High Court judge warned solicitors of the need to be clear in retainer letters, as he ruled that a firm had breached its contract by refusing to carry out further work for a client until he had paid his bills, in a ...
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News
Mediator shortage looms, says family lawyers' group
Separating couples may ‘escape’ the new requirement to consult a mediator before going to court because of a shortage of properly accredited mediators, family lawyers’ group Resolution has suggested. The group’s chair Dave Allison also warned there was a risk that members of the public may ...
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News
National Approved Letting Scheme quality mark deal
Landlord and tenant solicitors can become affiliated to the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS), following an agreement with the Law Society announced this week. NALS represents landlords ...
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TV Edwards to merge with Blacklaws Davis
High profile London legal aid firms TV Edwards and Blacklaws Davis are to merge on 1 May 2011, they said today. On 1 April 2011 London criminal law and care work firm Dundons will also merge with ...
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News
Two solicitors awarded Queen's Counsel status
Just two solicitors were among the 120 Queen’s Counsel appointments announced by the Lord Chancellor today, while three high-profile solicitors were awarded honorary silk. The successful solicitor applicants were David Price, founder of London media law firm David Price Solicitors & Advocates, and Timothy Taylor, litigation ...
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News
Judges slam legal aid cuts and lawyers who bring ‘unmeritorious’ claims
Judges have slammed government plans to cut legal aid, but also criticised publicly funded lawyers who bring ‘unmeritorious’ public law claims, and proposed limiting legal aid in judicial review cases. In a response to the government’s consultation on legal aid published last week, the Judges’ Council ...
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Law Society warns against ‘scaremongering’ insurance adverts
The Law Society has warned homeowners not to be taken in by ‘scaremongering’ adverts offering ‘ineffective’ insurance protection against property fraud. The warning follows the publication of title theft protection insurance adverts that Chancery Lane says have been ‘aggressively marketed’ by some insurance companies. ...
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News
Justice system delays endemic, research shows
Law Society research submitted to the government last week has identified a ‘lack of communication’ pervading the justice system that is causing delays throughout the process. The survey of 245 individuals in the justice system, including 172 defence solicitors and 55 prosecutors, showed that respondents attributed ...
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News
One in two children in care 'don't trust the courts'
Half of the children in care do not trust the court to make the right decision about their lives, according to a report by Children’s Rights director Roger Morgan, published by Ofsted. Of 58 children interviewed, 50% thought courts never or do not usually make the ...
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News
Bar Professional Training Course students 'not up to it'
Too many people on the Bar Professional Training Course are ‘wasting their money’ because they are ‘not up to it’, the chair of the bar’s regulator declared last week. Lady Deech, chair of the Bar Standards Board, said the BSB would press ahead with its plans to introduce aptitude and ...
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News
Lloyds Banking Group heeds Law Society confidentiality concerns
Lloyds Banking Group will no longer ask its conveyancing panel members to provide client account information, after the Law Society raised concerns with the lender over the risk of breaches of client confidentiality. The Society has advised firms that if any lender asks them for client ...
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News
Cuts to put half of legal aid firms at risk of closure
The ‘catastrophic impact’ of the government’s proposed legal aid cuts could leave 50% of firms doing publicly funded work at risk of closure, according to research commissioned by the Law Society, seen exclusively by the Gazette. Consultants Andrew Otterburn and Vicky Ling surveyed 163 civil and ...