All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 76
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News
Ralli motors ahead with new iPhone app
Manchester firm Ralli has launched an iPhone app to help people keep on the right side of the motoring laws. The ‘Don’t Drink – Don’t Drive - Keep your Licence’ app, which can be downloaded for free, has been designed to enable drivers to calculate whether ...
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Internet ‘threat’ to jury system
Misuse of the internet by jurors is posing a threat to the integrity of the jury system, the lord chief justice warned last week. In a lecture to the Judicial Studies Board in Belfast, Lord Judge suggested jurors could be found in contempt of court ...
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Real estate litigation to rise
Next year will see a ‘significant’ rise in litigation within the real estate market, providing more work for some lawyers but putting others at risk of legal action, according to research by City firm Hogan Lovells seen by the Gazette. A survey of 160 senior executives ...
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Djanogly in mediation push
Individuals should play a greater role in solving their problems rather than turning to the courts, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said last week as he outlined government plans to support mediation in the wake of proposals to slash legal aid. Speaking at the Centre for Effective ...
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Unite and fight legal aid cuts – Kennedy
Baroness Helena Kennedy has called on the legal profession to pull together to fight against proposed legal aid cuts that will ‘leave a real lacuna for those most in need’ and increase the risk of miscarriages of justice. Her plea came as the Law Society launched ...
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Law Society to fund panel action
The Law Society has agreed to fund an opinion from counsel on whether a Hertfordshire firm can sue Santander and Lloyds Banking Group after being removed from their conveyancing panels. Paul Judkins, a partner at Judkins, said more than 50 firms had contacted him to express ...
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Rapid population growth will fuel demand for legal services
Emerging global economies will fuel a massive demand for legal services by 2030 and provide opportunities for UK law firms, according the Law Society. The Society said firms must respond to that increased demand, or miss out on vital opportunities. It said ...
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Herbert Smith to open document centre in Belfast
City firm Herbert Smith has announced it is to open an office in Belfast next year. The new branch will focus on reviewing and analysing the large volumes of documents found in major contentious work, notably in litigation, arbitration and regulatory investigations. ...
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Justice minister calls for greater steer towards mediation
Individuals should play a greater role in solving their problems rather than turning to the courts, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said last week as he set out the government’s plan to support mediation in the wake of its proposals to slash legal aid. Speaking at CEDR’s ...
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Society launches campaign to fight legal aid cuts
The Law Society has called on law firms to lobby MPs over the impact of the government’s proposed legal aid overhaul, in the first stage in its campaign to fight the cuts. Chancery Lane has warned that the plans outlined in last week’s consultation to reduce ...
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Virtual court pilot in ‘chaos’
Efforts by the Ministry of Justice to increase use of the virtual court at Camberwell Green magistrates’ court in London have led to ‘chaos’ because the court list is overloaded, criminal solicitors allege. For the last fortnight all overnight remands from the 20 London police ...
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ProcureCos could earn bar ‘millions’ in new work
The bar is in ‘rapid change mode’ and could secure ‘hundreds of millions of pounds’ of work through its new ProcureCos, Nick Green QC told the bar’s annual conference. But the bar’s chairman said that despite a ‘jockeying for position’ with solicitors, the two professions would ...
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Big majority backs free legal advice
More than eight out of 10 people believe civil legal advice should be free for people on average earnings or below. This conviction is consistent across all social classes, a nationwide opinion poll has found, raising fresh questions over the government’s mandate for swingeing legal aid cuts.
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Neuberger endorses accreditation scheme
The master of the rolls has given judicial backing to the proposed quality assurance for advocates (QAA) scheme, saying judges are the ‘ultimate consumers’ of advocacy services and are well placed to assess quality. Speaking at the Bar Council’s annual conference, Lord Neuberger defended the proposal ...
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LSC facing court challenge over immigration contracts
The future of the Legal Service Commission’s new immigration and asylum contract could be in doubt after the High Court gave South Manchester Law Centre (SMLC) permission to challenge the outcome of the tender process. The law centre challenged the lawfulness of the tender process in ...
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New legal aid court challenge set to proceed
A High Court judge has refused an injunction that could have further delayed the start of the new mental health and public law legal aid contracts – but awarded a protective costs order to enable a legal challenge to the two Legal Services Commission tender processes.
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MPs question MoJ over budget cuts
The House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee has questioned the ability of the Ministry of Justice to comprehend the impact of the 23% cuts set to be made to its budget, given its history of ‘poor’ financial management. At a committee meeting on Tuesday, MPs grilled ...
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Call for professional code of conduct for all mediators
All mediators should be subject to a code of professional conduct enforced by a disciplinary procedure, but the profession should not be regulated through legislation, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) said at its mediation symposium last week. The call comes ahead of a European Mediation ...
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News
Will pro bono work replace legal aid?
Pro bono week begins next Monday with a host of events across the country to celebrate work done by lawyers to help their communities. Last month saw the opening of the new pro bono centre in London, which brings together in one place the pro bono ...
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Ombudsman to investigate complaints against LSC
The Parliamentary Ombudsman is to investigate complaints of maladministration made against the Legal Services Commission by the Law Society and several law firms over its late claims to recoup payments made on account. In 2008, the LSC demanded that legal aid firms repay money that had ...