All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 85
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News
Asylum advice centre closes
Immigration advice charity Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) went into administration yesterday following cashflow problems which it said were due to late payments by the Legal Services Commission. Despite a high-profile campaign, with letters sent to the justice secretary and home secretary on RMJ’s behalf by ...
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Law Society launches risk management service
The Law Society has launched a new service which it claims will help firms navigate the increasingly complicated area of risk and compliance and put in place risk management procedures. The Risk and Compliance Service includes in-house consultancy, a newsletter and a Lawyerline ...
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Social welfare paralysis fear in Manchester
The Law Society has warned of ‘severe disruption’ to the supply of social welfare advice in Manchester if the delayed timetable for a new Community Legal Advice Service (CLAS) slips further. The tender process for the service, jointly commissioned by the Legal Services Commission and Manchester ...
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Law Society and Bar Council examine new funding options
The Law Society and Bar Council have set up a joint working party to look at new ways of funding cases as an alternative to legal aid. With the government poised to announce the details of public spending cuts, the two bodies said they had come ...
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Solicitors call for an end to court recording ban
Criminal defence solicitors have called on the Courts Service to allow them to take dictation devices into court buildings. The Courts Service currently bans the devices from court premises, and they are often removed from solicitors when they enter the buildings, although the rule is not ...
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Lawyers condemn arrest of US lawyer in Rwanda
Lawyers have condemned the arrest of a US colleague who is representing a defendant before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and called for his immediate release.
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Lawyers pay tribute to ‘old school’ solicitor killed in Cumbria massacre
Members of the profession have paid tribute to Kevin Commons, the Cumbrian solicitor killed by a local man who shot 12 people dead in a killing spree before shooting himself last week. Kevin Joseph Commons, 60, is thought to have been the second victim of gunman ...
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News
Experimental chambers BarFutures set to close
Experimental virtual chambers BarFutures is to close its doors at the end of June after two years because of a ‘lack of appetite for change within the profession’, the Gazette has learned. The alternative set was designed to meet the challenges posed by the Legal Services ...
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Solicitors support advocacy quality assurance scheme
The Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates (SAHCA) has given its support to the Legal Services Commission’s proposals for a quality assurance scheme for advocates (QAA), but warned it must be ‘demonstrably even-handed, objective and proportionate’. Following consultation with its 1,300 members, SAHCA responded to the ...
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News
Lord Lester’s bill a ‘catalyst’ for libel reform
Liberal Democrat peer and barrister Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC has introduced a private member’s bill to reform the country’s ‘archaic’ libel laws. The peer’s Defamation Bill is designed to clarify and modernise the law of libel, protecting both the rights to reputation and freedom ...
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News
Second blow for supporters of referral fee ban
Any prospect of a new ban on referral fees has been dealt a second major blow in the space of a few weeks, as a new report for the Legal Services Board recommended that the fees should be retained last week. The Legal Services Consumer ...
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News
Michael Mansfield QC honoured at Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards
Civil rights barrister Michael Mansfield QC received the outstanding achievement accolade at the eighth Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards last week. Mansfield, who retired from practice last year, was honoured for a career that spanned 40 years, during which he acted in high-profile cases ...
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MoJ admits drafting error in fee-capping regulations
Acquitted defendants can claim the full cost of private legal fees, after the Ministry of Justice admitted there is a drafting error in the regulations intended to implement its controversial policy to cap awards. The admission came in documents submitted by the MoJ in connection ...
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News
High street firms ‘can survive’ in post-Legal Services Act market
High street solicitors can survive in the post-Legal Services Act market, but need a more creative approach to pricing, branding and service delivery, according to a group of key industry figures. At a roundtable debate last week marking the launch of Shopping Around, a report published ...
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News
LSC accused of squandering millions on VHCC tender process
Legal aid lawyers have accused the Legal Services Commission of wasting ‘millions’ on the tender process for the very high cost cases (VHCC) litigator’s panel. The LSC announced last week that the panel will be scrapped in July, after being in place for only two years. ...
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Luton solicitor jailed over £158k fraud
A Luton solicitor has been jailed for 12 months for falsely claiming more than £150,000 from the Legal Services Commission. Najaf Shah, who worked at Alexander Solicitors and Advocates in Luton, submitted fraudulent legal aid bills totalling £158,000. In one instance he claimed for 101 prison ...
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Where will the spending axe fall next?
The new justice secretary’s in-tray is bulging. He has already found his department fighting judicial review proceedings; dealing with a drafting error that has rendered new defence costs rules...
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Clarke urged to save cash-strapped immigration advice provider
Charities, faith leaders and human rights experts are calling on new justice secretary Kenneth Clarke (pictured) to save the UK’s largest immigration advice provider, which is facing closure because of delays in receiving legal aid payments. In an open letter to Clarke and home secretary ...
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LSC could face judicial review of 'unfair’ family tender process
The Legal Services Commission could face a judicial review of the process and selection criteria used in the recent tender exercise for its new family contract. A family solicitor who did not want to be identified told the Gazette he has got the support of ‘a ...
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News
Solicitors celebrate the demise of HIPs
Solicitors celebrated the end of the home information pack ‘disaster’ last week. The coalition government scrapped HIPs after election manifesto commitments from both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to ditch the packs. Sellers will still need an energy performance certificate. The ...