All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 90
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News
O2 slams letters sent out by lawyers to alleged internet file-sharers
Mobile phone company O2 has waded into the row over controversial letters sent by lawyers to alleged internet file-sharers. O2 broadband customers are among the thousands who have received letters from London firm ACS Law, which acts on behalf of DigiProtect, an anti-piracy firm, and ...
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Chancery Lane calls for ‘radical rethink’ of legal aid funding
A loan fund akin to the student loans scheme and a ‘polluter pays’ funding mechanism are among ideas advanced today for legal aid funding by the Law Society. Launching its interim Access to Justice Review, the Society called for a ‘radical rethink’ of legal aid ...
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Libel reform bill planned after the next election
Justice secretary Jack Straw yesterday announced that a bill reforming the law of libel will be introduced in the next parliament. The planned legislation, which arises from a report from the Ministry of Justice’s Libel Working Group, is designed to improve the rules covering defamation on the internet and ...
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MoJ reveals top-earning legal aid firms
London firm Duncan Lewis topped the tables published today by the Ministry of Justice of the firms that earn the most from legal aid. In the year ending March 2009, Duncan Lewis received £9.9m from the community legal service’s annual £900m budget, almost twice as much ...
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Could unqualified prosecutors lead to miscarriages of justice?
The regulator of the Institute of Legal Executives, ILEX Professional Services, is consulting on proposals to grant extended rights of audience to associate prosecutors (APs) in the magistrates' court.
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Justice secretary announces court closures
Justice secretary Jack Straw has announced the closure of 20 ‘under-used’ magistrates' courts. The following courts will close: Bourne; Bridport; Cheshunt; Cullompton; Dorking; Eastleigh; Gainsborough; Havant, Launceston; Louth; Mildenhall; Linehead; Sherborne; Sleaford; Stamford; Wantage; Wareham; Wells; Whitby and Widnes. The majority, ...
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Plan for post-charge police interview faces opposition
Police officers could be allowed to question defendants after charge following Home Office proposals to reform the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. But plans to enable the extension of detention in police custody to be authorised remotely by telephone or video link, and to transfer ...
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Judge Gledhill's regret over solicitor-advocate 'distress'
The judge who sparked an extraordinary public row last year after he delivered stinging criticism of three solicitor-advocates in open court has issued a clarification admitting he should have dealt with the situation differently. In a written statement, Judge Gledhill QC (pictured) said he understood the ...
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CPS to recruit new lawyers to improve 'poor' performance
The new head of London’s Crown Prosecution Service has announced it will recruit 42 new lawyers in a bid to improve service following a review that found performance in over a third of the capital’s boroughs was ‘poor’. The report of Her Majesty’s CPS Inspectorate on ...
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Supreme Court divorce decision could ‘open the floodgates’
The Supreme Court’s decision to top up the financial award made to a divorcee by a Nigerian court could ‘open the floodgates to forum shopping’ and further clog the London courts, family lawyers have warned. The court ruled that a settlement reached in a Nigerian ...
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News
Jack Straw to scrap court fees in care cases
Justice secretary Jack Straw has agreed to scrap controversial court fees in care and supervision cases, after an independent report found they deterred local authorities from starting proceedings. However, the change will not come into effect until April 2011 to avoid local authorities having ...
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Solicitors alarmed by associate prosecutor proposals
Proposals that could enable ‘associate prosecutors’ with no legal qualifications to conduct magistrates’ court trials amount to ‘justice on the cheap’ and herald the ‘de-lawyering’ of the magistrates’ court, solicitors have warned. The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) is consulting on proposals to grant associate prosecutors ...
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News
Mortgage lenders lose faith in regulation of solicitors
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has called for closer scrutiny of law firms to crack down on mortgage fraud committed by solicitors, and a comprehensive review of the way solicitors are regulated. The CML said the principles-based approach of the Solicitors Regulation Authority is not ...
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Land Registry finalises cost-cutting proposals
The Land Registry has announced a revised programme of structural changes that will mean fewer office closures and job cuts. Following consultation on proposals to reduce its operating costs, the Registry will now close three of its 17 offices in 2011, rather than five as had ...
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News
A third of home information packs ‘unsatisfactory’
Almost a third of estate agents provide unsatisfactory home information packs according to a survey by Birmingham Trading Standards. Results of the study carried out at the end of last year revealed that, of the 37 packs examined, 70% were rated satisfactory or reasonably satisfactory, and ...
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News
Bar Standards Board agrees constitution
The Bar Council has agreed to give its regulator a separate constitution enshrining its independence. Following approval by the Bar Council at the weekend, the Bar Standards Board will have its own constitution, giving it powers to choose the committees, standing orders and rules that govern ...
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News
Explore legal representation for rape victims, says Stern review
Legal representation for rape victims should be explored to counter the unfairness in the adversarial system felt by many, Baroness Stern said in her independent review into how rape complaints are handled, published today. ‘Victims often feel that the court system is unfair because they do ...
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News
IT glitch hits operation of virtual court
IT problems caused a ‘meltdown’ in the operation of the virtual court at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court last month, with the system down for a week, the Gazette has learned. An IT fault meant that the virtual court system, whereby defendants make their first appearance ...
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Call for conveyancers to diversify as pressure grows on fees
Conveyancers are facing unprecedented pressure over fees but have largely failed to diversify into other areas, according to research seen exclusively by the Gazette. The news comes as Spicerhaart, the estate agency which has launched website iSold.com in association with supermarket Tesco, said that it expects ...
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Call to simplify ‘intrusive’ legal aid means test
The Ministry of Justice’s decision to grant legal aid to families bereaved by the 7/7 bombings has prompted calls for the ‘intrusive’ and ‘distressing’ means test forms to be simplified. Last week justice secretary Jack Straw said that due to the ‘exceptional circumstances’, families who had ...