All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 93
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News
Bar Council to launch legal action against MoJ
The Bar Council and the Criminal Bar Association are set to take the government to court for the first time in 20 years over what they claim are ‘inadequate and unfair’ consultations on new fees for criminal legal aid work. They have instructed solicitors to take ...
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MoJ and City firms test new business model for law centres
The Ministry of Justice has launched a pilot initiative in partnership with City law firms and charitable trusts to test a new business model for law centres. The project will harness City firms’ know-how to ensure law centres across the country are run in the most ...
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JAC and Chancery Lane launch training package for aspiring judges
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) and the Law Society today launched a training and information package to encourage more solicitors to apply for judicial posts. The two organisations have designed a courtroom training video and commentary specifically targeted at solicitors to assist them in the part ...
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MoJ restricts civil legal aid
The Ministry of Justice has announced it is to press ahead with proposals to restrict civil legal aid for people not resident in the UK, tighten the funding rules for judicial review and limit funding for public interest cases, despite strong opposition from lawyers. The consultation ...
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Public Accounts Committee publishes damning report on LSC
The Ministry of Justice has announced measures to save £6m a year from the legal aid budget by ‘tightening the rules for civil legal aid’. The announcement came as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published a ...
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Five national firms to offer advice to 48 local authorities
Five national law firms have been selected to provide legal advice to 48 local authorities in the East Midlands under the EM LawShare consortium umbrella. Anthony Collins, Browne Jacobson, DLA Piper, Freeth Cartwright and Weightmans will offer legal advice on 13 areas of law including ...
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News
Shoosmiths launches Access Legal consumer brand
National firm Shoosmiths launched a new brand for its consumer legal services today in a bid to put its stamp on the ‘fragmented’ post-Clementi landscape. Access Legal will deliver legal services to the firm’s consumer clients in the areas of conveyancing, employment law, legal disputes, medical negligence, motoring, personal injury ...
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News
Firms feel the burden of SRA regulation
More than three-quarters of firms think the regulatory burden imposed on them by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority is excessive, research commissioned by the Law Society has shown. However, the study showed a high level of satisfaction with the SRA’s ethics helpline, and an understanding ...
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News
Conveyancing solicitors face higher bank charges over Registry portal
Conveyancing solicitors will face higher bank charges as a result of the Land Registry’s new electronic portal. On 31 March, Land Registry Direct, the means by which solicitors access the Land Registry’s e-business services, will be replaced by a new electronic platform. ...
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News
Legal world comes to aid of Haitian survivors
Law firms around the world have offered financial and pro bono support to help survivors of the Haitian earthquake, while the Law Society has launched an appeal to gather donations. Chancery Lane has set up an online appeal which will aggregate money raised by the legal ...
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News
Lawyers unite to oppose further criminal legal aid cutbacks
The government has united solicitors and barristers in their opposition to proposals to make further cuts to criminal legal aid work. But as both sides seek a solution that protects their members’ interests, there are differences over the best way forward. The Bar Council and Criminal ...
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News
Defamation fees cap risks 'restricting access to justice’
Government proposals to limit lawyers’ fees in defamation cases risk ‘restricting access to justice’ according to claimant solicitors, while those representing defendants say they do not go far enough.
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News
Is media access to the family courts endangering children?
Ministry of Justice research published this week found that since access by the media to the family courts was widened last April, relatively few journalists had taken the opportunity to attend hearings.
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News
Clampdown on mortgage fraud by lawyers saves lenders £15m
A campaign by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to target solicitors involved in property fraud has saved lenders £15-20m over the past nine months, the SRA claimed this week. Its inspectors have made emergency inspections of firms where property fraud was suspected and the SRA has given ...
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News
Law firms set up terror victim compensation scheme
The pro bono work of lawyers at two City firms has played a key role in the establishment of a new scheme to compensate British victims of terrorism abroad. Over the last three years, Lovells and Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) have been working on a scheme, ...
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News
Estate agents not influenced by referral fees, survey reports
Referral payments made by solicitors are ‘the least important consideration’ for estate agents when deciding which law firm to recommend, research has suggested. In a survey of more than 100 estate agents carried out by conveyancer and home information pack provider The Partnership, only 3% ...
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News
Land Registry urges conveyancers to sign up to web portal
The Land Registry has urged conveyancing solicitors to sign up to access its new web portal in advance of the closure of Land Registry Direct (LRD). On 31 March, LRD, the means by which solicitors access the Land Registry’s e-business services, will be shut down and ...
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News
Family solicitors report rise in 'collaborative prenups’
Family solicitors have reported a rise in the number of clients asking for prenuptial agreements to be prepared using the collaborative law model. Suzanne Kingston, a partner at London firm Dawsons, said about 50% of the pre- and postnuptial agreements she completed last year were done ...
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News
Withers faces investigation into contempt claims
City firm Withers faces an investigation into claims that it committed a contempt of parliament by seeking to prevent an MP from talking about one of its clients there. The Commons held an emergency debate on the matter last Thursday, and it was referred to the ...
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News
What is the real motive behind defamation costs reform?
Lord Justice Jackson published his review on civil costs on 14 January, recommending the abolition of success fees and after-the-event insurance in all civil cases where conditional fee agreements (CFAs) were used.