All articles by Catherine Baksi – Page 94
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News
LSC announces dates for civil legal aid tenders, but concerns remain
The Legal Services Commission has announced the revised dates that tendering for the new civil contracts for legal aid work will open, but the Law Society has warned that problems must still be addressed before the tenders begin. Bid rounds for social welfare law and ...
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News
Straw to crack down on lawyers’ defamation fees
The Ministry of Justice has launched a four-week consultation proposing an ‘urgent’ interim measure to limit the success fees that can be claimed by lawyers in defamation cases. The consultation paper proposes limiting the uplift charged by lawyers for winning defamation cases taken on under conditional ...
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News
MPs warn of criminal justice 'crisis'
A committee of MPs has warned that the criminal justice system is ‘facing a crisis of sustainability’ as government spending on prisons takes resources away from other aspects of criminal justice. The Justice Committee said the government should make ‘radical moves’ to shift resources away from ...
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News
Surprise increase in practising certificate numbers
The number of solicitors with practising certificates (PCs) continued its relentless rise in 2009, despite predictions in many quarters that the recession would herald a decline. Figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority show that the number of practising solicitors totalled 112,589 at December 31, having risen ...
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News
Law Society files judicial review application over defendants’ costs cap
The Law Society has filed a judicial review application in a move to overturn new government regulations restricting the costs that can be recovered by acquitted defendants. Regulations that came into force on 31 October 2009 cap at legal aid rates the costs recoverable by ...
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News
Legal aid payments delayed by LSC IT glitch
Technical problems at the Legal Services Commission delayed payments that were due to all legal aid solicitors at the start of the year. The payment systems at the LSC went down for a day and a half, which meant the BACS payment run that was due ...
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News
SRA makes £3m payment to help clients of Wolstenholmes
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has made a payment of £3m to help clients whose conveyancing transactions have been left in limbo by the closure of Cheshire firm Wolstenholmes. The money has come from the Compensation Fund, which is administered by the SRA and funded by the ...
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News
Chancery Lane calls for answers about legal aid tendering process
The Law Society has written to the Legal Services Commission demanding urgent information about ‘fundamental issues’ concerning the civil legal aid tendering process, and expressing ‘grave concern’ at the lack of detail given to providers. The tender process is due to begin at the beginning of ...
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News
Tough times ahead but no more redundancies, predict conveyancers
Property experts have predicted a slow start to the year, but forecast an end to redundancies among conveyancing solicitors. Paul Marsh, lead Law Society spokesman on property, said the next 12 months would remain slow, but with house prices rising in some areas due to a ...
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News
Chancery Lane moves to block legal aid cap for acquitted defendants
The Law Society has filed a judicial review application in a move to block new government regulations restricting the costs that can be recovered by acquitted defendants. Regulations that came into force on 31 October 2009 cap at legal aid rates the costs recoverable by acquitted defendants who have ...
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News
Law firms launch new support service for solicitors
Two law firms have joined forces to launch a new support service for solicitors experiencing regulatory, conduct, practice or business problems. The Lawyers Defence Group (LDG) has been set up by national firm Richard Nelson and London firm Murdochs to provide all lawyers – solicitors, barristers, ...
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News
Solicitors predict number of divorces will rocket following surge in enquiries
Family solicitors reported a surge in divorce enquiries before Christmas and have predicted that the number of divorces will rocket in 2010, with January likely to be the busiest month. The rush comes as London firm Lloyd Platt & Co markets a new ‘divorce voucher’ scheme for separating couples. Mark ...
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News
With divorce enquiries on the rise, is it time to change the rules?
As marriage rates have fallen in recent years, divorce rates have also gone down, but family solicitors reported a massive surge in divorce enquiries from clients in the run up to Christmas and predicted the number of petitions will soar in 2010.
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News
First Sikh to be appointed a judge receives knighthood
The first Sikh to be appointed a judge in England and Wales topped the roll call of lawyers named in the New Year Honours list for 2010. Retired circuit judge Mota Singh QC (pictured), a barrister who sat at Southwark Crown Court, received a knighthood in ...
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News
Family mediation pilot achieves mixed results
A pilot scheme making family mediation available at court to legally aided parties in disputes involving children has cost more than expected and achieved modest settlement rates, the Gazette has learned.
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News
Five solicitors suspended following more than 100 client complaints
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has intervened in a Cheshire firm and suspended the practising certificates of five of its solicitors following allegations of dishonesty involving hundreds of thousands of pounds of clients’ money. The SRA is investigating suspected dishonesty and breaches of accounting rules at Wolstenholmes, ...
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News
IT failure at LSC delays legal aid payments
Technical problems at the Legal Services Commission have delayed all payments due to be made to legal aid solicitors today. The LSC is set to issue an e-alert later updating the profession on the situation. Payment systems at the LSC apparently ...
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News
Reform group publishes plans to change HIP rules
A group of property professionals released a ‘white paper’ today putting forward proposals to reform the controversial home information packs in a bid to speed up transactions and reduce abortive sales. The HIP Reform Group, established in November 2009, said the packs should be retained rather ...
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News
Trainee solicitors face debts of more than £10,000
More than half of trainee solicitors have racked up debts of more than £10,000 before qualifying, according to an annual survey published by law student forum TraineeSolicitor.co.uk. The survey of around 200 trainees revealed that 55% had debts in excess of £10,000, while 35% were more ...
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News
Law firms urged to conduct identity checks on staff
Firms are putting themselves at risk by failing to carry out basic identity checks on their staff before employing them, the chairman of the Law Society’s conveyancing and land law committee has warned. Richard Barnett said he had been made aware that many firms were not ...