All articles by John Hyde – Page 313
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News
Retreat is not an option, says Legal Services Board
A hands-off approach to regulation is ‘not an option’ for the Legal Services Board, the embattled super-regulator has protested. In a statement on its role timed to coincide with the publication of its annual report, the board conceded that other regulators would prefer it to be ...
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IT firm offers route round referral fee ban
A legal technology firm is promoting a business plan which it says will allow solicitors to continue working with personal injury referrers. The company, Epoq, has created LegalGo, a free assistance plan that claims management companies distribute to claimants. The CMC signs ...
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RTA claims still high despite referral fee ban
The referral fee ban had little impact on the number of RTA claims, with the number of cases in the immediate aftermath increasing by 27% compared to the year before, the Gazette has learned. Figures published by the RTA Portal Company show that 79,483 claims ...
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New potential market in aviation claims
Law firms have a potential market of as many as one million claimants who may be eligible for compensation for delayed flights, it has been suggested. Personal injury specialist Bott & Co said this week it has recovered €300,000 for 600 clients in the 100 days ...
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SRA approves first barrister-led ABS
A London chambers specialising in immigration law has become the first barrister-led practice to apply successfully for ABS status. The Solicitors Regulation Authority said Richmond Chambers was the first of its 152 alternative business structures to be headed by barristers. Although members ...
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30 high-impact firms in ‘serious financial difficulty’
More than 30 of the top 200 UK firms are in serious financial difficulty, the Solicitors Regulation Authority revealed today. The regulator is in what it calls ‘intense engagement’ with 160 firms at risk of failure, of which eight are in immediate danger. ...
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SRA takes over 16 months to approve ABS
The Solicitors Regulation Authority took a record 16 months and 26 days to process the alternative business structure application of personal injury firm Minster Law, it has emerged. Outgoing Minster chairman Adrian Christmas told the Gazette that he applied to gain ABS status on 3 January ...
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Starmer offers victims ‘right to review’
Victims of crime, including bereaved family members, will have the right to ask prosecutors to look again at a case following a decision not to charge or to discontinue proceedings. The government will today set out plans to allow appeals against decisions taken by the Crown ...
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News
‘No limits’ to regulation review
The Ministry of Justice has said there will be no limits to a far-reaching review of the regulation of legal services. Justice minister Helen Grant (pictured) today called on regulators and providers of legal services to show how the burden of regulation can be reduced. ...
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Review of regulation? Let’s fire the LSB for a start
In a former life I was an entertainment writer. I interviewed Steve Coogan and Sir Cliff – I even went to a Justin Bieber concert (my hearing is still suffering from the screaming – not my own I should add). I was great fun at dinner ...
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Claims management ‘list of shame’ to go online
Claims management companies that are under investigation will be named online, the Ministry of Justice said today. The list, which goes live next Thursday, will include details of what action is being taken and the reason for it. The MoJ, which runs ...
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News
Slaughter: further court closures will bring ‘chaos’
Shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter has warned the government that a further round of court closures would be ‘reckless and chaotic’. Speculation is growing that the Ministry of Justice will soon announce at least 80 further court closures – mainly magistrates’ courts – to add to ...
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News
Bar Council faces probe over cab rank ‘interference’
The Legal Services Board is to formally investigate whether the Bar Council breached rules to interfere in a controversial decision affecting the cab rank rule. The investigation follows information provided earlier this year about the council’s role in representing its members. Chris ...
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Hodge holds fire on ‘tax avoidance by lawyers’
The Commons public spending watchdog has no plans to call lawyers before its headline-grabbing inquiry into tax avoidance – at least before the summer recess. The public accounts committee, chaired by Margaret Hodge MP, has lacerated representatives from the Big Four accounting firms at recent hearings, ...
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Claims against the NHS set to surge
Clinical negligence cases against the NHS increased by 18% in 2012/13, government figures have revealed. Statistics compiled by the Department for Work and Pensions found there were 16,006 cases registered with the compensation recovery unit last year, compared with 13,517 for 2011/12. ...
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Panel firms named as claims against NHS soar
The Department of Health has announced its roster of defendant panel firms that will share a £400m contract for the NHS in England over the next four years. After a tender process lasting several months, successful bidders were informed this morning. ...
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News
Growth rate plummets at top 100 firms
Fee income growth achieved by the top 100 UK law firms more than halved in 2012/13, according to financial consultant Deloitte. The country’s leading firms managed a 2.6% increase in revenue for the last financial year, compared with a 6.6% increase in 2011/12. The year was capped off by a ...
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News
Jackson LJ to rule on his own reforms
Lord Justice Jackson is one of five High Court judges appointed to hear appeals arising from his costs reforms.
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LSB relies on regulators to see off DBA ‘mis-selling’ fear
The Legal Services Board will not introduce specific guidance for damages-based agreements
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Government denies plan for ‘wholesale privatisation’ of courts
The Ministry of Justice has denied it has plans for the ‘wholesale privatisation’ of the courts service – despite extra pressure from the Treasury to reduce spending..