All articles by John Hyde – Page 323
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News
Defendant lawyers ‘saddened’ by Law Society PI campaign
The Forum of Insurance Lawyers has said it is ‘profoundly saddened’ by a Law Society advertising campaign urging accident victims to seek legal advice. The campaign portrays a beaten face with the caption ‘don’t get mugged’, telling injured people to speak to a solicitor before accepting a third-party capture offer ...
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Opinion
Axa calls for three-day limit on whiplash claims
Whiplash claims should be made within three days of the alleged accident and include evidence of physical injury if they are to succeed, insurance giant Axa said today. The recommendations are part of a wishlist for the government to adopt on whiplash, copying models already in place in France and ...
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News
Claimant solicitors attack insurer’s ‘biased’ whiplash proposals
Claimant solicitors have dismissed a report into whiplash by insurer Axa as ‘highly biased’ and based on inaccurate or outdated statistics. The insurance giant yesterday put pressure on the government to impose new medical and time limits for making low-value RTA claims. The report pointed to countries such as Sweden ...
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News
JK Rowling’s solicitor apologises for leak
A London firm has ‘apologised unreservedly’ for accidentally revealing that Harry Potter author JK Rowling (pictured) was writing under a pseudonym. Russells Solicitors, which describes itself as ‘one of the leading firms in the entertainment industry’, has admitted it was the source of the leaked information ...
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News
Next year's PC fees agreed today – full details
Individual solicitors will be shielded from significant fee increases next year but most firms will pay more. The Law Society today agreed that its net funding requirement for 2014 will be £116.8m, an increase from £103.5m the previous year. The funds cover the Society, Solicitors Regulation Authority and external bodies ...
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News
SRA set to agree major increase in fining powers
Proposals for significant increases in the fining powers of the Solicitors Regulation Authority are set to be agreed this week. The SRA regulatory risk committee will meet tomorrow to recommend new fining guidelines of between £500 and £50,000 for most firms and individuals. For firms with domestic turnover of more ...
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News
Insurer calls on government to look again at whiplash awards
A leading figure at Britain’s biggest car insurer has urged the government to consider looking again at compensation awards for whiplash injuries. Tom Woolgrove (pictured), managing director of personal lines at Direct Line, said it was ‘obvious’ car insurance premiums had fallen following reforms of ...
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News
Direct Line applies to set up law firm through ABS
Britain’s biggest car insurer, Direct Line Group, has applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority to become an alternative business structure. The insurer wants to create a newly formed and wholly owned law firm, DLG Legal Services, to operate in partnership with existing law firm Parabis. Direct Line Group already provides ...
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News
60 lawyers to go at global giant
A US law firm with a significant presence in London has confirmed it is making 170 redundancies worldwide. Top 20 global firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges told staff in a mass email that 60 lawyers were being cut along with 110 support staff. A spokesman for the firm declined to ...
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OpinionChannel 4 is wrong to screen The Murder Trial
The strangest moment I ever faced while reporting a murder trial was some years ago in Braintree. The victim had been killed outside a nightclub and the DJ was giving evidence about the last time he saw the accused: dancing enthusiastically to ‘Oops Upside your Head’ (this really does constitute ...
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News
Portal extension rules published – with just 14 working days to go
The Ministry of Justice has finally published the rules that will frame the long-awaited extension of the online claims portal – just 14 working days before the new arrangements come in to force. The 65th update to the Civil Procedure Rules extends the low-value personal injury scheme for RTAs to ...
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News
RTA claims plummet following fees cut
New RTA claims fell dramatically in the first month following the cut in solicitors’ fixed fees. Figures collected by Claims Portal Ltd show 53,895 claims notification forms opened during May. That was a fall of 31% from April and down almost 25% in comparison with the same month in 2012. ...
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News
PI firms warned off medical cases
Leading clinical negligence lawyers have warned of the risks arising from growing numbers of personal injury practitioners moving into their sector. Legal consultancy Zebra last week reported a tenfold increase in enquiries about setting up or expanding medical negligence cases since the beginning of the year. The majority of those ...
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News
Society calls for hold on fixed-fee extension
The Law Society today urged the government to delay the extension of the RTA Portal to new civil litigation areas – which will mean fixed fees for all claims worth up to £25,000 – warning that law firms may not be ready for the change. The ...
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News
Judges call for urgent overhaul to cope with surge of LIPs
The government and judicial office must overhaul training, advice to litigants and the nature of the court process itself to deal with thousands more litigants in person (LIPs), a judicial working group has concluded. In a report published today, the working group, made up of senior ...
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News
Private equity firm hires planning team as ABS total hits 160
A law firm backed by James Caan’s private equity investment company has announced the appointment of a team of six town planners. Knights Solicitors, which secured an alternative business structure licence in January, will incorporate the new additions into its real estate team. ...
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News
Solicitors warned over RTA Portal registration
Solicitors have been warned they risk running out of time if they delay registering for the extended online claims portal. From 31 July employers’ and public liability claims will be brought into the RTA Portal with fixed fees for practitioners in those areas. ...
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News
Public still sees lawyers as ‘arrogant’
Regulation of legal services is not working to promote public trust in the profession as lawyers continue to be perceived as accountable only to themselves, new research has suggested. Surveys carried out by the Legal Services Board found a perception that legal professionals are not answerable ...
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News
The SRA's catch-22
It doesn’t seem like a week can go by without the Solicitors Regulation Authority making a jaw-dropping revelation. First it was ‘You will have to sell the family silver to fund interventions’, then ‘You’ll have to find a bit more down the sofa to cover the ...
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News
Merged firms promise to retain high street presence
Birmingham firm DBS Law – which last month advertised for potential acquisition targets – has announced the first fruits of its merger campaign. The firm revealed today that it has merged with neighbouring firm Hearne & Co, saying it is determined to challenge current market ...