All articles by John Hyde – Page 324
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News
Society calls for freeze on civil justice reform
The government must postpone all further civil justice reforms until lawyers have had sufficient time to prepare for change, the Law Society said today. Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff welcomed justice secretary Chris Grayling’s decision to halt April’s expansion of the RTA Portal – confirmed over ...
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Cherie Booth’s consultancy among latest ABS approvals
An international legal consultancy chaired by Cherie Booth QC and a franchise for individual lawyers are among a glut of new year alternative business structure (ABS) announcements. In the space of 24 hours, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed seven new ABSs to bring the total ...
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Flexed ABS and flip-flops – my predictions for 2013
I’ll admit it’s been a slow start to 2013 here at Gazette Towers. So slow, in fact, that my ‘2013 predictions’ piece is now three days overdue. If I left it any later this piece would have to be a recap on the year so far. So my apologies for ...
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Ombudsman sets out new fees plan
A tougher approach to ‘free’ investigations will allow the Legal Ombudsman to raise an extra £1.6m through case fees in 2013/14, the ombudsman’s office revealed today. In the coming financial year the ombudsman will charge firms for their first case rather than allow two free ...
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RTA Portal: no plan B as government postpones expansion
The government has refused to reveal an alternative date for extending the RTA Portal scheme after announcing a postponement of its 1 April target today. As the Gazette reported before Christmas, the plan to extend the scheme to handle claims up to £25,000, as well ...
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11% of firms still lack compliance officers
Nominated staff at more than 8,800 firms this week took up their new roles as compliance officers. The Solicitors Regulation Authority confirmed that individuals at 89% of firms were approved to start work as watchdogs for legal practice, and finance and administration, known as COLPs and ...
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News
RTA Portal software may not be ready for deadline
The company running the expanded claims portal today admitted a significant setback in meeting the government’s April deadline for handling new types of claims. In a statement, RTA Portal Co revealed it will have to build the software for the extended system on the basis of ...
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Trainee retention figures hold up
Leading firms in England and Wales retained 79% of their trainees once they had qualified in 2012, new figures reveal. The Chambers Student guide surveyed 123 mostly commercial firms and found that 2,074 out of 2,620 trainees remained at their first firm. ...
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News
New model pioneers win ABS status
Two of the highest-profile flagbearers for new models of legal service ownership have won approval as alternative business structures. Knights Solicitors, owned by James Caan’s private equity vehicle Hamilton Bradshaw, and stock exchange-listed personal injury company Quindell Portfolio were both confirmed as ABSs by the Solicitors ...
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PI sector predicts jobs haemorrhage
Three-quarters of personal injury firms are planning to cut staff numbers in the near future unless the government pulls back from plans to reform civil litigation. A survey carried out by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers found that 118 of the 155 firms questioned ...
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News
Plea over fixed costs for mesothelioma cases
Asbestos campaigners have warned the government it would be a mistake to introduce blanket fixed costs for all mesothelioma cases. Justice minister Helen Grant confirmed last month that a consultation will start in the spring on reform of mesothelioma cases. Proposals will ...
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News
Come on, let’s fix this car insurance racket
I thought I must have been mishearing for a second. On Monday night Channel 4’s Dispatches programme proclaimed that it would expose the reality behind high insurance premiums. Then I almost fell off my chair – it turns out ambulance-chasing lawyers are not solely to blame. ...
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News
We’re still on course for referral fee ban, says SRA
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will not ask for a delay to the imminent ban on referral fees, despite warnings that the timetable is being rushed. The SRA board will meet on 23 January to finalise the SRA Handbook’s wording on the ban, which comes into force for personal injury claims ...
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High street PI giant announces redundancies
A personal injury firm claiming to have the biggest high street presence in the UK has announced up to 13 redundancies. Forster Dean began consultation with the affected staff members, including 10 solicitors, this week as a direct response to the government’s civil justice reforms. ...
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News
2012 ‘record year for mergers’
More than a quarter of top-100 firms were involved in a merger in 2012, in what has been described as a record year for deals. Research by Jomati Consultants has found that 26 deals were announced by top-100 firms during the past 12 months. ...
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News
Law firms defy City gloom with 20,000 new hires
Employment at City law firms has grown by 20,000 in the space of a year, according to a new report. The annual health check on the UK’s financial and professional services industry by City cheerleader TheCityUK reveals that 339,700 people are now employed in legal services, ...
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News
Grayling falls for great insurance con trick
Chris Grayling must be an easy man to play at Call my Bluff. It sometimes appears as if you can tell the justice secretary any tall tale and he’ll suck it in – safe in the knowledge that he’s doing the right thing because someone has ...
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News
Radical PI reforms spell ‘disaster’
Lawyers on both sides of the personal injury sector have rounded on the government after the latest announcement in an unprecedented series of radical reforms. Justice secretary Chris Grayling on Tuesday outlined proposals to raise the upper limit of the small-claims track from £1,000 to £5,000 ...
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News
MoJ must slash £2.5bn from its budget
The Ministry of Justice will have to cut more than £2.5bn – around 28% – from its budget by the end of the current parliament, the department has revealed following last week’s autumn statement. Spending has already been reined in by £580m this financial year ...
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News
Labour takes aim at whiplash reform plan
The government’s whiplash reforms are an attack on access to justice, the legal profession and genuine victims, according to shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter. Slaughter (pictured) accused the government, which unveiled its proposals on Tuesday, of ignoring root causes of problems with personal injury claims, such ...