All articles by John Hyde – Page 336
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News
Regulators apply for ABS licence
Two aspiring regulators of the legal profession this week detailed their plans to be approved to license alternative business structures. The Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) said it expects a decision from the Legal Services Board on its application within a year. The Institute of Chartered ...
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News
Judicial diversity must start with lawyers, says Goldring
Senior judges will reach out to the legal profession by mentoring those who feel excluded from high office. Speaking at a conference yesterday, Senior Presiding Judge Lord Justice Goldring revealed members of the profession previously put off because of their gender, race or sexuality will be ...
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News
Social exclusivity ‘rife’ in profession
Social exclusivity is increasing in the legal profession, according to a new analysis of lawyers’ schooling published today. Legal recruiter Laurence Simons studied almost 50,000 professionals working in London using the networking site LinkedIn. It found that more than 15% of lawyers - more than 7,000 ...
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News
Trainee minimum abolition ‘will hit women’
Women will be disproportionately affected by the scrapping of the minimum salary for trainees, the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) said today. The AWS has added its voice to mounting opposition to the decision taken last week by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. From August 2014, firms ...
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News
Trainee minimum dumped in 'partial deregulation'
Regulators have voted to partially deregulate the trainee solicitor minimum wage 30 years after it was introduced. The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority made the decision to change the terms of the salary at its meeting today - with the change coming into effect in ...
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News
Sky targets new court filming rights
A TV executive campaigning to lift the ban on cameras in criminal courts has said the limited rights announced in last week’s Queen’s speech will not end the battle for access. ‘We’re obviously interested in discussing what extras we can do down the road,’ Simon Bucks, associate editor at Sky ...
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News
CoA judge raps defendant for spurning mediation
A Court of Appeal judge has criticised a defendant for rejecting mediation offered at a previous hearing - warning it will be a costly decision. Lord Justice Longmore said it was a ‘great pity’ that appliance supplier Indesit, instructed by Plexus Solicitors, had not pursued the ...
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News
ABS applicants billed thousands for consultancy
Alternative business structure hopefuls are being invoiced thousands of pounds for consultants to handle the financial minutiae of their applications to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Gazette has learned. The SRA says it has hired specialists to supplement its 25-strong team dedicated to vetting ABS applications. ...
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News
SRA opts for national minimum wage for trainees
Regulators have voted to partially deregulate the trainee solicitor minimum wage 30 years after it was introduced. The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority made the decision to change the terms of the salary immediately at its meeting today. The tailored solicitor minimum salary will be ...
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News
Trainee minimum wage to go
Regulators have voted to scrap the trainee solicitor minimum wage 30 years after it was first introduced. The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority made the decision to deregulate the salary immediately at its meeting today. The decision comes after a five-month ...
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News
Trainee minimum to stay, SRA board rules
Regulators have voted to retain the trainee solicitor minimum wage 30 years after it was first introduced. The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority made the decision to ignore calls for deregulation at its meeting today. The decision comes after a five-month consultation with the profession ...
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News
SRA sells out aspiring trainees
Forget all the corporate blather about ‘partial deregulation’ - today the Solicitors Regulation Authority board chose to dump the minimum salary for trainee solicitors. It was a gutless, thoughtless and morally reprehensible decision, taken on flimsy grounds and with little or no debate. In passing on ...
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News
Trainee minimum to be abolished in two years
Regulators have voted to scrap the trainee solicitor minimum wage 30 years after it was first introduced. The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority made the decision to deregulate the salary at its meeting today. Full deregulation will be deferred for two years to minimise the ...
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News
SRA in new compliance deadline setback
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to push back the date for approving compliance officers by two months. The SRA Board will vote tomorrow on extending the grace period for approving the new appointments to 31 December. As recently as last weekend, SRA chief executive Antony ...
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News
Prepare for 50% fee cuts, says ‘end of lawyers’ professor
Rapid change in the legal profession threatens everyone from in-house lawyers to large City firms, according to IT consultant Professor Richard Susskind. The former IT adviser to the lord chief justice told the Law Society Management Conference last week that the economic climate will force clients to seek out these ...
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News
Twitter twits
Just why don’t lawyers get Twitter? This is a website with more than 300 million registered users worldwide, a figure that is growing all the time. It has extraordinary reach, allowing members to spread their own message or listen into what others are saying. It is, ...
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News
Future is fixed billing - Neuberger
Master of the rolls Lord Neuberger has warned that alternative business structures may sound the ‘death knell’ for hourly billing. Speaking at the Association of Costs Lawyers conference today, Neuberger said clients were increasingly put off by hourly billing and attracted by fixed fees. As well ...
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News
Serwotka threatens more disruption after ‘brilliant’ court strike
A union leader has threatened a further strike next month after industrial action by court workers across the country. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said yesterday’s one-day strike had received ‘brilliant support’ from members working in the courts service. The ...
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News
Solicitors have ‘duty’ to disclose funding options
A leading US litigation funder has claimed lawyers have a ‘legal and ethical duty’ to tell clients about alternative funding options. Selvyn Seidel, co-founder and chairman of Fulbrook Management, told the Gazette that there is still a lack of information about the industry, despite most of ...
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News
Chinese firm enters London with co-operation plan
The first top-tier Chinese law firm to enter the London market says it is looking to co-operate - rather than merge - with UK firms. Zhong Lun has built a formidable base in China in less than 20 years, with 150 partners and more than ...