All articles by John Hyde – Page 345
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ATE insurer enters solicitors PII market
A leading after-the-event insurer has confirmed it will enter the solicitors professional indemnity insurance market this year. Elite Insurance will open a book of £3m for smaller, niche firms it has worked with in the past.
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Health and safety guru warns of political misuse
The architect of the government’s health and safety strategy has raised concerns that his report could be ‘misused’ for political purposes.
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Society intervenes in landmark PII case
The Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority have been granted leave to intervene in a case that could have a major impact on professional indemnity insurance for law firms.
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Whiplash is a pain in the neck to write about
To borrow from Donald Rumsfeld, there are known knowns and there are things we know we know, but we also know there are unknown knowns. No sooner had the Commons transport committee waded into this minefield earlier this week than my inbox was flooded with responses.
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£185m rescue for NHS litigation fund
The Department of Health has confirmed that a £185m emergency bailout fund has been found for the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA). Clinical negligence claims against the NHS reached an estimated value of £1bn last year, after rising from from £5,697m to £8,655m over the preceding five years. ...
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SRA to consider dropping minimum wage for trainees
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to consult on whether to continue to set minimum pay rates for trainees. Current minimum salary levels for solicitors are £18,590 in central London and £16,650 outside, and have been frozen for the past two years. However the SRA board decided ...
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Referral fees in spotlight as MPs slam cost of whiplash claims
MPs today call for the bar to be raised if claimants are to receive compensation for whiplash injuries following motor accidents. A report by the Commons Transport Committee into the cost of motor insurance concludes that the rise in personal injury claims is the ‘main reason ...
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Cameron told: ‘engage with profession on PI’
The Law Society has urged David Cameron to engage with the legal profession following his attack on the health and safety ‘monster’ and personal injury fees. In a speech last week, the prime minister proposed capping fees for personal injury claims at £25,000 and including ...
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PI firms inundated over banned implants
Personal injury firms say they are receiving hundreds of enquiries every week from women treated with now banned PIP breast implants. Up to 40,000 women in the UK have been fitted with implants made by French company Poly Implant Prothese. The Department of Health has offered ...
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Firms in ARP given April deadline
Firms remaining in the insurance Assigned Risks Pool have been given until April to secure cover or to shut down. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has contacted each of the 31 firms which, of 3 January, were still open and covered by the ARP, and will make ...
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Asbestos fund still on agenda, says government
The government has assured people suffering from asbestos-related disease that a ‘fund of last resort’ is still on the agenda, nearly two years after a report called for its creation. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) minister Lord Freud is understood to be in ...
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NewLaw makes ABS move
Cardiff-based firm NewLaw has confirmed it is among 44 organisations that have so far applied for alternative business structure status through the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The personal injury firm, established in 2004, submitted its application last week when the SRA became a licensing authority. ...
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Satellite jobs to go as Pannone aims south
National firm Pannone has announced that 12 jobs will be lost through the shutting of two satellite offices. The cuts will be a mixture of secretarial and fee-earning roles at offices in the Cheshire villages of Hale and Alderley Edge. Managing partner ...
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US giant sets up English law practice
Major US firm Davis Polk & Wardwell is to set up an English law practice in a bid to break new markets from London. The move marks a new stage in the rivalry between New York and London jurisdictions. The firm, which opened in London ...
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Marvo Dave and the albatross trick
David Cameron truly is a magician. Not in the Paul Daniels sense, of course, although I’m sure SamCam would make an equally lovely Debbie McGhee. His main trick is the power of persuasion. He has convinced the working man and woman to sneer at the words health and safety in ...
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Profits flat at Allen & Overy
Relocating staff to a single central London site cost magic circle firm Allen & Overy almost £25m, it has emerged. The full cost of the move was revealed in its LLP annual report and financial statements for 2010/11. The one-off outlays meant that continuing costs rose ...
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Retention rate for trainees up
The number of trainees staying with their firms after qualifying recovered in 2011 after a two-year dip, according to a survey of more than 120 commercial firms. The Chambers Student Guide found that 1,813 of the 2,251 trainees who qualified in 2011 stayed on. That retention ...
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Everyman Legal launches franchise scheme
Solicitors are to be offered the chance to set up their own practices under a franchise scheme launched today by commercial firm Everyman Legal. The firm, which in October became the first practice to target a stock exchange listing, will support members through its marketing and back-office systems.
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Leveson plea on ‘either way’ offences
The chairman of the Sentencing Council has called on magistrates to send fewer ‘either way’ offences to the Crown court. The number of such cases reaching the Crown court rose from 310,000 in 2007 to 353,000 in 2010. Lord Justice Leveson told the House of Commons ...
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Cameron extends PI fees cap in attack on ‘albatross’ safety culture
David Cameron today announced plans to cap lawyers’ fees from personal injury claims at £25,000. Speaking to an audience of small companies, the prime minister launched an attack on the so-called compensation culture and blamed it for holding back the growth of UK businesses.