All articles by John Hyde – Page 349
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News
Double-digit growth for A&O but tougher times ahead
Magic circle outfit Allen & Overy has been rewarded for rapid worldwide expansion with a jump in income - but has warned there are difficult times ahead. The firm, headquartered in London, today announced half-year turnover of £582m, up 11% on this time last year. ...
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Independent costs regulator opens for business
Costs lawyers now have an independent regulator to uphold professional standards. The Costs Lawyer Standards Board (CLSB) formally took up its duties on 31 October after the Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL) delegated its regulatory role. The association is the sixth and final approved regulator set ...
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‘Whole generation’ of lawyers could disappear post-LASPO
Government proposals to slash legal aid have passed through the Commons, amid suggestions the legislation will wipe out specialist lawyers. The bill will now move to the Lords, following a heated debate during which opposition MPs also rejected the suggestion that lawyers are only interested in self-preservation. ...
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Court workers opposed to extended opening hours
The union representing court workers has voiced opposition to justice secretary Kenneth Clarke’s wish to extend opening hours. Clarke told the House of Commons home affairs committee last week that the government is considering more evening sittings, following the extension of court hours to deal ...
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Straw’s bid to make referral fees a criminal offence fails
Conservative MPs have voted down Jack Straw’s attempt to make referral fees in personal injury cases a criminal offence. The former justice secretary tabled an amendment to the ban, included as part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, which was debated in ...
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PI lawyers hit back at media critics
Personal injury lawyers have criticised elements of the media for suggesting a multi-million pound compensation bill for councils is the fault of claimants. Press critics were quick to blame the so-called compensation culture after it was revealed that local authorities had paid out £75m to ...
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Referral fee ban will hit PI claimants - says MoJ assessment
Personal injury claimants could suffer from a ban on referral fees while insurers and lawyers would incur no extra costs, according to the government department proposing the ban. An impact assessment of the proposed ban, published today by the Ministry of Justice, admits that ‘overall claimants ...
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Sole practitioners in last stand against ABSs
The Solicitor Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) will this week stage a last-ditch attempt to block legislation allowing the creation of alternative business structures. The group, which represents 4,500 solicitors across England and Wales, claims it is still possible to prevent so-called ‘Tesco law’ from coming into force. ...
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DLA Piper invests in ABS venture
A new entrant is set to launch on the UK legal sector in 2012 with financial backing from international firm DLA Piper. The firm has become the joint largest shareholder in holding company LawVest, although the size of the investment remains secret. ...
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Tabak: without prejudice
Judging by the mood on Twitter - not to mention comments on newspaper websites - the public is seething. People are obviously appalled by Vincent Tabak’s crime, but they are equally livid at the law - and, specifically, the judge who deemed inadmissible so much of the evidence about his ...
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Court closures 'undermine Big Society'
A leading barrister has called for a halt to magistrates’ court closures, saying economies would be better made by returning the courts to magistrates’ control. In a pamphlet, The Cost to Justice, published by think tank Politeia, Stanley Brodie QC said the programme to cut 142 ...
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Justice head bemoans judicial diversity gap
The head of law reform and human rights organisation Justice has heavily criticised the lack of diversity in the top echelon of the judiciary. ‘We are shamed’ by the lack of women and ethnic minority judges in the Supreme Court, compared with the US and Canada, ...
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News
MPs call for comprehensive referral fee ban
An influential Commons committee has today called on the Ministry of Justice to impose a comprehensive ban on referral fees and tougher penalties for breaching data protection laws. A report published by the House of Commons justice committee concludes that referral fees often reward illegal behaviour, ...
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Claimant solicitors to get fraud data access
Claimant solicitors are set to be given unprecedented access to fraud records to root out potentially bogus cases. Agreement that lawyers acting for claimants should have access to the same information as motor insurers and their representatives follows a ground-breaking meeting between the insurance industry and ...
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Chambers Guide launched
Lawyer rankings have risen by 8% to almost 9,800 in the 2012 edition of Chambers UK. The client’s guide to the legal profession, which researches factors such as quality and profile of work, incorporating client and barrister feedback, was published last night. ...
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Relationship management to be limited to big firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has given more details of its implementation strategy for outcomes-focused regulation. Its Relationship Management approach to risk-based supervision is to be rolled out to larger firms, after a pilot found that small firms did not require interaction with the regulator on ...
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Solicitors From Hell slander action is thrown out
The High Court has thrown out a defamation claim by the founder of the Solicitors from Hell website against Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson. Rick Kordowski began legal proceedings after a blog from Professor John Flood had alleged that Hudson claimed Kordowski was a ‘criminal’. ...
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Trade unions plan action over asbestos ruling
Trade unions are considering the implications for England and Wales of a Supreme Court ruling that sufferers of pleural plaques in Scotland can get compensation. Their legal departments are looking at what further action they can take to counter what they perceive to be a glaring geographical anomaly. ...
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Neuberger argues for greater use of IT in courts
Master of the rolls Lord Neuberger has backed the introduction of more electronic disclosure in court but stopped short of advocating ‘virtual trials’. Speaking at the high sheriff’s lecture in Leeds last week, Neuberger said the legal profession was facing change on a scale not seen ...
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Society calls for delay to legal aid bill
The Law Society today called on the government to delay passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, after Jonathan Djanogly was stripped of responsibility for regulating claims management companies. The justice minister remains in charge of steering the controversial legislation through the ...