Last 3 months headlines – Page 1084
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Profession denounces posthumous Magnitsky trial
Lawyers worldwide have denounced the posthumous trial of Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky (pictured) who was yesterday found guilty of tax evasion in a Moscow trial that began following his death in prison four years ago. Magnitsky died in a pre-trial detention after accusing Russian police of complicity in a $230m ...
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Firms asked to cut rates for armed forces
A nationwide scheme to offer discounted legal fees to armed forces personnel is being set up by a solicitor in the RAF, the Gazette has learned. Armed Forces Legal Action (AFLA) is the brainchild of Wing Commander Allan Steele supported by Scottish solicitor Janet Hood. Firms across the UK will ...
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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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'Little hope' for sole practitioners in criminal defence
There is ‘little hope for the future’ for sole practitioners and many small law firms under either the government’s or Law Society’s proposals for reshaping the criminal defence market, the Sole Practitioners Group has claimed. The group’s legal aid spokesperson, former chair Hilary Underwood, told the Gazette that under either ...
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LawWorks warning over pro bono surge
Demand for pro bono legal advice has leapt by almost a third in the past year, pro bono ‘brokers’ LawWorks and the Bar Pro Bono Unit have revealed. But LawWorks warned that the true scale of unmet need has been masked by the ‘desperate state’ of frontline services. The monthly ...
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McNally under fire over Lips claim
Justice minister Lord McNally is facing criticism from lawyers over a claim that cases involving litigants in person (LiPs) are ‘normally’ completed more quickly than those where parties have legal representation. The Liberal Democrat peer was responding to a report by a judicial working group calling for new measures to ...
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SRA’s 2013 diversity data collection system goes live
Firms can now report their workforce diversity data, including sexual orientation, ethnicity, age and gender, through a new online facility on mySRA, the Solicitors Regulation Authority announced today. Collection of this data is a Legal Services Board requirement to promote transparency and diversity in the legal services market, the SRA ...
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Pre-pack deals under scrutiny in company law shake-up
A central register of beneficial owners and a review of ‘pre-pack’ takeovers of failed businesses are among measures proposed in a shake-up of company law today. A discussion paper published by the department for Business, Innovation & Skills sets out how the UK proposes to carry out its commitment at ...
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Rehabilitation reforms treat women as ‘afterthought’ – MPs
Women offenders are an afterthought in the government’s rehabilitation reforms, the House of Commons justice committee suggested today. Six years after the Corston Report, which recommended that only the most serious female offenders be jailed, the committee said that the women’s prison population has not fallen sufficiently quickly and that ...
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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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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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Sir John Thomas will be next lord chief justice
Sir John Thomas is to succeed Lord Judge as lord chief justice, Number 10 Downing Street confirmed today. Thomas was chosen over the two other applicants – Lady Justice Hallett, who is currently Thomas’s deputy at the Queen’s Bench Division and who chaired the 7/7 London bombing inquest; and Lord ...
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Convey Law becomes ABS
Convey Law, which claims to be one of the country’s top 10 residential conveyancing companies, has been granted ABS status by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. The firm’s sales and marketing director Rob Hosier told the Gazette that the firm applied to change its status because it is owned by ...
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Stobart director gains licence for solicitor ABS as ‘final piece in the jigsaw’
Trevor Howarth, legal director of Stobart Barristers, has been granted an alternative business structure licence by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for a company he set up with an employment barrister, he confirmed today. The SRA has licensed One Legal, a company set up by Howarth and employment barrister Tim Edge ...
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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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Lack of demand shuts first one-stop shop for offenders
England’s first ‘all in one’ court and offender treatment centre is set for closure due to under-use, the justice minister announced today. Helen Grant announced a six-week consultation on plans to shut North Liverpool Community Justice Centre and move its work and the principles of its problem-solving approach to Sefton ...
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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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Bar’s disciplinary system on trial in High Court
The legality of the bar’s disciplinary system has been called into question this week as the High Court hears three claims for judicial review. The cases have been brought by three barristers in relation to charges of professional misconduct brought by the Bar Standards’ Board. In each case the charges ...
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EC unveils European public prosecutor plan
A European Public Prosecutor’s Office will tackle the annual loss to fraud of £431m of EU funds according to proposals published by the European Commission yesterday. The proposed office will follow up every case of suspected fraud against the EU budget. This will have a strong deterrent effect, the EC ...