Last 3 months headlines – Page 1157
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A holistic approach
I have recently been on two courses on the forthcoming changes to the legal aid scheme. One was organised by the Law Society and the other by the Legal Services Commission. They were, more accurately, roadshows presented around the country and most were well supported. I will not say which ...
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Lawyers’ core principles are under threat
It has been fashionable to speak about the future of lawyers in terms of commoditisation, standardisation and technology (yes, I am speaking about you, Richard Susskind). Those factors will clearly have their impact – even though to date, far from there being fewer lawyers as predicted, there are more and ...
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Implement Jackson reforms for media litigation, says Leveson
A call for Lord Justice Jackson’s proposals on costs to be introduced for defamation, privacy, breach of confidence ‘and similar media-related litigation’ appears in the Leveson report on the press published today. In his report, Lord Justice Leveson proposes a new law to create an independent ...
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CJC member rules out mandatory litigation funding code
There are no plans to change the voluntary code for third-party litigation funding, according to one of its creators. Professor Rachael Mulheron, a member of the Civil Justice Council, said the code was still appropriate one year on from its adoption. Speaking ...
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SRA falls short of 45-second target
The Solicitors Regulation Authority failed to answer 25% of calls to its professional ethics helpline within 45 seconds in the third quarter of 2012, the organisation revealed this week, a year after the service began. Board papers said that 13,480 calls were answered out of ...
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IFA consultation: a patronising waste of time
There are plenty of ways to waste an evening. You could watch a serving MP eat kangaroo gonads or rent an Adam Sandler film. You could, perhaps, stand up to your waist in a river and pretend to be a TV news reporter.
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SRA reviews cases for race disparity
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has published details of an investigation into whether black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors are being treated fairly by the regulator. Terms of reference have been agreed for a comparative case review, which the organisation said is ‘designed to further ...
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Text spamming fine puts claims farmers on notice
The Information Commissioner’s Office today fined two owners of a marketing company £440,000 after they plagued the public with millions of spam texts. The ICO used its power to issue a monetary penalty for the first time after the pair were found to have breached the ...
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Telephone advice contract goes to Co-op
Co-operative Legal Services is among the 12 firms to have been awarded new telephone advice contracts by the Legal Services Commission, it was announced today. The Co-op, together with national firm Duncan Lewis and Cardiff-based Access Legal Training, were awarded the three contracts for family advice. ...
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Claimant lawyers ‘killed the golden goose’ - ABI
A top insurance industry lobbyist has claimed that claimant lawyers will have only themselves to blame for reduced profits having ‘killed the goose that laid the golden egg’. James Dalton, head of motor and liability at the Association of British Insurers, accused the claimant community of ...
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Former attorney general says Grayling ‘failed’ test
The lord chancellor has failed in his duty to uphold the law - by proclaiming parliamentary sovereignty over the issue of prisoner voting, according to a Labour former attorney general. In a strong attack on Chris Grayling, Lord Goldsmith calls attention to the lord chancellor’s ...
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LSB chair wants more cash for research
The head of the Legal Services Board has claimed the group’s £250,000 research budget is ‘not enough’. LSB chairman David Edmonds revealed that funding for research projects is being cut by 17% in the next financial year as the regulator is encouraged to work more in ...
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Enterprise bill v LASPO?
by Julie Carlisle, an associate at Henmans LLP The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill is going through its second reading in the House of Lords and Labour peers have raised a poignant question - does the government know what it is doing?
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Committee warns on cameras in court
A parliamentary committee has voiced ‘serious concerns’ over government plans to broadcast court proceedings and called for a more cautious approach. In its report published today, the joint parliamentary human rights committee says that it agrees with the government’s objective of making justice as transparent and ...
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Mis-selling fear as SRA moves to relax rules on financial advice
Solicitors are to be allowed to refer clients onto any financial adviser, regardless of whether they are independent or not. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set this week to relax the rule insisting lawyers’ clients can be referred only to independent advisers. ...
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Isle of Man funder to boost investment in litigation
A litigation funder backed by a private equity investor says it may increase its £100m investment next year due to high demand. Vannin Capital, based on the Isle of Man, announced in May it would quadruple its investment facility over six months with backing from private ...
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Are lawyers an easy target for hackers?
At the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s conference for international legal regulators earlier this autumn, one of the most interesting sessions dealt with the ‘hot topics’ currently bothering regulators across the globe. There was quite a range: bullying within the profession is a big issue in Australia, for ...
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Restorative justice can play a big part
by Lord McNally, justice minister When I joined the Ministry of Justice the first thing I was told by many people is how victims feel they are left out by the criminal justice system.
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Society welcomes College of Law metamorphosis
Leading legal figures have welcomed the metamorphosis of private equity-owned College of Law into Britain’s first for-profit university. The college announced yesterday that ministers had granted it permission to be known as The University of Law.
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Write clearer judgments, Neuberger urges judges
Judgments must be clearer and more concise if the public is to retain confidence in the justice system, according to president of the Supreme Court Lord Neuberger. In the annual Bailii lecture this week, Neuberger said the increasing appearance of the self-represented litigant has accelerated the ...