Last 3 months headlines – Page 1188
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Men in tights
As a history scholar, our new lord chancellor, Christopher Grayling MP, is no doubt looking forward to trying out his costume of wig, robes and tights. However, thanks to the flexibilities of the English constitution, the office of lord chancellor, established in 1066, has been more susceptible to change than ...
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Call for ‘sanity’ on whiplash as claim numbers fall
Lawyers have called for a rethink on whiplash injury compensation after the government’s own figures showed that the number of claims fell by almost 24,000 last year. Records uncovered by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) showed 547,405 claims for whiplash in 2011/12, compared with ...
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Consumers may sue traders before national courts
European Union (EU) consumers may bring proceedings before the courts in their own member state against traders in other member states even if they had visited the trader to conclude the contract, the EU’s top court has ruled. The ruling takes into account a 2002 amendment ...
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Could wishes of legal aid campaigners be Granted?
She is a mixed-race woman who grew up on a council estate and was educated away from Oxbridge. Cynics will suggest it was inevitable that Maidstone MP Helen Grant would be parachuted into a ministerial role, despite entering parliament only in 2010. But is there more ...
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Memory lane
Law Society’s Gazette, 6 September 1972 New courts – cost relevance In an address to the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association in May, the Lord Chancellor said that ‘deplorable from the point of view of the public interest’ though the increase in ...
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Changing law firms' culture
Recently, the legal press has been full of reports of firms applying for alternative business structure (ABS) status. Notably, in the last couple of weeks we have learnt that Irwin Mitchell’s application has been granted and that insurance firm Parabis is set for a £50m cash injection after being granted ...
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Assumption of responsibility for a subsidiary's responsibilities
In the landmark decision of Chandler v Cape plc [2012] EWCA Civ 525, the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court decision that a parent company owed a direct duty of care towards an employee of one of its subsidiaries to ensure a safe system of work. This case has ...
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My hope for Chris Grayling
by Eduardo Reyes, Gazette features editor Maybe the new justice secretary is about to have an expensive re-education. I admit that on his record he is not an obvious ‘rule of law’ groupie.
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Find your own referral-fee workarounds, SRA tells firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned that it will not provide law firms with ‘safe harbour’ guidance to deal with the forthcoming referral fee ban. In a discussion paper released yesterday, the regulator says solicitors and firms should be able to work out from the legislation ...
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Fresh faces at justice ministry after reshuffle
A criminal law barrister and former Labour-supporting law firm founder are among the new faces at the Ministry of Justice after a sweeping reshuffle of ministerial posts. After replacing Kenneth Clarke with Christopher Grayling as justice secretary, Downing Street confirmed this morning that ministers Crispin Blunt, ...
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My hope for Chris Grayling
Maybe the new justice secretary is about to have an expensive re-education. I admit that on his record he is not an obvious ‘rule of law’ groupie. On past form, he thinks it’s fine to shoot robbers in the back when they are running away. He was famously a bit ...
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‘Cutting edge’ approach to ethics needed - LSB
Proposals to monitor ethics across an increasingly diverse legal services market are set out by the Legal Services Board (LSB) today. Its report says that ensuring the integrity of the profession in this way is central to maintaining public confidence in the rule of law.
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Mergers cannot just be finance driven
The publication of The Law Consultancy Network’s research (July 2012) shows that the appetite for mergers continues unabated, with 80% of the firms surveyed having considered the possibility within the last six months. And for firms heading down the merger path, the spotlight tends ...
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Cameron turns right in sweeping justice reshuffle
Prime minister David Cameron has confirmed that Chris Grayling will become justice secretary in what was emerging as a comprehensive clear-out of ministers at the Ministry of Justice. Earlier today Kenneth Clarke became a high-profile casualty of Cameron’s first major reshuffle since coming to office. ...
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Time to get on with portal plans
If you are trying to run a personal injury practice, you may be feeling pretty frustrated right now. You know that the government intends to extend the road traffic accident protocol vertically to higher value cases (up to £25,000) by next April. You know it will also be extended horizontally, ...
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Jersey court endorses third-party funding
The Royal Court of Jersey has once again endorsed the legitimate role of litigation funding in bringing cases on the island.
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SRA considers lighter touch for whistleblowers
Whistleblowers who give evidence against colleagues suspected of misconduct may be offered a more lenient punishment for their own involvement under new Solicitors Regulation Authority guidelines. The regulator is this week expected to approve proposals to offer mitigation to witnesses who come forward.
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Crunch time for EU criminal lawyers
Last week, as the summer holidays drew to a close, I tried in vain to be funny. This week, I am back in my school uniform, hair brushed and in serious mode, because the EU is about to discuss an important piece of legislation - the right of access to ...
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SRA urges advocates to register as deadline looms
Three weeks before the deadline under the quality assurance scheme for advocates (QASA), a quarter of criminal advocates have not yet notified the Solicitors Regulation Authority of their intention to practise after 2013, the regulator has revealed. By 21 September all solicitors and regulated European lawyers ...
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Insurers fight uplift ruling
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has appealed against the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase general damages. Three senior judges ruled in July that a 10% uplift to be applied to all personal injury awards from April 2013 applies also to cases launched before that ...