Last 3 months headlines – Page 1196
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Ending crime bosses’ ‘free ride’ on legal aid
Amendments to the Crime and Courts Bill announced today ‘will put an end to millionaire criminals refusing to reimburse the taxpayer’ for free legal advice, the government said. The move follows a long campaign by the legal profession. Under the current system, wealthy defendants can ...
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There are no short cuts when it comes to parliamentary sovereignty
Theresa May is no idol for human rights activists: home secretaries rarely are. She and Chris Grayling have caused much harrumphing by expressing their hostility to – either or both, it is not clear which – the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act. A recent article ...
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SRA brings 650 actions for COLP and COFA failures
Enforcement action has started against almost 650 solicitors or firms that failed to complete their compliance officer nominations properly, the Solicitors Regulation Authority revealed today. Antony Townsend, chief executive of the SRA, said action was necessary after a ‘concerning and disappointing’ level of non-co-operation and ...
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Criminal legal aid procurement
‘Competitive tendering’ – two words that strike fear and dread into the hearts of many a hardened criminal legal aid practitioner. But what do they mean, and why, after several failed attempts, is the government so keen to introduce this into a market that is almost unanimously opposed to the ...
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Independent review of ‘pre-pack’ deals
The government has announced an independent review of the controversial insolvency vehicle through which DWF recently acquired the collapsed Cobbetts while leaving creditors likely to recoup little or nothing of what they are owed. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the review into ...
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Blakemores intervention will cost up to £3m, managing partner says
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) intervention into Midlands firm Blakemores is likely to cost the profession ‘£2-3m’, the firm’s managing partner told the Gazette the day after all 250 members of staff were told to clear their desks. Guy Barnett said that £2-3m was his estimated ...
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Family law arbitration wins
Does this ring a bell? You sit opposite a client whose face gradually lengthens, whose mouth drops and whose eyes widen in dismay and disbelief as you describe how long it takes to bring matrimonial financial issues to a conclusion through the court litigation process. You ...
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All doomed?
Monday’s news that midlands firm Blakemores, with a headcount of 250-plus, is the subject of an SRA intervention – effectively confirming that the SRA believes that the firm’s finances mean it cannot safely continue to trade – may leave principals of smaller traditionally run firms, who are staring at diminishing ...
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ATE rush prompts another ‘emergency’ cover product
An after-the-event insurer has introduced a new emergency insurance product to cope with the surge in demand from solicitors in the run-up to 1 April. Keystone Legal said the product would enable it to issue policies ahead of the April deadline, when the Jackson reforms ...
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SRA commits millions to interventions
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has already used 10% of its entire annual budget intervening in failed firms in 2013, the organisation revealed today.
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Grieve backs greater police role in prosecutions
Police should take over the prosecution of more ‘routine non-contested cases ’, the attorney general suggested last night. Dominic Grieve QC said ...
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Financial crisis will cost everyone in the end
Journalists are far too willing to bandy the term ‘crisis’ around, using it to label everything from a few cancelled trains to an Arsenal defeat. But how else to describe the impending financial troubles about to hit the legal profession? I say profession quite deliberately. So ...
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Virtual firm takes ABS total past 100
A virtual law firm founded by the president of the Law Society has today been granted a licence to become an alternative business structure. Scott-Moncrieff & Associates (SCOMO), run by Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, was added to the list of more than 100 ABSs licensed by the Solicitors ...
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Unbundling may be the key to legal aid survival, president says
Offering pay-as-you-go legal advice could enable solicitors to help clients denied legal aid after 1 April and may help firms generate more work, the Law Society president suggested today. Lucy Scott-Moncrieff told the Society’s legal aid conference: ‘The reality is that for many clients who are ...
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New rules for employment tribunals
Employment tribunals are to become the ‘last resort, not the first port of call’ after the government’s announcement today that it has accepted proposals in a fundamental review of procedure for tribunals. The proposals accepted by the government include new strike-out powers for employment tribunal judges, ...
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MPs set to shed light on whiplash
MPs will answer whether the government is right to describe the UK as the ‘whiplash capital of the world’ in a definitive report on motor claims. The Commons Transport Select Committee today outlined the terms of reference for its inquiry into whiplash and called for evidence ...
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Society unveils consulting service
The Law Society today unveiled a new consulting service for members to support work to meet their regulatory requirements. The service aims to provide clarity and reassurance to law firms and in particular to offer guidance to newly-appointed compliance officers. ...
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Society: SRA should invite bids for failures’ caseloads
The Law Society has suggested that the Solicitors Regulation Authority should invite firms to bid for work from failed firms to cut the cost of interventions, the Society’s chief executive revealed last night. Desmond Hudson (pictured) was addressing the Conveyancing Association, following the SRA’s revelation earlier ...
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A glass half full
Despite not wishing to be thought a grumpy old lawyer I decided to look at the Legal Ombudsman’s recent report, The price of separation: Divorce-related legal complaints and their causes. This report made the news as it features lots of stories about wicked lawyers. The ...
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UK is best for litigation, says justice secretary
Justice secretary Chris Grayling has sent a message to the world that the UK is cheaper, quicker and more reliable for litigation disputes. Grayling gave a keynote speech at the UK headquarters of Allen & Overy yesterday to stress his commitment to exporting legal services abroad. ...