Last 3 months headlines – Page 1206
-
News
Criminal legal aid reforms restrict client choice
The government’s consultation paper ‘transforming legal aid’ does affect one transformation. It transforms people into mere economic units by denying them the simple human dignity of choice.
-
News
The yes and no of Scottish independence
On 18 September 2014 two sets of nationalists – Scots and UK respectively – will be hoping their supporters vote in large numbers. Personally I think they’ll both struggle with turnout – given what’s at stake, these campaigns are oddly technocratic. The ‘yes’ campaign, perhaps ...
-
News
Solicitor appears on £3.7m fraud charge
A Cheltenham solicitor and coroner has appeared in court charged with fraud and theft of more than £3.7m. Alan Crickmore, who until December 2012 practised from his firm Alan C Crickmore, was charged with 13 counts of theft, seven counts of fraud by abuse of his ...
-
News
APIL can celebrate survival, if little else
Given that most of the planet has been wiped out by terrifying aliens, the film Independence Day ends on a remarkably happy note. President Bill Pullman rallies his troops and assures them the future is bright. You survived, he tells them, and that’s reason enough to celebrate. Now get digging ...
-
News
Regulator to probe intervention impact on clients
Former clients of firms closed down as a result of interventions by the Solicitors Regulation Authority are to be asked about their experiences in a research project announced by the regulator today. The SRA said the study of the impact of interventions on clients will ...
-
News
Legal aid: exceptional circumstances
The legal framework From 1 April, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) overhauled the statutory framework for legal aid in England and Wales. The areas of law that remain ...
-
News
Special treatment for the City
Perhaps it is just me, but the amount of TLC afforded by the government to the City seems extraordinarily generous. To begin with we have the implementation of the civil justice reforms. All serious commentators agree that they herald a transfer of wealth from accident victims and their advisers (disproportionately ...
-
News
Firm failures
Yet another highly respected, innovative and award-winning solicitors’ practice fails, with untold misery for staff who now find themselves unemployed, and probably with family and financial commitments they cannot meet. Surely, someone must see that there is something radically wrong with the profession. Is it simply a matter of greed ...
-
News
Getting to grips with costs
As the recent ‘Trials and tribulation’ article on the Jackson reforms pointed out, predicting and controlling costs is at the heart of the reforms. Thoughts though now need to turn to the immediate requirements under the new system.
-
News
Insurance giants in law firm ventures
Insurance giant Admiral is poised this week to move into legal services through a joint venture with national firm Lyons Davidson. The partnership – set to be announced as the Gazette went to press – is the most significant of a spate of tie-ups between insurers ...
-
News
Cyber threat warning to UK’s top 100
The security services have advised the UK’s largest law firms to take urgent action against cyber attacks, the Gazette can reveal. Partners from 40 top firms attended a private briefing last month with officials from the government’s Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure and ...
-
News
Wales broaches support plan
The Welsh government is in talks with the Law Society about providing taxpayers’ money to support new and existing law firms in the country, the Gazette can reveal. Meetings were held last week with a view to the government offering help to domestic firms in ...
-
News
Fighting talk from PI firms despite Jackson
Surviving personal injury firms say they will emerge from bruising civil litigation reforms stronger than ever, despite gloomy forecasts for the sector. The Jackson reforms and this month’s 60% cut in fixed fees through the RTA Portal have forced many firms to make redundancies and reduce ...
-
News
LETR may be ‘outdated’, warns Savage
The much-delayed Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) could be ‘obsolete and outdated’ even before it is published, according to the University of Law’s chief executive Nigel Savage.
-
News
Solicitor gets Met Police damages over assault
A criminal solicitor has received ‘substantial damages’ from the Metropolitan Police after settling a claim that she was assaulted in an East London police station as she sought to represent her 13-year-old client. Catriona Sheehan, a solicitor with 20 years’ experience, started a civil action ...
-
News
In-house practitioners warm to mediation
In-house lawyers are becoming more confident about mediation without assistance from external firms and three-quarters expect their use of mediation to grow in the next three years, according to a leading dispute resolution group. A survey by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) showed that of 50 respondents, 42% ...
-
News
More firms using unrated insurers for PII
The proportion of law firms relying on an unrated insurer for professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover almost doubled last year, a new survey has revealed. Around 16% of cash-strapped practices – including almost a quarter of sole practitioners – ignored warnings about unrated insurers as they ...
-
News
Legal aid ‘deserts’ warning
There could be job losses for close to a third of legal aid lawyers and advisers as firms close or cut services, creating ‘advice deserts’ across the country in the wake of the legal aid cuts, according to a report published today. According to an online ...