Last 3 months headlines – Page 1214
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Grayling takes aim at the bar
After shooting civil legal aid to smithereens the government now has the criminal bar in its sights. Twice in the past week lord chancellor and justice secretary Chris Grayling has indicated that there is not enough money for criminal legal aid - and cuts have to be made.
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Reform chief predicts 'sweaty palms' over costs budgets
Judges and lawyers will adapt to new costs management rules but the process may take some time, according to the senior judge charged with implementing the Jackson reforms. Lord Justice Ramsey, who has taken over responsibility for the task from Lord Justice Jackson, admitted there will ...
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Secret courts ‘unjust’ warns Law Society
Extending secret courts to ordinary civil justice cases would see the UK ‘stoop to the level of repressive regimes’, the Law Society warns today. In a letter to members of the Public Bill Committee for the Justice and Security Bill, Chancery Lane ...
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Eversheds sheds up to 166 in strategic restructuring
Eversheds plans to axe up to 166 staff across its international network - nearly half of them lawyers - as part of a management and office restructuring. Among those leaving will be Nick Seddon, who joined Eversheds to head the Asia region in 2008 when ...
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Let it snow
How well did your firm or department cope with the snow? (Or how well are you coping? I realise it’s still very much there for some of you.) That’s not just a polite enquiry – though of course I do care – but I actually think ...
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Society and Bar clash over new standard contract terms
Solicitors have been warned to protect themselves against new terms governing their relationship with barristers which come into effect next week. In a practice note, the Law Society said the Bar Council’s new standard contractual terms of business, which for the first time enable barristers to sue for their fees, ...
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Pull up your socks, Johnny Foreigner
One of the main themes of David Cameron’s recent speech seemed to be deep regret that the EU was just not good enough for the UK. If only it were, he would be delighted to recommend staying. And so he gave poor Johnny Foreigner an ultimatum to pull up his ...
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Bermuda calling
The regulatory telecommunications framework in Bermuda is currently in the process of root-and-branch reform heralded by the establishment of a regulatory authority pursuant to the Regulatory Authority Act 2011 and continued by the bringing into force of the relevant sections of the Electronic Communications Act 2011. Coupled with this reform, ...
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COLP cover-up is unforgivable – and that’s the truth
Cards on the table - we’ve all told the odd porkie on an application form. You might add an inch or two to your height on a dating website or fake an interest in the theatre for a job application. I am not immune, dear readers, ...
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Legal challenge begins on RTA fixed fees
Claimant groups have formally begun a legal challenge to the government’s plans to cut personal injury fixed costs. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) have jointly applied for a judicial review of the justice secretary’s decision to cut fees ...
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Personal injury calculation
The standard rate of interest on general damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenities in personal injury cases was fixed at 2% a year by the House of Lords in Birkett v Hayes [1982] 1 WLR 816; [1982] 2 All ER 70. This was confirmed as appropriate by ...
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Development on town and village greens
The last commercial property column looked at the manner in which town and village green applications create hurdles for development. One aspect of the Commons Act 2006 makes life particularly difficult for developers.
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Decisions affecting litigants in person
Two recent decisions of the Court of Appeal have affirmed that the provisions of Civil Procedure Rule 27.11 and 39.3 should be interpreted rigorously. More interesting, however, is the fact that at a time when the courts are likely to see more and more ‘self-representing parties’, the decisions suggest that ...
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My legal life: Sarah Harman
My three sisters and I were all herded into the College of Law whether we liked it or not. Our mum was determined that her four rebellious daughters should get good professional qualifications, which she herself only managed to achieve with enormous difficulty in late middle age.
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Roundtable: market makers
A difficult economy combined with far-reaching changes in legal regulation has given the UK’s dominant legal market, England and Wales, the feel of a dramatic landscape heading into 2013. Commentators have taken to reaching for an impressive range of cliches and metaphors – from ‘perfect storm’ to ‘brave new world’, ...
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Law leads the way over living wage
City law firms are leading the way in paying low-paid workers an independently assessed ‘living wage’ rather than the minimum wage, a Gazette investigation has revealed. A ‘living wage’ is currently £8.55 an hour in London and £7.45 elsewhere. The minimum wage is £6.19. ...
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Solicitors have ‘little to fear’ from Barco
Solicitors’ representatives and sector analysts have played down the likely impact of the bar’s latest move to attract clients directly. They were commenting after the Financial Services Authority approved a scheme allowing barristers to sidestep the current prohibition on holding client money, a major barrier ...
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Legal apprenticeships no threat, says CILEx
The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, which traditionally champions a vocational route into the legal profession, has insisted that it does not feel threatened by government plans to introduce apprenticeships as an alternative to law degrees. Diane Burleigh (pictured), the institute’s chief executive, was responding to ...
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Legal aid warning over contract allocation
Legal aid firms may go out of business as a result of the allocation of work for new civil legal aid contracts, representative groups have warned. The Legal Services Commission notified firms last week of the outcome of tenders for family, housing and debt, and immigration, ...