Last 3 months headlines – Page 1219
-
News
Francis report successfully points the way towards creating a safer NHS
by John Tingle, reader in health law at Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University The Francis report on the failings of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust represents a wake-up call to the whole NHS.
-
News
Sri Lanka bars lawyers
The Sri Lankan government has refused to allow an international delegation of lawyers to visit the country to assess the rule of law and independence of the judiciary. One delegate, former Supreme Court of India chief justice J. S. Verma, said he had his entry ...
-
News
Unsuitable assessment
I wonder how many COLPs and COFAs answered the ‘suitability test’ correctly? The form on page two asks the question ‘have you ever been convicted of a criminal offence not falling within section 1.1?’ The Solicitors Regulation Authority confirmed to me that any speeding conviction ...
-
News
Cause for complaint
I note that one of the changes to the Legal Ombudsman scheme rules is to accept complaints from prospective clients who could reasonably have expected to receive a service. This appears to be inconsistent with the principles of risk management in Lexcel, whereby the risk manager ...
-
News
Court mandarins imprisoned?
Relieved faces at HM Courts & Tribunals Service this week. The House of Commons justice committee has decided against what it called ‘further action’ over the service’s attempt to stop officials feeding the committee’s inquiry into the courtroom interpreter fiasco. However, the committee’s report says ...
-
News
European court pursues eastern offenders
I have been taken to task by a Gazette correspondent (R Breeze) who wants a more balanced account of the role of the European Court of Human Rights: ‘We are left with… the perception of an unchecked, bureaucratic body that saps national sovereignty and dabs its paws at whatever it ...
-
News
Keeping mum about hospitality
We would love to tell you all about the goings-on of Ministry of Justice officials. We’d especially love it if the official records showed individuals having cosy nights with the Association of British Insurers while they were formulating the latest squeeze on claimant lawyers. Sadly, we ...
-
News
Maintenance pending suit applications
There are few reported cases in respect of maintenance pending suit applications. A recent example, however, was the appeal decision of Coleridge J in S v M [2012] All ER (D) 175 (Nov).
-
News
Lawyers and the new money laundering directive
Well, at least one of my predictions from last week for 2013 has come true: the draft of the fourth money laundering directive was published a few days ago, as reported by the Gazette last
-
News
SRA revokes PC authorisations
The Solicitors Regulation Authority last week began revoking authorisations of firms that failed to complete their practising certificate renewals. As the Gazette went to press, 11% of expected applications had either been created and not finalised or not submitted at all. The figure is similar ...
-
News
US seeks to join Venice Commission
The US has applied for membership of the Venice Commission – the Council of Europe-affiliated body that advises governments on legal and constitutional reform. The commission, formed to advise European countries undergoing the transition to democracy, has since extended its focus to include Africa and Latin America. ...
-
News
QC faces jail after pocketing VAT for 12 years
A London silk faces jail after being convicted of a £600,000 VAT fraud. Rohan Anthony Pershad QC, who practised from Thirty Nine Essex Street, was convicted at Blackfriars Crown Court (pictured) today of one count of cheating the public revenue, between 1 June 1999 and 24 ...
-
News
Regulators’ approach to failures
We live in a free market economy. The Legal Services Act 2007 brings changed market forces to the legal services market and the Legal Services Board has a regulatory objective to encourage competition. Apparently well-capitalised new entrants or investors in existing ...
-
News
‘Rolled-up’ hearing for RTA Portal challenges
A legal challenge to halt cuts to personal injury fees will be fast-tracked through the High Court, it was revealed today. The judicial review application by two claimant groups in opposition to new recoverable fixed costs in the RTA Portal has been listed for a ...
-
News
Assessing costs: a nasty shock
With the Court of Appeal’s recent judgment in Henry, much attention has focused on the new costs budgeting rules coming in this April as part of the Jackson reforms. But there is another change on its way that will also affect lawyers and costs professionals quite significantly – and its ...
-
News
Damages discounts may rise following new evidence - MoJ
Justice minister Helen Grant today said initial evidence may support a rise in the discount rate used to calculate deductions from compensation awards. The government has opened a second part to a consultation with the legal and insurance professions that began last year. It will run ...
-
News
Charter firms improve their diversity profile
The partnerships of the firms that have signed up to the Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter are overwhelmingly white, heterosexual, male and able-bodied, new research has revealed. However, 70% of the firms that in 2012 completed the charter survey for the second successive year achieved ...
-
News
Regulate will-writing but not estate administration, LSB recommends
The Legal Services Board will today recommend to the lord chancellor that will-writing activities, but not estate administration, should be regulated. It is the first time that the board has recommended bringing new activities under the scope of the Legal Services Act. The Law Society ...
-
News
Why do firms run shy of campaigns?
The legal profession is often wary of the word ‘campaign’. Historically it was perceived as the preserve of those at the (often politically motivated) margins of the profession. Yet currently, we routinely advise our law firm clients on how to structure and deliver campaigns across a ...