Last 3 months headlines – Page 1270
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In our interests
Franklin Sinclair in the letter ‘Zero Support’ has only himself to blame. There is no purpose in having unprintable feelings or shouting about ‘outrage’ when the solution is in his own hands. The moral is: don’t do work if there is no possibility of payment. You ...
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Doomed to fail
Institutional memory in the Crown Prosecution Service is notoriously short. Many years ago, when I ran a CPS branch, some genius at CPS HQ had the same idea of a paperless office. Two bright young things visited me uttering the dreadful words ‘pilot scheme’. ...
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Dirty laundry
I cannot be the only practising solicitor who finds the various and vastly different money laundering requirements within the financial industry to be utter nonsense. In one particular estate, I am one of three executors. The other two are my senior partner and a long-standing client.
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Hundreds of court posts axed
More than 1,200 posts were cut by HM Courts and Tribunals Service last year, just as it faced an upsurge in workload caused by rising numbers of litigants in person. A response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by the Gazette discloses that full-time equivalent ...
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Warning over minimum salary move
Junior solicitors have warned of exploitation and reduced access to the profession for the less well-off if regulators decide to ditch the minimum salary for trainees.
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Law Society to launch Advocacy Section
The Law Society will next week launch a dedicated advocacy section to build a ‘community’ of solicitor-advocates to match the level of support barristers receive from the Inns of Court. The Advocacy Section will provide mentoring, training and networking opportunities at circuit and national level, the ...
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Litigants in person could struggle to secure access to justice
The prospect of a huge increase in litigants fighting their cases themselves in the face of legal aid cutbacks has prompted dire warnings from judges, magistrates, practitioners and support groups about the impact this will have on access to justice. They also fear that HM Courts and Tribunals Service’s plans ...
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Judge slams quality of mental health advocacy
A judge has fiercely criticised the quality of advocacy in mental health review tribunals (MHRT) as calls intensify across the profession for the compulsory accreditation of practitioners appearing for mentally ill clients. The judiciary, regulators and bodies representing mental health lawyers are all calling for membership ...
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Court of Appeal orders retrial over Bevan Ashford ‘negligence’ case
A case concerning the standard of advice expected from a newly qualified solicitor in a brief, free, consultation with a distressed client is set for a retrial following an appeal court decision. In Padden v Bevan Ashford, the Court of Appeal overruled a trial judge’s ...
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Hungarian government forces 200 judges to retire
Judicial independence in Hungary is facing its biggest threat since the country’s 1989 revolution, following the government’s decision to force 200 judges into retirement and replace them with nominees of a single politically appointed individual. This development is one of several legislative changes introduced by prime ...
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ATE insurer enters solicitors PII market
A leading after-the-event insurer has confirmed it will enter the solicitors professional indemnity insurance market this year. Elite Insurance will open a book of £3m for smaller, niche firms it has worked with in the past.
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HSBC panel ‘backlash’
The Law Society is considering ‘all possible options’ in response to what some practitioners are describing as an unprecedented backlash by high street firms over HSBC’s decision to replace its open conveyancing panel with a panel comprising just 43 firms.
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‘Insurers to blame’ for PI premium hike
The Law Society has said the insurance industry must take the blame for the rising cost of motor premiums, in a high-profile row over personal injury claims. The Commons transport select committee last week said the rising number of personal injury claims was the ‘main reason’ ...
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QualitySolicitors recruits in run-up to £15m ad campaign
Law firm network QualitySolicitors has announced the recruitment of two senior executives as it prepares a multi-million-pound ‘John Lewis-style’ television advertising campaign. Lee Ellis, formerly head of commercial finance at retailer Halfords, has been appointed as finance director. Claire Smith (pictured), a former partner ...
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What the Dickens?
Uh dear. When we asked for readers’ favourite legal characters and quotes from Dickens we really weren’t trying to add to the heap of obloquy piled upon the profession. But is hard to escape the theme. Peter McLoughlin of McLoughlin & Company Solicitors finds ‘a ...
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Libel and slander
Defamatory words - Words capable of defamatory meaning Dell'Olio v Associated Newspapers Ltd: Queen's Bench Division (Mr Justice Tugendhat): 20 December 2011 The Queen's Bench Division held that the words ...
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The ECtHR and Supreme Court have shown shrewd judgement
Sometimes judges can be street-smart clever. The recent pas de deux between the top European human rights court and the UK Supreme Court in Al-Khawaja is a good example.
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Pictures at an exhibition
Obiter likes to dab at a canvas when time allows, and the effect is so much better when one paints from life. From its annual exhibition (showing in the reading room, 113 Chancery Lane to 20 January), it would seem that members of ...
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Libel and slander
Defamatory words - Words capable of defamatory meaning Rothschild v Associated Newspapers Ltd: Queen's Bench Division (Mr Justice Tugendhat): 21 December 2011 The Queen's Bench Division held that in ...