Last 3 months headlines – Page 1283
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Two High Court cases focus on the legality of assisted dying
Next week the High Court will begin hearing two cases that raise profound ethical issues. The question in each case is whether it can ever be lawful to help another person take their own life. This is a subject on which we might reasonably have expected ...
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Why the SRA scrapped the minimum salary for trainees
Since a minimum salary for trainees was introduced in 1982, there have been numerous debates around the appropriateness of both the SRA and the Law Society intervening in the market for trainee solicitors. Today the SRA is one of the few professional regulators that currently sets a minimum salary for ...
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Law Society declares support for same-sex marriage
The Law Society will today enter the escalating political row over same-sex marriage by declaring its support for legalisation – while defending the ‘religious freedom’ of churches and other faith groups that refuse to perform ceremonies. The Society’s response to a Government Equalities Office consultation, which ...
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CPS delays rollout of ALS interpreters
The Crown Prosecution Service has delayed its rollout of the Ministry of Justice framework agreement for the provision of interpreters and translators, the Gazette has learned. The CPS was due to sign up fully to the agreement on 1 June. The MoJ ...
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SRA chief wants more trainee positions
Solicitors Regulation Authority board chair Charles Plant (pictured) today calls on the Law Society to launch a campaign encouraging solicitors to employ more trainees, after the regulator abolished the minimum salary requirement. And he insists there is ‘little evidence’ that the 30-year-old mandatory minimum ever met its stated objectives of ...
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Law Society dismisses ‘nonsensical’ third-party redress plans
The Law Society has dismissed as ‘nonsensical’ a suggestion that solicitors should have to provide redress to third parties to whom they owe no professional duty. The Legal Services Consumer Panel’s proposal to create a general right for third parties – those who are not a ...
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Indemnity cover saved
Your correspondent of 24 May omitted to mention that by ‘giving the practice away’, at least the professional indemnity runoff cover (two and a half times the last premium) was saved. Further, although the goodwill of the fish and chip shop was £120,000, it would have ...
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Nominations open for Law Society Excellence Awards
The Gazette has opened nominations for its Legal Personality of the Year accolade, one of a suite of Law Society Excellence Awards designed to recognise the profession’s most outstanding and dynamic practitioners. This is the sixth year of the Society’s Excellence awards, which include: Solicitor ...
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‘Hundreds’ of miscarriage of justice claims over legal advice failings
Hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees convicted of immigration-related offences such as failure to produce a passport may have been the victims of miscarriages of justice, the Gazette can reveal.
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Modern profession
I have just read Susan Singleton’s response to my earlier letter about the trainee minimum wage. Her letter is indicative of the current state of mind of the profession.
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SIFA warns against liberalisation of referrals process
Solicitors referring clients for financial advice will be exposed to indemnity claims if the process is liberalised, the profession has been warned. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is considering relaxing rules which dictate that lawyers can refer clients only to independent financial advisers, as opposed to advisers ...
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Debt fear factor
I am surprised that the Solicitors Regulation Authority thinks that removal of the minimum salary will improve opportunities for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
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Shropshire Council sets up legal company
A local authority is to incorporate its own trading company to supply legal and other support services. Shropshire Council last week endorsed a plan for setting up the new company, to be known as ip&e group Limited, standing for ‘Inspiring Partnerships and Enterprise’. ...
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Top GP backs government plans to check whiplash claims
A leading GP has backed government plans to cut the cost of whiplash claims by requiring claimants to see specialists. Dr Peter Swinyard, chairman of the Family Doctors Association, told the Gazette there had been a marked increase in patients complaining of stiff necks following car ...
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Equal opportunities
It is essential that the issue of elitism is tackled head on, but there is no simple solution (‘Top firms told to stop cherry-picking from Oxbridge’). The National Admissions Test for Law was established eight years ago to ‘level the educational playing field’ and tests a ...
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Chancery Lane warns of ‘anomalies’ in referral fee ban
The Law Society has warned of a ‘danger of anomalies’ in the government’s plan for banning referral fees. The Ministry of Justice is finalising the specifics of the ban, which will apply only to personal injury cases. Payment and receipt of the fees will be prohibited ...
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Combating forced marriages requires more than robust legal measures
by Talvinder Penaser, solicitor at Leeds Family Law The legislation on tackling forced marriage provides civil remedies for a breach of a forced marriage protection order (FMPOs).
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News focus: College of Law chief explains post-buyout plans
The College of Law (CoL) is set to expand in the UK and overseas with ‘brand and values intact’ following its £200m sale to a private equity firm, chief executive Nigel Savage has told the Gazette. Savage condemned the current wide-ranging review of legal education and ...
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The 'bishops versus the lawyers'?
The schismatic nature of the debate on same-sex marriage is redolent of pre-modern times. Indeed, the Telegraph went as far back as Henry Vlll, asking readers (somewhat melodramatically): ‘is gay marriage the greatest threat to the established role of the Church of England since the Reformation?’
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Conditional donations soar to SBA
Conditional donations from unclaimed client funds to The SBA The Solicitors’ Charity increased by nearly 70% in 2011 to more than £1.1m compared with £650,000 in 2010, according to its annual report published yesterday.