Last 3 months headlines – Page 1346
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Taking the PI
Toilet humour is not usually welcome at any time but it got a laugh on this occasion. As the men queued during a break in Wednesday’s Claims Management Conference in Manchester, one moaned about the length of the line. ‘Give it a year and there’ll be ...
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Claimant firms warned of wind of change
A leading insurance solicitor has urged claimant firms to follow the lead of defendants and change their business model. Anthony Hughes, chief executive of national firm Horwich Farrelly, told the 2012 Claims Management Conference yesterday that change is inevitable in the personal injury market. ...
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‘Primordial role’ no excuse for gender stereotyping, ECHR rules
Gender stereotyping can breach the rights of men and women alike, irrespective of prevailing social attitudes or perceptions of ‘man’s primordial role’, Europe’s human rights watchdog ruled today. It said that it would not be in the public interest to allow someone’s choice of employment to imply that he or ...
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Lukewarm reaction to Osborne's £20bn loan scheme
The legal sector has given a tepid welcome to the £20bn low-interest loan scheme announced by the chancellor in the runup to this week’s budget. William Arthur, consultant at professional services consultancy Kerma Partners, said: ‘There is no sense of a pent-up and unsatisfied demand ...
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Should lawyers welcome the end of the 50p tax rate?
There will be plenty of Gazette readers who do not benefit from the scrapping of the 50p rate of income tax on earnings over £150,000 - though a decade spent covering the City and corporate parts of the legal market means I know very great numbers who are set to ...
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Lawyers condemn budget’s £20m legal funding gesture
Chancellor George Osborne today promised £20m a year in new funding for the not-for-profit advice sector over the next two years. The sum was immediately and widely condemned as being not enough to replace shortfalls left by spending cuts. The announcement, in today’s budget, makes available ...
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No referral exemption for charities, Lords rule
The House of Lords has blocked attempts to exempt charities and trade unions from the referral fee ban. The house was debating proposed amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill.
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Women’s criminal justice policy proposal fails
A proposal to establish a women’s criminal justice policy unit within the Ministry of Justice foundered yesterday after a vote on an amendment to the Legal Aid Sentencing and Criminal Justice Bill was tied. Peers voted evenly, with 217 votes for and 217 against, on an ...
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Alarm over Chinese allegiance oath
Chinese lawyers must promise to ‘fulfil the sacred mission of socialism’ or be denied a licence to practise, the country’s justice ministry ordered yesterday. Among other pledges, China’s lawyers must also now swear ‘loyalty to the motherland and its people’ and vow to ‘uphold the leadership ...
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Outrage at £2.60 wage proposal for trainees
Trainee solicitors could be paid as little as £2.60 an hour in their first year under an amendment to the Solicitors Regulation Authority's proposals for ending the minimum wage. The Law Society’s Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) today condemned the move as another step towards making the legal profession the ‘preserve ...
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Advocacy quality scheme deal ‘imminent’
An announcement to break the deadlock over the controversial quality assurance scheme for advocates (QASA) is ‘imminent’, the director of the Bar Standards Board said yesterday.
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MPs call for audit of legal aid changes
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee today adds its voice to calls for an independent assessment of the impact of the government's cuts to legal aid. In a hard-hitting report on Ministry of Justice finances, the committee says the government’s own impact assessment ...
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Briton held under European warrant as charity calls for extradition reform
A British man has been arrested under the European arrest warrant (EAW) system for a crime of which he was cleared some 17 years ago, the charity Fair Trials International said today.
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Junior lawyers call for pause to minimum wage consultation
Scrapping the minimum wage for trainee solicitors without a thorough impact assessment goes against ‘common sense’ and could bar candidates from less affluent backgrounds from entering the profession, junior lawyers warn today. The Law Society Junior Lawyers Division says in a statement that the Solicitors Regulation ...
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Student lawyers need to adapt
by Mary Greenhalgh, consultant solicitor at Grant Saw Solicitors LLP It is obvious that future lawyers should speak and write clear, accurate and correct English.
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Peering into the future
We have undertaken a Harry Potter-like task recently at the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), but without the aid of wands or potions: we have tried to predict the future. It is always good to have an idea of what is coming down the line, but ...
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The current legal landscape
To describe the current legal landscape as interesting would be a real understatement. You could say that a perfect storm is brewing. A variety of different factors mean that the legal sector is undergoing significant change and firms of all sizes need to rise to the challenges they are facing. ...
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Watchdog calls for regulation of probate services
The Legal Services Consumer Panel calls today for probate and estate administration services to be regulated and made reserved activities along with will-writing. However in a submission to the Legal Services Board, following a call for evidence on will-writing, probate and estate administration services, the ...
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Harvey Nicks owner gives £20m to law faculty
A Hong Kong businessman has given £20m to King’s College London in what the college says is the largest individual donation ever made to a European law faculty. Luxury goods magnate Dickson Poon will fund a recruitment drive for eight new chair positions over the next ...
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Government regulation of third-party funding shelved - for now
The question of whether third-party investment in litigation should be regulated by government raised its ugly head one final time in the House of Lords last week.