Last 3 months headlines – Page 1350
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The smoke and mirrors of whiplash rhetoric
by David Bott, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) For some time, there has been a theme of depicting whiplash claimants as fraudsters. Jack Straw describes whiplash as a ‘profitable invention of the human imagination’.
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Lords expose intellectual bankruptcy of LASPO Part 2
The House of Lords debate which took place on 30 January revealed divided opinion on key issues in the proposed legislation in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. We now know the changes will be delayed. And emphasis was placed ...
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Data protection - and gossip
As the Gazette briefly reported, the European Commission published its new data protection legislation last week, providing a fresh regulatory structure with which all lawyers and law firms will have to become familiar. I shall focus on that below.
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The business of immigration 2012
Contrary to expectations this is going to be a good year for immigration practitioners. When considering immigration lawyers’ prospects for 2012 we need to remember a lesson from Frederick Bastiat’s Parable of the Broken Window. Bastiat was a 19th century French economist, who taught us to ...
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Downtrodden sidekick gets a moment in the spotlight
You can’t help but feel sorry for the less glamorous half of a partnership. Shunted to the side, often ignored and with their other half stealing all the glory: theirs is a life destined for second best. In the LASPO bill, civil ...
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Fewer apply to study law
Applications to study law at UK universities and colleges have fallen sharply, figures released today show - but not as sharply as applications for university places overall.
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Merger talks off
Talks over a possible merger between national firms DWF and Cobbetts have ended just weeks after they were first confirmed. In a joint statement released today, the firms said the decision had been made not to progress with talks due to ‘current uncertainty in market conditions’. ...
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We’re clearing web backlog, says SRA
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has apologised for delays to online practising certificate renewal as it starts to clear the backlog of applications.
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Securing bank funding through bond issue
Assura Properties plc (Assura), a wholly owned subsidiary of Assura Group Limited, which owns a £542m portfolio of primary care properties in the UK, secured £110m of funding at the close of last year, not through the traditional route of bank lending but via a 10-year bond issue. Both the ...
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Proceeds of crime
Mauritius - Criminal law - Money laundering Director of Public Prosecutions v Bholah: Privy Council (Lords Phillips, Brown, Kerr, Wilson and Sir Malachy Higgins): 20 December 2011 The Privy Council ...
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Managing the implications of ABSs
As Birmingham is our home, we have paid tribute to the city by naming some of our meeting rooms after its famous landmarks. One of them is named after Spaghetti Junction, a Medusa’s head of highways. It can take you where you need to go, but it is a long ...
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Pain of rejection
I have noticed in the past six months a markedly increased level of rejections being received from the Legal Services Commission in respect of claims for payment, for what can only be described as the most petty of reasons. These include, among many: ...
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At least say sorry
In the sympathetic sense of the word, I pity Jewels. The Legal Services Commission clearly does not. An LSC spokesman said: ‘We are sorry to learn that Jewels Solicitors have decided to go into administration and we are now working with the administrators to ensure the firm’s clients continue to ...
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Naked populism
In discussing two recent bail decisions, Robin Tilbrook asks, rhetorically, whether racism is now worse than murder. The answer, of course, is that murder is worse, because the victim has no chance of recovery from the damage inflicted.
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Inventing problems
Robin Tilbrook’s comments have left everybody in my office thoroughly perplexed. Is he unaware that those accused of a crime are considered innocent until proven guilty? Will he, on behalf of the English Democrats, stand up and call for the repeal of this longstanding approach to criminal law? If he ...
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Earn the title
If Mr Pearlman wishes to be called ‘doctor’, I suggest he studies for a PhD or LLD - quite different animals from the solicitor’s vocational qualification. Dr Julian Critchlow, Fenwick Elliott, London WC2
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Intellectual property
Patent - Validity - Novelty - Obviousness - Insufficiency Omnipharm Ltd v Merial: Chancery Division, Patents Court (Mr Justice Floyd): 21 December 2011 The Chancery Division, Patents Court, decided, inter ...
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The innocent suffer
The ugly shape of the post-crash world is becoming apparent as time passes. Certain structures that were primary causes of the economic crisis are still standing, with their practices more or less unchanged - banks and other financial institutions, for instance - while innocent parties are squirming and suffering. One ...
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Solicitors wary of new compliance roles
Solicitors fear the potential risks involved in taking on new roles as compliance officers within their firms, a legal consultancy has warned. The 360 Legal Group says it found ‘serious concerns’ over regulatory changes requiring individuals to monitor their firm’s behaviour and report any wrongdoing - ...
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Lawyers divided on EU data rules
Proposed new data protection rules designed to cut red tape and save EU companies €2.3bn a year in administrative costs have met with a mixed reaction from UK lawyers. Under a directive due to be published this week some businesses would be liable to fines of ...