All Letters articles – Page 14
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OpinionClosing time
Eduardo Reyes makes a number of valid points in ‘How to close a law firm’. In my experience, it is never too soon for smaller firms to address this issue because by doing so their exit options are massively increased. I recommend that all firms give themselves at least five ...
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OpinionFlexible hours can’t always work
Proposals to increase the diversity of the profession are sometimes incompatible with the day-to-day realities of legal practice
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OpinionMediation misunderstood
I read with interest John Hyde’s ‘The mediation dilemma’. I retired from private practice in April to focus on my mediation practice. I have seen mediation from two perspectives – that of the solicitor advising his client and then as mediator. I am not sure that some lawyers see the ...
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OpinionPurple lifeboat holed
The ‘real’ daily rate for a deputy district judge has effectively made the role an expensive hobby. If this continues standards will only fall
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OpinionArrest report
The Home Office recently reported that the total number of arrests has fallen from 1.5 million in 2008 to 779,660 in 2017 (a total drop of 48%). In fairness to the police, it should be acknowledged that making an arrest is not a prerequisite for an offence to be properly ...
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OpinionPeople power – the new normal
Law firms that put intellectual capital before personal gain should be applauded. Accepting a lower return is a price worth paying
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OpinionHeavy price of 'efficiency'
One of the reasons why the defence solicitor son of your recent correspondent is ‘paid a pittance’ (letters, 16 October) may be the profession’s lemming-like acceptance of so-called ‘franchising’ and the time-limited criminal contracts in the late 1990s. Such unthinking acceptance eliminated local independence and competition. It ceded effective control ...
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OpinionChain reaction
‘Blockchain deal bodes ill for conveyancers’, the Gazette reported on 16 October. At their own risk, parties can always bypass solicitors and, for example, prepare their own transfer deed, so it is surprising the Gazette devotes space to this. Neil Singer seems not to understand the purpose of land ...
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OpinionThe force is against you
I read with sympathy the letter headed ‘Why is my son paid a pittance?’. The answer, however, is very simple: market forces. I am told that when I qualified in 1969 there were about 26,500 practising solicitors in England and Wales. There are now over 140,000 (news, 23 October). Michael ...
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OpinionIt all adds up
With regard to VAT on online property searches, surely any solicitor acquiring such a search will spend time on assessing the search, charge for that time and add VAT on that charge. Perhaps I am over simplifying, but does that not answer all the tribunal judge’s (and HMRC’s) arguments? ...
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OpinionPrison shame
It is a source of immense pride to me and I am sure to many other Law Society members that solicitors such as the redoubtable Laura Janes continue to play a pivotal role in the endeavours of the Howard League for Penal Reform on behalf of the rights of offenders. ...
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OpinionProof point
I wanted to clarify one point in relation to your article about the standard of proof. You said that the ‘discussion paper… does not explicitly back requiring prosecutions to be proved “beyond reasonable doubt”’. This is not quite accurate. The Law Society is keen to hear members’ views. However, I ...
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OpinionToo few judges
It is a strange little world, that of the deputy district judge, particularly those retired who come back and sit a few times a month. Every month a list is sent out of perhaps a hundred unfilled court sittings around the country. It is first come, first served for venues. ...
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OpinionSystem failure
The government should acknowledge that court fees are a hidden tax – its deceit is made worse by deteriorating service levels.
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OpinionFlat fee is disproportionate
We are a small firm with two partners and no staff, and a turnover of less than £200,000. We are currently carrying out our renewal of Solicitors Regulation Authority registration and have come to the fees. We understand that a periodical fee has to be paid. However, we take great ...
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OpinionWhy is my son paid a pittance?
Gone are the days when the social worker envied the solicitor (all that kudos, all that pay!). How the tables have turned in family and criminal law. Qualified social worker – three-year degree, lots of job opportunities, starting salary of £27k-30k, five weeks holiday plus public holidays, good pension, regular ...
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OpinionQuality controllers
If legal services are to expand further by deregulation, lawyers must help educate the public on how to steer clear of cowboy practitioners
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OpinionHome improvement
Property developers attempting to maximise the value of their reversion portfolios is one of the main problems with the leasehold system
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OpinionSociety governance latest
The review of Law Society governance is now resulting in change being implemented, with more being considered.
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Opinion
Health check
‘Removing the stigma attached to mental health problems is vital’, the Gazette reported last week (2 October).