All Letters articles – Page 49
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Opinion
Complicated conveyancing
Why has the relatively simple act of buying and selling a house seemingly become so complicated?
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Opinion
Gender-exclusive address
It is ridiculous it is in this day and age to address another firm as ‘Dear Sirs’ when probably more than half the lawyers in that firm are female.
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Opinion
Pawns in the migration game
In July the Home Office introduced a seemingly innocuous phrase into the immigration rules and international students will suffer.
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Opinion
Ensuring staff wellbeing is a commercial necessity
A health and wellbeing strategy can bring benefits commercially, too.
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Opinion
Arbitrate to uphold justice
If parties choose to arbitrate rather than litigate their dispute, route to justice will be improved.
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Opinion
No publicity for ‘show trials’
Michael Mansfield promotes another of his commissions and tribunals, this time in relation to Lewisham Hospital.
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Opinion
Poorly prepared judges
I am a commercial litigator of some 44 years’ experience and I work in civil courts all over the country. I have noticed over recent years that, with all the problems facing our civil justice system, the efficiency of our judges is rapidly diminishing in one particular area of courtroom ...
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Opinion
Credit to Birkenhead court
I am writing to highlight a procedure adopted by our local county court in detailed assessment proceedings. When making an application for detailed assessment, we have to provide an estimated length of hearing which, in view of some of the creative arguments from opponents, has to be at least three ...
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Opinion
Painting by numbers
I need an outside painting job done at my house. It needs to be done in the summer months in the good weather. So I asked two decorators to give me a quote. One came and looked and I never heard from him again. The other came and looked and ...
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Opinion
Repaying a debt
Armed Forces Legal Action is a nationwide initiative calling on law firms across the UK to provide members of the armed forces community one-third off legal fees. Its aim is to benefit serving personnel and those who have served within two years of engaging the law firm. It also seeks ...
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Opinion
Motor insurance: health checks
I was interested to see AXA’s recent report on whiplash – an issue on which we have submitted evidence to the Transport Select Committee. The insurance industry continually issues figures about how much whiplash claims allegedly add on to motor insurance policies every year. However, no one appears to be ...
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Opinion
Legal aid: children suffer
Comments by Charles Falconer QC in The Times law section regarding a tightening of the process in criminal and family care cases are worthy of careful attention. On the face of it, removal of private law family legal aid is serving the same purpose, except that it has produced the ...
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Opinion
'Posturing' on victim levy
How right Joshua Rozenberg is to pour scorn on the legerdemain of the Ministry of Justice over levying the victim surcharge. This has been brought into effect irrespective of any of the philosophical underpinning or due process safeguards applying to all other financial sanctions. ‘Looking tough’ in this way is ...
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Opinion
Stop this PI lawyer-bashing
I read with sadness the letter from Rob Barley. I work for a small practice which mainly deals with personal injury claims. I have in the past month received at least five calls to my firm’s telephone number asking me if I am sure I have not been injured in ...
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Opinion
Standing up to the insurance industry
The Law Society deserves to be praised for at long last standing up to the insurance industry. There are critics who (justifiably) will say all of this is too little too late, but the campaign is something which is very close to my heart. We launched Review My Claim earlier ...
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Opinion
PI firms not playing by the rules
In the new personal injury claims environment we all have to play by the new rules. The trouble is that there are many firms which are not. I have seen adverts on the internet offering, without qualification, ‘100% compensation’, but when the firm in question is called the offer is ...
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Opinion
Hollow laugh with High Court application
There is still amusement in the law. I delivered an application to the High Court today. Royal Mail had lost my previous bundle and I thought it best to hand over a substitute in person (ironically, the case is about a judge who believed in the efficacy of the postal ...
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Opinion
Should we allow non-graduate entry?
SRA chair Charles Plant says there should be a return to non-graduate entry to the profession. Over the years I have thought this too. After all, I am a five-year man myself. At the end of this month I retire and my views have changed. The law too has changed, ...