Conveyancers fined £33,000 for complaints and accounts breaches – Legal Futures

Posted March 21st, 2023 in accounts, complaints, conveyancing, fines, news by tracey

‘A large firm of licensed conveyancers and its senior partners have been reprimanded and fined £33,000 after a Covid-related work surge overwhelmed its ability to handle complaints.’

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Legal Futures, 21st March 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

PwC fined for Babcock audit failings including creating false record – The Guardian

Posted March 9th, 2023 in accounts, auditors, financial regulation, fines, news, standards by sally

‘The consultancy group PwC has been hit with a £7.5m fine over a string of serious breaches while auditing the engineering company Babcock’s accounts, including creating a false record of documents reviewed for a sensitive government contract.’

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The Guardian, 8th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

New Act – legislation.gov.uk

Posted March 17th, 2022 in accounts, legislation, public procurement by tracey

2022 c. 8 – Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) Act 2022

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Giving evidence “not a game”, judge tells expert witness – Legal Futures

Posted September 28th, 2021 in accounts, company law, expert witnesses, insolvency, news by sally

‘An expert witness has apologised to the High Court after being told by a judge not to treat giving evidence in court “as a game”.’

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Legal Futures, 28th September 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Assetco v GT: A chink in SAAMCo’s armour? And a lost chance to sort out loss of a chance? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 19th, 2020 in accounts, auditors, damages, duty of care, loss of chance, negligence, news by sally

‘The recent decision of Assetco Plc v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2020] EWCA Civ 1151, in which judgment was handed down at the end of August, is well worth professional liability lawyers paying attention to whether they are predominantly claimant practitioners, defendant ones or, like me, act for either side. It is a useful illustration of the application of the SAAMCo principle/doctrine (and also contains an interesting, if not entirely novel, analysis regarding loss of a chance).’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 5th November 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

What is the meaning of “good will”? The Court of Appeal continue the debate – Hardwicke Chambers

‘In Primus International Holding Company & Ors v Triumph Controls – UK Ltd & Anor [2020] EWCA Civ 1228, the Court of Appeal grappled with the proper interpretation of “goodwill” in a commercial contract, considering the natural meaning of “goodwill” in the commercial context and the definition prevalent in accounting practice. The case provides a useful reminder of the approach taken by the courts when construing contracts, highlighting the need for parties to spell out clearly their intended meaning of a term in their contractual agreement if they wish to depart from its ordinary and natural meaning.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 4th November 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Firm’s £13k legal bill ‘requires explanation’, rules costs judge – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 18th, 2020 in accounts, costs, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘A senior costs judge has ruled that a client should be allowed a closer analysis of 14 invoices issued by her solicitors over the course of a year.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 16th June 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Criminal legal aid solicitor struck off for accounts rule breaches – Legal Futures

‘A solicitor has been struck off after nearly 40 years in practice after admitting that the difficulties of relying on payment from criminal legal aid work overwhelmed him.’

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Legal Futures, 21st January 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Subpostmasters ‘vindicated’ as high court finds IT system had ‘bugs and defects’, paving way for further legal action – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 17th, 2019 in accounts, computer programs, malicious prosecution, news, postal service by tracey

‘Former subpostmasters who brought legal action against the Post Office say they have been “vindicated” after the High Court finds that their IT system had “bugs and defects,” paving the way for further legal action.’

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Daily Telegraph, 16th December 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Account ForfeitureOrder Notices – The Administrative Method – Drystone Chambers

‘The idea behind Account Forfeiture Order Notices is that it makes it easier for law enforcement to forfeit recoverable property, or property that is to be used in unlawful conduct, without going to court. The powers should only be used where there is no likelihood that the forfeiture will be objected to. Although these seem simple provisions there are a lot of possible issues, such as the length of notice, who and how it is served, if it is reasonable to serve one in the first place, and if forfeiture occurs, if it can be set aside by an aggrieved party at a later date.’

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Drystone Chambers, October 2019

Source: drystone.com

Bart Casella writes about Unexplained Wealth Orders and changes to applications for Account Freezing Orders – 23 Essex Street

‘Before UWOs came into force on 31 January 2018, I provided seminars to solicitors on the potentially far reaching effects that the orders could have, including on mortgagees and trustees of property held by individuals who qualified for an order or in relation to enforcement by HMRC in respect of inappropriate tax planning. The reality is that the investigating authorities in the UK have thus far concentrated on the ‘low hanging fruit’.’

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23 Essex Street, 4th November 2019

Source: www.23es.com

Court reforms may not be completed in time, PAC warns – Legal Futures

Posted November 6th, 2019 in accounts, courts, delay, HM Courts Service, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘The government’s court modernisation programme may not be completed by the deadline of 2023, the House of Commons public accounts committee (PAC) has warned in its latest report on the project.’

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- Legal Futures, 6th November 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The new Accounts Rules – what can you do? – 4 New Square

‘On 25 November 2019 the SRA Accounts Rules 2011 will cease to have effect, and will be replaced by new accounts rules. In one quarter-stroke of the draftsman’s pen, 52 rules covering 50 pages of single-spaced typescript on pages of A4 will be replaced by 13 rules on 10 pages. The SRA has trumpeted loudly that the rules have been simplified and that they provide greater flexibility. Have they? Do they?’

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4 New Square, 28th October 2019

Source: www.4newsquare.com

Appeal judges rule on difference between ‘advice’ and ‘information’ – Litigation Futures

Posted February 8th, 2019 in accounts, legal services, negligence, news, solicitors by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has set out a series of steps courts should take when deciding whether a professional negligence case involves ‘advice’ or ‘information’.’

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Litigation Futures, 6th February 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Howard Grossman: Northampton Town ‘missing millions’ developer banned – BBC News

Posted February 5th, 2019 in accounts, company directors, fiduciary duty, insolvency, loans, news, sport by tracey

‘A property developer has been banned from running companies for 10 years after failing to provide accounting records to explain more than £5m missing from a football club loan.’

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BBC News, 5th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Gosvenor London Ltd v Aygun Aluminium UK Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2695 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 14th, 2018 in accounts, fraud, news, stay of execution by sally

‘Gosvenor was contracted to perform cladding works for Aygun. The project fell into delay and disputes arose. A subsequent adjudication determined that Aygun owed Gosvenor the sum of £553,958. Gosvenor later applied for summary judgment to enforce the adjudication and Aygun resisted on the basis of fraud. According to Aygun, a substantial proportion of the adjudication award was based on fraudulent invoices which did not reflect the actual value of the work done.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 7th December 2018

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

CA: Statute bills do not need to include disbursements – Litigation Futures

Posted November 30th, 2018 in accounts, news, solicitors by sally

‘A solicitor’s bill can be a statute bill without including both profit costs and disbursements, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 28th November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Criminal lawyer who lied in witness statement is struck off – Legal Futures

Posted September 3rd, 2018 in accounts, client accounts, disciplinary procedures, news, solicitors by sally

‘An experienced criminal law solicitor who broke the conditions on his practising certificate (PC) just days after they were imposed and then lied about it in a witness statement, has been struck off.’

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Legal Futures, 31st August 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Investigation of law firm accounts reports “tripled in two years”, impact report shows – Legal Futures

Posted May 14th, 2018 in accounts, law firms, news by sally

‘The number of qualified accountants’ reports due to rule breaches has fallen by two-thirds since the rules were changed in 2015, but the amount then being investigated for possible rule breaches has tripled, it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 11th May 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New limb (g) added to Wimbledon v Vago principles and fraud allegations merit stay – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted April 9th, 2018 in accounts, fraud, intimidation, news, stay of execution, witnesses by tracey

‘Last week, Fraser J handed down his judgment in Gosvenor London Ltd v Aygun UK Ltd, a case in which the defendant (Aygun) was seeking to resist payment of an adjudicator’s award of around £650,000 on the grounds that a substantial part of the award was allegedly derived from fraudulent invoicing of Aygun. In the alternative, Aygun sought a stay on the basis of fraud, alleged witness intimidation and, most importantly, the entirely unsatisfactory nature of the claimant’s (Gosvenor) statutory accounts for 2016/2017 and the unbelievable explanations given on its behalf as to the contents. This combination of factors led the court to conclude it was unlikely that Gosvenor would repay the adjudicator’s award, were it required to do so following a challenge to the adjudicator’s decision in subsequent TCC proceedings.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 4th April 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com