Category: competition

Bar Council Chairman: We will not facilitate a scheme which will wreck the criminal justice system – The Bar Council

Posted June 5th, 2013 in barristers, competition, criminal justice, diversity, fees, legal aid, legal representation, news, solicitors by sally

The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has today stated that it has no plans to develop a quality system to facilitate price competitive tendering (PCT) for criminal legal aid. The Bar Council believes that real quality is based on choice of service providers, not price alone, on which the Government’s model is based. The Bar Council’s response to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation clearly sets out its position on this issue.

Full story

The Bar Council, 5th June 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Bar Council responds to legal aid consultation – The Bar Council

Posted June 4th, 2013 in barristers, competition, consultations, criminal justice, equality, legal aid, news, solicitors, tenders by sally

“The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has today published its full response to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) controversial consultation paper, Transforming Legal Aid. The response, which runs to over 150 pages, incorporates expert economic and statistical analysis, which forensically examines the Government’s proposals, highlighting major flaws.”

Full story

The Bar Council, 4th June 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Barristers attack legal aid plans from government – BBC News

Posted June 4th, 2013 in barristers, competition, criminal justice, legal aid, news, solicitors, tenders by sally

“Barristers have attacked plans to cut £220m from the annual criminal case legal aid budget in England and Wales.”

Full story

BBC News, 4th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

BSB wades into legal aid row – Legal Futures

Posted June 4th, 2013 in barristers, competition, criminal justice, guilty pleas, legal aid, news, tenders by sally

“The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has waded into the controversy over government plans to introduce price competitive tendering (PCT) in criminal work by warning that it risks causing irreparable harm to the credibility of the criminal justice system and incentivises lawyers to encourage guilty pleas.”

Full story

Legal Futures, 4th June 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Competition law – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 3rd, 2013 in competition, markets, news, regulations by sally

“The coalition government was just six months old when it announced a ‘bonfire’ of 192 quangos, among them the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading. Fast forward to 2013 and, albeit without much ministerial fanfare, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has a CEO-designate, Alex Chisholm. He is preparing to lead a merged organisation set to be formally established on 1 October; the authority will assume full functions and powers in April 2014.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 3rd June 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Eddie Stobart drives into legal aid row – The Guardian

Posted May 8th, 2013 in barristers, competition, criminal justice, legal aid, legal representation, news, tenders by sally

“A subsidiary of the haulage firm Eddie Stobart has emerged as a leading contender in bidding for a new generation of criminal legal aid contracts that would deprive defendants of the right to choose their own solicitor.”

Full story

The Guardian, 8th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 – legislation.gov.uk

Posted May 3rd, 2013 in banking, competition, copyright, employment, equality, legislation, mergers, planning, unfair dismissal by sally

Full text of Act

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

To fight or not to fight: pharmaceutical patent settlements – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted May 3rd, 2013 in agreements, competition, medicines, news, patents by sally

“On 19 April 2013, the OFT announced that it had issued a Statement of Objections following its investigation into patent litigation settlement agreements (PLSAs) in the pharmaceutical sector.”

Full story

Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 3rd May 2013

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Exeter lawyer’s anti-legal aid tendering petition signed by 24,000 – BBC News

Posted May 1st, 2013 in competition, criminal justice, fees, legal aid, news, tenders by sally

“A petition against proposed changes to criminal legal aid set up by an Exeter-based solicitor has attracted more than 24,000 signatures.”

Full story

BBC News, 30th April 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

BT wins right to take Sky Sports price ruling to court of appeal – The Guardian

Posted April 26th, 2013 in appeals, competition, media, news by sally

“BT has won the right to take a competition regulator ruling that stopped BSkyB being forced to offer Sky Sports 1 and 2 to rival TV services at a discount of up to 23% to the court of appeal.”

Full story

The Guardian, 26th April 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

McNally: ‘Access to justice’ doesn’t mean access to a lawyer – LegalVoice

Posted April 24th, 2013 in budgets, competition, human rights, legal aid, litigants in person, news by sally

“It was time to ‘move on’ from the ‘bruising’ LASPO debate, the Lord McNally said yesterday. The legal aid minister told delegates at an event organised by the Westminster Legal Policy Forum that this month’s cuts would save £180m per annum alone. ‘Yet on the criminal side, we’re still spending £1 billion every year. A significant proportion of this spending is swallowed up by a few very high cost cases,’ the legal aid minister added.”

Full story

LegalVoice, 24th April 2013

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Implementing a new framework for legal aid – Ministry of Justice

Posted April 24th, 2013 in advocacy, budgets, competition, legal aid, news by sally

“The Government wants to reduce unnecessary costs and make sure that legal aid helps those who need it the most.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Strasbourg ties itself in knots over advertising ban – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted April 24th, 2013 in advertising, animal cruelty, competition, human rights, news, public interest by sally

“In what was a profoundly sad day for democracy, on 22 April 2013 the European Court of Human Rights found in favour of the UK government in a landmark test case concerning a TV advertisement produced by ADI in 2005, and subsequently banned under the Communications Act 2003.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Law Commission proposes changes to ‘groundless threats’ IP laws – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 22nd, 2013 in competition, consultations, enforcement, intellectual property, Law Commission, news, patents, trade marks by sally

“A law reform body has proposed changes to the law that would make it easier for businesses seeking to protect their trade marks and design rights to make threats of legal action against alleged infringers of their rights without fear that those threats could be the subject of court action.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 22nd April 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Patents, trade marks and design rights: are groundless threats of infringement causing problems? – Law Commission

Posted April 17th, 2013 in competition, consultations, intellectual property, news, patents, trade marks by sally

“In a consultation opening today, the Law Commission seeks views on reform of the law relating to groundless threats of litigation over patents, trade marks and design rights.”

Full story

Law Commission, 17th April 2013

Source: www.lawcommission.justice.gov.uk

Google facing High Court case after UK maps rival submits complaint about its search practices – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 16th, 2013 in competition, computer programs, internet, news by sally

“A UK technology firm that provides internet maps has initiated legal action against Google in the High Court in which it has claimed that it has been the victim of anti-competitive practices engaged in by the internet giant.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 15th April 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Transforming legal aid: a guide to defence tendering – LegalVoice

Posted April 11th, 2013 in competition, legal aid, news, public procurement, tenders by sally

“A guide to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation on criminal legal aid reform (Transforming Legal Aid: Delivering a more credible and efficient system) and price competitive tendering published earlier this week.”

Full story

LegalVoice, 11th April 2013

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Bar Council responds to MoJ legal aid announcements – The Bar Council

Posted April 10th, 2013 in advocacy, competition, criminal justice, legal aid, news by sally

“The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has responded to today’s Ministry of Justice (‘MoJ’) announcement on legal aid.”

Full story

The Bar Council, 9th April

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

The CBA misunderstand and are misrepresenting QASA warns the BSB – Bar Standards Board

Posted April 10th, 2013 in competition, legal aid, legal representation, news, tenders by sally

“Yesterday’s Criminal Bar Association message contains some unhelpful inaccuracies which the Bar Standards Board needs to correct.”

Full story

Bar Standards Board, 9th April 2013

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

MoJ unveils tendering plans for criminal defence – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 10th, 2013 in budgets, competition, consultations, criminal justice, legal aid, legal representation, news, tenders by sally

“Defendants will lose the right to choose their lawyer and instead be allocated a representative, under government plans to introduce price-competitive tendering (PCT) for criminal defence services.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 9th April 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk