Prosecutors threaten trial walk-outs in CPS pay row – BBC News

‘Criminal barristers in England and Wales are threatening to walk out of trials or refuse new work over a pay row with the Crown Prosecution Service.’

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BBC News, 23rd April 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Barrister’s non-contractual fees “vest in trustee in bankruptcy” – Legal Futures

Posted April 15th, 2019 in bankruptcy, barristers, fees, insolvency, news, trustees in bankruptcy by michael

‘A barrister’s non-contractual fees are property for the purposes of insolvency law and vest in his trustee in bankruptcy, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 15th April 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Spending on jail staff legal fees 46-times more than for bereaved – The Guardian

Posted April 11th, 2019 in bereavement, fees, inquests, legal aid, legal representation, news, prisons, statistics by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice spent £4.2m representing prison officers at inquests, while paying out only £92,000 in legal aid for bereaved families at hearings that examine deaths in prison, according to newly released figures.’

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The Guardian, 10th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

CFA success fees abolished in privacy & defamation cases – Panopticon

Posted April 9th, 2019 in costs, defamation, fees, insurance, news, privacy by sally

‘So after many of months of GDPR-related anguish, finally some good news for data controllers: with effect from last Saturday (6th April), conditional fee agreement (CFA) success fees will no longer be recoverable from defendants in privacy or defamation proceedings, at least where the relevant CFA was entered into after 5 April.’

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Panopticon, 8th April 2019

Source: panopticonblog.com

CA upholds challenge to routine 100% success fee in low-value PI – Litigation Futures

‘Solicitors handling low-value personal injury claims since LASPO should have undertaken risk assessments before setting success fees – rather than just applying 100% across the board – the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 3rd April 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Solicitors can recover VAT on full MRO fee, says appeal court – Litigation Futures

‘A solicitor does not have to investigate whether a medical reporting organisation (MRO) is right to charge VAT on the whole of its bill, the Court of Appeal has ruled in a case that it said affected “thousands” of others.’

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Litigation Futures, 3rd April 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Fixed costs impact: “Less income per claim but more cases” – Litigation Futures

Posted April 3rd, 2019 in costs, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘An extended fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime may lead to reduced income per case for solicitors but this will be balanced by quicker settlements and the chance to take on more cases, the Ministry of Justice has said.’

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Litigation Futures, 1st April 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Solicitors lose right to fees after ending retainer “peremptorily” – Litigation Futures

Posted March 27th, 2019 in costs, deceit, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘Solicitors who terminated their retainer “peremptorily” without investigating the circumstances of evidence that might have thrown the case into doubt have lost their claim to £8,000 in fees.’

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Litigation Futures, 26th March 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Solicitor “told client” to pay fees into personal bank account – Legal Futures

‘A solicitor who told a client to pay his firm’s fees into his personal bank account has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.’

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Legal Futures, 15th March 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bungled Litigation and Costs – 4 New Square

Posted March 12th, 2019 in costs, damages, fees, insurance, negligence, news by sally

‘In principle, costs and funding should be taken into account when determining the value of litigation which has been lost by lawyers’ negligence. The Courts by and large purport to do this,[1] but the reported cases mostly do not do so adequately, and as a result considerably overvalue lost claims. I will attempt in this paper to show why, backed up by some simple calculations. In particular, the possibility of losing any trial makes a very great impact on the value of a claim.’

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4 New Square, 28th February 2019

Source: www.4newsquare.com

Taxi driver loses appeal over conviction for making additional charge of wheelchair user – Local Government Lawyer

‘A taxi driver has lost an appeal over his conviction of an offence under the Equality Act 2010 of making an additional charge for a disabled person in a wheelchair.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th February 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Court backs recoverability of agency fees in PI claims – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 1st, 2019 in agency, costs, fees, medical records, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘The court has ruled in favour of claimants in a battle over medical agency fees that affects thousands of low-value personal injury cases.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 1st March 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Judiciary pulls back on ban for fee-charging McKenzie Friends – Legal Futures

Posted February 26th, 2019 in fees, McKenzie friends, news, remuneration by tracey

‘While “deeply concerned” about the growth in fee-charging McKenzie Friends, the judiciary has failed to decide whether they should be banned – three years after consulting on doing just that.’

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Legal Futures, 26th February 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Supreme Court upholds estate agent contract formed over telephone – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 20th, 2019 in agency, contracts, estate agents, fees, news, remuneration, telecommunications by sally

‘The UK Supreme Court has upheld a contract concluded between a property developer and an estate agent over the telephone, including a disputed element of commission for the agent.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th February 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

Appeal judges “penalising law firms for being efficient” – Litigation Futures

Posted February 18th, 2019 in airlines, compensation, delay, fees, law firms, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal ruling last week in the Bott & Co flight delay litigation shows that judges are not giving solicitors credit for being more business-like and efficient, a leading commentator has argued.’

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Litigation Futures, 18th February 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Death certificate to treble in price – BBC News

Posted February 15th, 2019 in bereavement, documents, fees, news by sally

‘The price of a getting a death certificate will nearly triple from this weekend in England and Wales.’

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BBC News, 14th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Barrister who failed to pass on fees to colleague suspended – Legal Futures

‘A public access barrister who failed to pass on fees payable to a colleague has been suspended by a Bar disciplinary tribunal.’

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Legal Futures, 25th January 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bar Council renews attack on BSB over price transparency – Legal Futures

Posted January 15th, 2019 in barristers, fees, news by tracey

‘The Bar Council is still unhappy with the price transparency regime proposed by the Bar Standards Board (BSB), despite the regulator’s decision to limit publication of information about fees to public access work.’

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Legal Futures, 15th January 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Repatriation fees for forced marriage victims abolished – The Guardian

Posted January 10th, 2019 in fees, forced marriages, loans, news, victims by sally

‘The Foreign Office has bowed to public outrage and dropped its requirement for victims of forced marriage to pay sometimes crippling fees to cover the cost of their repatriation.’

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The Guardian, 9th January 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Fees breakdown published for capped costs pilot – Litigation Futures

Posted January 9th, 2019 in costs, costs capping orders, fees, news, pilot schemes, solicitors by sally

‘The breakdown of the £80,000 in fees that solicitors will be able to claim under the voluntary capped costs pilot for certain Business and Property Courts cases valued up to £250,000 has been published.’

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Litigation Futures, 8th January 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com