UK’s £1,000 child citizenship fee ruled unlawful by appeal court – The Guardian

Posted February 19th, 2021 in appeals, children, citizenship, fees, government departments, news by tracey

‘Home Office fees of £1,000 for children to register as British citizens are unlawful, the court of appeal has upheld in a landmark ruling.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 18th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Contentious Wills & Probate Case Law Roundup 2020: Part I – Parklane Plowden Chambers

Posted February 18th, 2021 in fees, financial provision, news, repossession, wills by sally

‘In Part I of our three-part series of key caselaw updates in contentious wills, Anna Metcalfe discusses the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 8th February 2021

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

A cheaper route to qualifying? ULaw unveils SQE pricing – Legal Futures

Posted February 10th, 2021 in education, fees, legal education, news, solicitors, universities by sally

‘The University of Law (ULaw) has unveiled a range of courses to prepare students for Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), costing from £500 to £16,500 – the latter being little different from the legal practice course (LPC).’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 10th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The £55 court fee that should have been £10,000 – Litigation Futures

‘The fee to bring an unlimited additional claim should be £10,000, rather than the £55 the court office had advised one of the parties in bitter litigation involving two law firms, a judge has ruled.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 10th February 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

25% uplift is usual for outdated guideline rates, says judge – Litigation Futures

Posted February 9th, 2021 in fees, indexation, inflation, news, solicitors by tracey

‘The conventional approach in relation to the guideline hourly rates (GHR) is to uplift them by about 25% to reflect the effects of inflation since they were set in 2010, a High Court judge has said. He refused without more evidence to reduce the impact of inflation by commercial pressures on solicitors to keep their fees lower.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 9th February 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Client sued over unpaid fees loses appeal against contempt sentence – Legal Futures

Posted February 8th, 2021 in appeals, contempt of court, fees, law firms, news, suspended sentences by tracey

‘A man sued by a Kent law firm for unpaid fees has lost his appeal against a suspended sentence handed out for contempt over his failure to comply with court orders.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 8th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New survey from Bar Council finds barristers at “breaking point” – The Bar Council

Posted January 25th, 2021 in barristers, coronavirus, debts, diversity, employment, fees, mental health, news, statistics by tracey

‘The Bar Council, which represents all barristers in England and Wales, has today published findings from its most recent survey of the Bar. The findings show some signs of recovery in workload, but highlight the extreme financial and psychological hardship still facing many barristers.’

Full Story

The Bar Council, 22nd January 2021

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Transparency failures put three firms in the dock – Legal Futures

‘Law firms in London, Manchester and Bath have become the first sanctioned for failing to publish price and service information, with compliance made a condition of their authorisation.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 15th January 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

SDT “wrong” to strike out prosecution of Law Society president – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) was wrong to throw out a private prosecution brought by a former client against the current president of the Law Society, the High Court has ruled.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 13th January 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Domestic abuse victims wrongly charged over £150 from GPs for letters confirming injuries – The Independent

Posted January 8th, 2021 in doctors, domestic violence, expert witnesses, fees, legal aid, news, victims by tracey

‘Domestic abuse victims are being wrongly charged over £150 by GPs for letters proving their injuries which are often required to access legal aid or other crucial services.’

Full Story

The Independent, 7th January 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Government vows to end complex leasehold costs – BBC News

Posted January 7th, 2021 in fees, leases, news, rent by tracey

‘Planned reforms of the controversial leasehold system in England are set to clamp down on high costs when extending a lease.’

Full Story

BBC News, 7th January 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Increase guideline hourly rates by 35% pending CJC review, judge says – Litigation Futures

Posted December 4th, 2020 in civil procedure rules, costs, fees, judges, news, solicitors by sally

‘The guideline hourly rates (GHR) should be increased to take account of inflation while they are being reviewed, meaning an increase of 35%, the High Court ruled this week.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 3rd December 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Child Trust Fund court fees waived for parents – Ministry of Justice

‘Parents or guardians of children who lack mental capacity can ask for court fees to be waived when seeking access to a Child Trust Fund, the government has announced today (1 December, 2020).’

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 1st December 2020

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

Fixed Fee and Virtual Mediations – Becket Chambers

Posted December 1st, 2020 in dispute resolution, fees, news, remote hearings by sally

‘The present pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in the time it takes matters, especially civil claims, to get to court for a final hearing and those delays are only going to get longer so there has never been a better time to consider mediation as a quick, cheap and effective alternative to litigation and the Civil Mediation Council’s Fixed Fee Mediation scheme allows parties to benefit from a very economic tariff for relatively low-value claims (i.e. up to £50,000) using CMC-accredited civil mediators.’

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Becket Chambers, 13th November 2020

Source: becket-chambers.co.uk

High Court refuses to strike out solicitor’s surveillance harassment claim – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has refused to strike out claims of harassment brought by a solicitor and his wife over surveillance of them carried out at the instruction of a former client.’

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Legal Futures, 30th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

A Costly Lesson? A discussion of the decision in Belsner v Cam Legal Services Limited [2020] EWHC 2755 (QB) – Parklane Plowden Chambers

‘Lavender J has held that solicitors cannot rely upon CPR 46.9(2) to recover more from a client than could have been recovered between parties in the proceedings, unless they can show that the client provided informed consent. The decision potentially has far-reaching consequences for the use of conditional fee agreements (“CFAs”).’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 20th November 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

Criminal justice system is ‘on its knees’, says top English lawyer – The Guardian

‘Crown court cases are being delayed until 2023, the innocent penalised more than the guilty, and the under-funded, criminal justice system brought “on its knees”, according to the chair of the Criminal Bar Association in England and Wales.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 19th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legal aid lawyers under severe pressure because of Covid – Legal Futures

‘Four-fifths of legal aid lawyers have experienced stress as a result of the pandemic, with more than half of them blaming longer working hours, according to a survey.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 18th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

“Shocking discrepancies” in Bar gender pay gap analysis – Legal Futures

Posted November 12th, 2020 in barristers, fees, news, remuneration, statistics, women by tracey

‘The gender pay gap at the Bar is “alive and well”, the chair of the Bar Council said yesterday, after new figures looking at individual practice areas revealed “shocking discrepancies”.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 12th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bar Council braces for £3m loss as Covid hits profession’s income – Legal Futures

Posted November 11th, 2020 in barristers, consultations, coronavirus, fees, news, statistics by sally

‘The Bar Council is bracing for a £3.2m loss next year with revenue from practising fees – which are tied to barristers’ income – set to tumble because of Covid-19.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 11th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk