Court quadruples sexual assault solicitor’s suspension – Legal Futures

Posted October 16th, 2018 in assault, disciplinary procedures, news, sexual offences, solicitors by sally

‘The suspension handed out by a disciplinary tribunal to a solicitor found guilty of sexual assault in a high-profile case was too lenient, the High Court has ruled in quadrupling its length.’

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Legal Futures, 16th October 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Environmental Law and the core of legal learning: framing the future of environmental lawyers – OUP Blog

Posted October 16th, 2018 in environmental protection, legal education, news, solicitors, universities by sally

‘Environmental law has not been taught or seen as a ‘core’ legal subject, giving environmental law academics freedom to teach the subject in many different ways. This structural sidelining, however, belies important questions about how teaching environmental law relates to the core of legal learning. We are not suggesting that there is a core of environmental law knowledge that every student should learn (although there is lots to learn), but that it is important to reflect on whether there are core legal concepts, reasoning processes and skills that all environmental lawyers should have. This issue is now particularly pertinent as the Solicitors Regulation Authority in England and Wales is ‘releasing’ the LLB from its conventional structure of core legal subjects, so that existing assumptions about how environmental law relates to the core of (undergraduate) legal learning are up for grabs.’

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OUP Blog, 15th October 2018

Source: blog.oup.com

​Allen v Brethertons LLP (2018)- You’ve got to send a bill of costs to your client, even in fixed costs cases – Zenith PI

Posted October 15th, 2018 in accidents, costs, damages, fees, news, solicitors by tracey

‘This is a recent decision of the Senior Courts Costs Office which deals with the need for solicitors to provide their clients with a bill of costs, even in fixed costs case where the solicitors were instructed on the basis of a CFA and where costs were recovered from the other side.’

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Zenith PI, 9th October 2018

Source: zenithpi.wordpress.com

Judge who disparaged one party’s counsel “did not give appearance of bias” – Litigation Futures

‘A judge who was “snide” and disparaging to counsel for one of the parties before her did nonetheless not give the appearance of bias, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 15th October 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Barristers to face new standard of proof in disciplinary cases – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Legal Services Board (LSB) has granted permission for the bar regulator to change the standard of proof applied in disciplinary proceedings, a move which could make it easier for barristers to be sanctioned.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 12th October 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Government and SRA work to build BAME trust in solicitors – Legal Futures

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is working with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to build greater trust in solicitors among black and minority ethnic (BAME) people in custody.’

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Legal Futures, 11th October 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Jail for PI lawyer who lied in witness statements – Legal Futures

‘A solicitor described by a High Court judge as a “thoroughly dishonest man” has been jailed and a medical expert who produced an “astonishing” 32 reports a day handed a suspended prison sentence for civil contempt of court.’

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Legal Futures, 10th October 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

High Court: Judge has no power to order solicitor to hand over client file – Litigation Futures

‘Judges do not have power to order a solicitor to give a former client copies of documents which are the property of the solicitor, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 1st October 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Law Society: Cyber-criminals targeting more small firms – Legal Futures

Posted October 2nd, 2018 in computer crime, fraud, law firms, news, solicitors by sally

‘Small law firms are increasingly being targeted by cyber-criminals, but very few attacks are actually succeeding, new research has found.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd October 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Disciplined solicitor blames failings on legal aid cuts – Legal Futures

Posted September 25th, 2018 in costs, disciplinary procedures, expert witnesses, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

‘A criminal sole practitioner has been fined for offences including failure to distribute legal aid payments for professional disbursements, which he blamed on having laid off a manager after the firm suffered from government cutbacks.’

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Legal Futures, 25th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

High Court finds oral agreement to pay solicitor’s fees – Legal Futures

Posted September 25th, 2018 in agreements, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘The High Court has found there was an oral agreement between a solicitor and the son-in-law of a client that the latter would cover his fees, which in the end totalled £330,000.’

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Legal Futures, 25th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Heat rising over SRA plan for solicitors in unregulated firms – Legal Futures

Posted September 24th, 2018 in law firms, legal services, Legal Services Board, news, solicitors by sally

‘The Legal Services Board (LSB) has received unprecedented lobbying against the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) plans to allow solicitors to practise from unregulated businesses.’

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Legal Futures, 24th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Head of Legal loses employment tribunal claim against local authority – Local Government Lawyer

‘A council head of legal services has lost an employment tribunal case against the authority for which she previously worked.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 20th September 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Don’t swell the ranks with solicitors’ – bar fights training reforms – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 20th, 2018 in barristers, legal education, legal profession, news, solicitor advocates, solicitors by tracey

‘Proposed reforms to barristers’ training would “unacceptably dilute” the bar’s standards by giving solicitors an easy route to entry, the Bar Council has said. In its response to proposals for reforming the education and training requirements for barristers, the representative body says that exempting solicitor advocates from parts of the qualification process would “be attractive to solicitors who regard admission to the bar as a badge of achievement, and who will recognise that this route to that badge is fundamentally less arduous than the route barristers currently take.”‘

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Law Society's Gazette, 19th September 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Bar Council slams BSB’s “dilution” of barrister brand – Legal Futures

Posted September 19th, 2018 in barristers, news, rights of audience, solicitors by sally

‘The Bar Council has reacted with outrage to training reforms that it says would include automatically ‘passporting’ solicitors with rights of audience and academics through qualification as barristers, thus “diluting” the brand.’

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Legal Futures, 19th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Trust in solicitors a key issue when consumers choose barristers – Legal Futures

Posted September 17th, 2018 in barristers, consumer protection, legal services, news, solicitors by sally

‘Consumers tend to shop around or use a public access barrister and ignore their solicitor’s recommendation when trust had broken down, according to Bar Standards Board-commissioned (BSB) research.

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Legal Futures, 17th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Confusion as solicitors make medical record requests for clients under GDPR – Litigation Futures

Posted September 17th, 2018 in data protection, EC law, medical records, news, solicitors by sally

‘There is confusion over whether solicitors can seek medical records for free by making subject access requests (SARs) under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).’

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Litigation Futures, 17th September 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Firm ordered to deliver new costs bill to Tower Hamlets campaigner – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 7th, 2018 in corruption, costs, elections, fees, news, solicitors by tracey

‘A London law firm has been ordered to present a new costs bill to a campaigner who led a legal battle to remove former Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman in the latest action brought by an online fees-challenge service.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 6th September 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

“Little enthusiasm” among solicitors and judges for electronic bill – Litigation Futures

Posted September 4th, 2018 in bills, budgets, costs, news, solicitors by sally

‘Many solicitors and judges were not ready for the electronic bill of costs when it became compulsory in April and few are keen on it now, according to a survey by the Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL).’

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Litigation Futures, 3rd September 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Supreme Court “may change approach” to ‘lost litigation’ claims – Legal Futures

Posted September 3rd, 2018 in negligence, news, solicitors, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court may look to change the courts’ approach to dealing with claims over negligently conducted litigation later this year in a case involving miners’ compensation, a barrister has suggested.’

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Legal Futures, 31st August 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk