Phil Shiner’s legal firm ‘made £1.6m with improper fee deal over Iraq troop abuse claims’ – Daily Telegraph

‘A disgraced human rights lawyer accused of hounding British troops earned his firm more than £1.6m from an improper deal carving up fees from pursuing abuse claims against British troops, a tribunal has heard.’

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Daily Telegraph, 31st February 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Former judge and assistant jailed after stealing more than £700,000 – The Guardian

‘A former judge and his law firm assistant have been jailed for six years each after siphoning off almost £700,000 from clients to hide debts, pay for holidays in Barbados and bet on races at Cheltenham.’

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The Guardian, 27th January 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Publishing prices: SRA to start with divorce, wills, conveyancing and simple SME work – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is planning to require law firms to publish their fees for services such as divorce, wills or conveyancing, it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 26th January 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law lecturers flay SQE plan for creating “inferior solicitors” – Legal Futures

Posted January 20th, 2017 in legal education, news, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘The Bar will “truly be able to say that barristers are better educated in the law than solicitors” if the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) presses ahead with its reform of education, law lecturers have said in an excoriating response to the regulator’s consultation.’

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Legal Futures, 20th January 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

District judge conned wealthy clients to live luxurious lifestyle – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 20th, 2017 in client accounts, fraud, judges, news, solicitors by sally

‘A district judge conned wealthy clients to live a luxurious lifestyle and lied to his accountant who then killed himself when he realised he had been party to the crime.’

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Daily Telegraph, 19th January 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

SDT throws out surveillance allegations against News of the World solicitor – Legal Futures

Posted January 19th, 2017 in costs, disciplinary procedures, media, news, solicitors by tracey

‘The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has thrown out charges against a solicitor for Rupert Murdoch’s News International accused of unreasonably advising and commissioning surveillance of two high-profile lawyers bringing phone hacking cases.’

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Legal Futures, 19th January 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law Society warns solicitors may be damaged by Brexit – Legal Futures

Posted January 18th, 2017 in brexit, EC law, law firms, legal services, news, referendums, solicitors, treaties by sally

‘US law firms will have less incentive to employ UK-qualified lawyers as a way to access European markets and the UK solicitor title could become less desirable as a result of Brexit, the Law Society has warned.’

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Legal Futures, 16th January 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Disciplinary round-up: fine for firm which failed to make client’s visa application and then lost his passport – Legal Futures

‘A north London law firm has been rebuked for misleading its client into thinking that it had made a visa application on his behalf.’

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Legal Futures, 13th January 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Justice denied: the damning results of the latest report on the impact of legal aid cut – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Secretary of State for Justice, Liz Truss, recently announced that the government would soon confirm the time-table for the post legislative review of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). There has been growing pressure on ministers for some time to announce this (see “Back to the drawing board”, 166 NLJ 7698 13 May 2016, p 6). The Legal Action Group (LAG) hopes that the review will be used as an opportunity by the still relatively new team at the top of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to look at funding the provision of early advice in civil legal cases.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 11th January 2017

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Government forecast on impact of PI reforms “skewed against lawyers”, say economists – Legal Futures

‘The government’s own assessment of the impact of its planned personal injury reforms “makes the implicit assumption that solicitors, and the civil justice system as a whole, produce no benefits to society”, according to independent economists.’

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Legal Futures, 9th January 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Privilege – Closing the Stable Door – Zenith PI Blog

Posted January 4th, 2017 in accounts, disclosure, negligence, news, privilege, solicitors by tracey

‘Everyone knows that the privilege of communications between client and lawyer is a fundamental principle of English Common Law. But there has been some uncertainty as to what happens if the privilege is waived for the purpose of some litigation. That, it seems to me, is clearly dealt with by the Court of Appeal in the recent case of Eurasian Natural Resources Corp Ltd v Dechert LLP [2016] 1WLR 5027.’

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Zenith PI blog, 3rd January 2017

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Finance and Divorce Update, December 2016 – Family Law Week

‘Sue Brookes, Senior Associate for Mills & Reeve LLP analyses the news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during November 2016.’

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Family Law Week, 3rd December 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Bar’s entity regulation “better and cheaper”, claims solicitor – Legal Futures

‘Bar Standards Board (BSB) entity regulation is “significantly cheaper and simpler” for sole practitioners and better for clients, according to a solicitor whose start-up law firm is to be regulated by the BSB.’

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Legal Futures, 29th November 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Exclusive: High Court lambasts BSB for “seriously mishandling” disciplinary case – Legal Futures

Posted November 28th, 2016 in barristers, case management, disciplinary procedures, news, solicitors, tribunals by tracey

‘The High Court has overturned a disciplinary finding against a barrister after finding that the Bar Standards Board “seriously mishandled” the case.’

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Legal Futures, 28th November 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Cold calling, whiplash reform and IPT – Autumn Statement angers claimant lawyers – Legal Futures

Posted November 24th, 2016 in budgets, insurance, news, personal injuries, solicitors, taxation, telecommunications by tracey

‘Claimant personal injury lawyers have been left questioning why the government was prepared to announced in yesterday’s Autumn Statement that it is to ban cold-calling in relation to pensions, but not to stop it in personal injury – and whether Chancellor Philip Hammond let slip that the whiplash reforms are already a done deal.’

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Legal Futures, 24th November 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New-build ground rent scandal could spark legal battles – The Guardian

Posted November 21st, 2016 in conveyancing, negligence, news, rent, solicitors by sally

‘With thousands of homebuyers caught out by rapidly rising rents, the solicitors they used may face claims of professional negligence.’

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The Guardian, 19th November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

High Court: Time to consider lowering burden of proof in the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal – Legal Futures

‘It is time to consider lowering the burden of proof used by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) from the criminal to the civil standard, Sir Brian Leveson, the president of the Queen’s Bench Division has said.’

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Legal Futures, 11th November 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

CA upholds refusal to grant relief to solicitors who served witness statements late – Litigation Futures

Posted November 15th, 2016 in appeals, civil procedure rules, law firms, news, sanctions, solicitors, time limits, witnesses by tracey

‘Solicitors who served witness statements two months late cannot call any witnesses at trial after the Court of Appeal upheld the first instance judge’s decision to refuse relief from sanctions.’

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Litigation futures, 14th November 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Solicitor who lost his practice cleared to sue CPS and police for malicious prosecution – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has given the green light to a solicitor to pursue claims against the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and South Wales Police (SWP) for malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office.’

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Legal Futures, 15th November 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Solicitor who forged bank statements and QC’s opinion struck off – Legal Futures

Posted November 7th, 2016 in disciplinary procedures, forgery, news, solicitors by sally

‘A solicitor has been struck off after taking hundreds of thousands of pounds in client money and covering his tracks by forging a host of documents – from bank statements to building regulations certificates – and also falsifying leading counsel’s opinion.’

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Legal Futures, 7th November 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk