Swinton Insurance fined £7.4m for mis-selling – BBC News
“One of the UK’s largest insurance companies, Swinton, has been fined £7.38m for mis-selling policies.”
BBC News, 16th July 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: competition
Legal professional privilege will apply under new criminal cartel ‘whistleblowing’ regime – OUT-LAW.com
“Businesses that wish to report their involvement in cartel operations in order to benefit from the leniency of the UK’s competition regulator will not be obliged to waive their rights to legal professional privilege (LPP).”
OUT-LAW.com, 9th July 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
Grayling promises second consultation on legal aid – but sets red lines – Law Society’s Gazette
“The Ministry of Justice will publish a second ‘short’ consultation on its ‘finalised’ legal aid proposals in September before ‘pressing on’, the justice secretary announced this morning.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 3rd July 2013
Source: www.lawgazete.co.uk
How has the NHS been changed by the Health and Social Care Act 2012? – No. 5 Chambers
“The purpose of this lecture is to attempt to look at the big themes in healthcare law in order to understand how the legal structure of the NHS has changed as a result of the passing and almost complete implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Inevitably there are other factors that change the NHS at the same time and I will attempt to weave in these other factors at an appropriate place.”
No. 5 Chambers, 26th June 2013
Source: www.no5.com
Justice Secretary updates on competitive tendering for criminal legal aid – Ministry of Justice
“Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has written to the Chair of the Justice Select Committee on competitive tendering for criminal legal aid.”
Ministry of Justice, 1st July 2013
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
Cuts Will “Destroy” Legal Aid System – Criminal Law and Justice Weekly
“Jon Robins surveys the responses to the Government’s legal aid consultation paper.”
Criminal Law and Justice Weekly, 29th June 2013
Source: www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk
The Competition Commission’s power to block transactions outside the UK – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers
“The judgment in Akzo Nobel NV v Competition Commission [2013] CAT 13 is an important decision on the ability of the Competition Commission (‘CC’) to block transactions between companies outside of the UK. However, neither party to the appeal will be entirely happy with the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (‘CAT’) legal analysis. There must therefore be a chance that – in a future case even if not in this one – the decision will be subject to attacks from both directions.”
Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 1st July 2013
Source: www.competitionbulletin.com
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling in U-turn: Defendants on legal aid will still be able to choose their solicitor – The Independent
“Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, made a surprise U-turn on Monday night over his controversial plan to deny defendants on legal aid the right to choose their solicitor.”
The Independent, 1st July 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Payday loans industry to face competition inquiry – BBC News
“The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred the payday lending industry to the Competition Commission because of concerns about ‘deep-rooted problems with the way competition works’.”
BBC News, 27th June 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde and another v Schenker & Co AG and others – WLR Daily
“An undertaking which had infringed article 101FEU of the FEU Treaty could not escape the imposition of a fine by a national competition authority on the ground that the infringement had resulted from that undertaking erring as to the lawfulness of its conduct on account of legal advice given by a lawyer or of the terms of a decision of a national competition authority.”
WLR Daily, 18th June 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
UK government proposes “streamlining” regulatory and competition appeals – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers
“The UK government on Wednesday published a consultation on streamlining regulatory and competition appeals. The press spin was that the proposals are all about preventing ‘armies of lawyers’ from blocking consumer-friendly measures. In reality, although it is true that the proposals are designed in part to put a lid on litigation, the consultation contains a series of thoughtful suggestions – many of which are likely to attract widespread support.”
Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 20th June 2013
Source: www.competitionbulletin.com
Private enforcement: the Commission speaks at last – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers
“The trio of documents published by the Commission last week mark an important moment in private competition enforcement in the EU. After years of debate and consultation, it is now clear that, whilst the Commission is determined to take some important steps to assist claimants in private actions, it is not prepared to bring about the sorts of fundamental changes which would be needed to realise the full potential of private enforcement.”
Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 15th June 2013
Source: www.competitionbulletin.com
Six reasons the cuts to legal aid will ruin our justice system – The Independent
“Even the government’s own lawyers are horrified by these reforms.”
The Independent, 7th June 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
PCT: incredible alternatives – LegalVoice
“Otterburn Consulting recently completed a survey to inform the Law Society’s response to the government’s consultation ‘Transforming legal aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system on price competitive tendering (PCT).’ The aim was to find out what the impact on firms would be, based on hard evidence and to evaluate whether the proposed system was likely to work in practice.”
LegalVoice, 7th June 2013
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
Ofgem widens investigation into alleged rigging of gas and power markets – The Guardian
“The energy watchdog, Ofgem, has widened its investigation into alleged manipulation of gas and power markets and warned that doubts over price-setting could lead to higher household bills.”
The Guardian, 6th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
