Law Society “must show it listens to solicitors” about cost of practising – Legal Futures

‘The Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) need to do more to show that they take on board what solicitors have to say about the cost of practising, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has warned.’

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Legal Futures, 12th October 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

English universities must consider partial fee refunds, says regulator – The Guardian

Posted September 29th, 2020 in coronavirus, fees, news, repayment, universities by sally

‘Universities in England must consider refunding some tuition fees, their regulator has said as it emerged that lawyers are challenging the legal basis of a two-week lockdown of 1,700 students in Manchester.’

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The Guardian, 28th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Shop nationally for cheaper legal fees, LSB tells consumers – Legal Futures

Posted September 7th, 2020 in competition, coronavirus, fees, internet, legal services, news, statistics by sally

‘Research showing significant regional variations in the price of legal advice “for what are fundamentally the same services” should encourage consumers to shop around, the Legal Services Board (LSB) said today.’

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Legal Futures, 7th September 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Competition watchdog takes enforcement action over leaseholds – The Guardian

‘The competition watchdog has launched enforcement action against four of the UK’s leading housing developers – Barratt, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Countryside Properties – after an investigation uncovered evidence that leasehold homeowners and prospective buyers were being misled and charged excessive fees.’

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The Guardian, 4th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Costs judge strikes down CFAs worth millions – Litigation Futures

Posted August 27th, 2020 in costs, drafting, fees, news by sally

‘A costs judge has struck down three conditional fee agreements (CFAs) in a big-money commercial case for having the potential to lead to a claim for a success fee exceeding 100%.’

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Litigation Futures, 27th August 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge refuses payment out of court for all of defendants’ legal fees – Litigation Futures

Posted August 20th, 2020 in fees, fraud, news, payment into court by sally

‘The High Court has rejected an application for a payment out of court to fund all of the defendants’ legal fees in a “gargantuan” tax fraud case.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th August 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

LSB demands greater transparency on practising fees – Legal Futures

‘Legal regulators will have to explain more clearly how they spend their practising certificate fees (PCF) under revised rules proposed by the Legal Services Board (LSB).’

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Legal Futures, 14th August 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Lord Chancellor accepts unlawfulness of new Legal Aid scheme for immigration and asylum appeals – Garden Court Chambers

‘On 8 June 2020 the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (the Amendment Regulations) came into force. The Amendment Regulations established a new fee regime for the remuneration of legal aid providers for appellants whose asylum and immigration appeals are being dealt with under a new Online Procedure which had previously been in pilot phase, but was rolled out widely by the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) in mid-March 2020.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 12th August 2020

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

What price solidarity among legal aid lawyers? – Legal Futures

Posted August 13th, 2020 in barristers, fees, judicial review, legal aid, news, remuneration, solicitors, working time by sally

‘Solidarity – or not – between legal aid lawyers is under the spotlight this week, with solicitors from 200 law firms coming together to force a change to immigration fees, but criminal firms falling out over Saturday work.’

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Legal Futures, 13th August 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

High Court: Counsel’s fee for ex-protocol cases not fixed – Litigation Futures

Posted August 10th, 2020 in barristers, civil procedure rules, costs, fees, news, personal injuries, valuation by sally

‘Counsel’s fees for valuing claims which fall out of the personal injury protocols are not subject to fixed costs, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 10th August 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Partner fired for ‘topping up’ fees overturns tribunal ruling – Legal Futures

‘The Employment Appeal Tribunal has overturned a ruling that a law firm was entitled to fire a partner who was accused of “topping up” legal aid fees with cash from a client’s father.’

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Legal Futures, 7th August 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Revealed: Most barristers failing to comply with transparency rules – Legal Futures

Posted July 30th, 2020 in barristers, consumer protection, fees, legal services, news by sally

‘Little more than a third (37%) of barristers, chambers and firms regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) are fully complying with its rules on price and service transparency, it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 30th July 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New limits on compensation fund to save costs – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Maximum payments to clients of dishonest solicitors are to be slashed from £2m to £500,000 as part of measures to reduce the financial burden on the profession, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has announced.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 28th July 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

High Court rejects CFA-style ban on third-party funding in family cases – Litigation Futures

Posted July 22nd, 2020 in champerty, families, family courts, fees, news, third parties by sally

‘The ban on conditional fee agreements (CFAs) in family cases should not be read across to third-party litigation funding, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 22nd July 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

High Court upholds lawyer’s entitlement to costs on DBA termination – Litigation Futures

Posted July 13th, 2020 in costs, damages, fees, law firms, news, solicitors by sally

‘A damages-based agreement (DBA) was not unenforceable because it obliged the client to pay incurred costs and expenses when she exercised her contractual right of termination, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 13th July 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Landmark Supreme Court Judgment on Interchange Fees – Monckton Chambers

Posted July 10th, 2020 in appeals, banking, chambers articles, competition, fees, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘On 17 June 2020, the Supreme Court (Lords Reed, Hodge, Lloyd-Jones, Sales and Hamblen) handed down a landmark judgment on whether certain fees which are paid by merchants to banks under the Visa and Mastercard payment card schemes breach competition law. The judgment finally settles years of litigation in the UK courts, and deep divisions in the rulings which had been given in the lower courts and tribunals. It is also the first judgment of the Supreme Court dealing with the Court of Appeal’s powers of remittal.’

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Monckton Chambers, July 2020

Source: www.monckton.com

Appeal judges reject divorcee’s negligence claim – Legal Futures

Posted July 8th, 2020 in appeals, damages, divorce, families, fees, law firms, negligence, news, solicitors, time limits by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that a negligence claim brought by a woman against her law firm over its work on her divorce was out of time.’

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Legal Futures, 8th July 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Why the rise in contentious probate cases is set to continue – Legal Futures

Posted July 7th, 2020 in fees, law firms, news, probate, wills by sally

‘There is no doubt that contentious probate work is growing. We do not like paying more than a couple of hundred pounds for a will, but then are seemingly happy to spend thousands taking our relatives to court, and the two do not sit happily together.’

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Legal Futures, 6th July 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Success Fee Recoverability in 1975 Act Claims: Re H [2020] EWHC 1134 (Fam) – Pallant Chambers

‘The general rule in civil litigation is that costs “follow the event”. In an article I wrote for the special issue of Civil Justice Quarterly on Civil Litigation Costs, Vol. 32 pages 109-312 Issue 2 2013, I discussed the negative impact that this rule can have on access to justice: not only is the losing party hit with two bills rather than one, but the losing party has no direct control over the costs incurred by the successful party.’

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Pallant Chambers, 26th June 2020

Source: www.pallantchambers.co.uk

New Judgment: The Advocate General representing the Commissioners of HMRC v KE Entertainments Ltd (Scotland) [2020] UKSC 28 – UKSC Blog

Posted June 25th, 2020 in fees, gambling, news, Scotland, Supreme Court, time limits, VAT by sally

‘The Appellant (“the taxpayer”) operates bingo clubs. Customers pay a fee, which entitles them to play in a number of bingo games (collectively, a “session”). The present dispute arises from a change in guidance given by HMRC about how participation fees should be calculated. Until 2007, the guidance stated that bingo promoters should calculate the participation fees separately for each game. In February 2007, HMRC issued Business Brief 07/07, which stated that participation fees should be calculated on a session by session basis.’

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UKSC Blog, 24th June 2020

Source: ukscblog.com