Law Society’s £30m cut of practising fees faces scrutiny – Legal Futures

Posted December 6th, 2018 in fees, Law Society, Legal Services Board, news, solicitors by sally

‘The £30m that the Law Society levies on solicitors for its representative work is to be put under the microscope by the Legal Services Board (LSB) next year.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 6th December 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Defamation and privacy case cost reforms earmarked for 2019 – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 4th, 2018 in costs, defamation, fees, news, privacy by sally

‘Publishers that lose defamation and privacy cases brought against them in England and Wales will not be forced to pay the “success fee” charged by lawyers of the successful party via so-called ‘conditional fee arrangements’ (CFAs) under cost reforms due to be implemented in April next year.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd December 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Boxing guru loses £922k costs fight with former lawyers – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 4th, 2018 in costs, fees, law firms, news, solicitors by sally

‘Boxing promoter Frank Warren has failed to persuade the High Court to order a detailed assessment of around £922,000 in costs rendered by his former solicitors.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 4th December 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Recovery of success fees in defamation cases to end – Litigation Futures

Posted December 3rd, 2018 in costs, defamation, fees, freedom of expression, news, privacy, protective costs orders by sally

‘The government is to abolish the recoverability of success fees in defamation cases – but retain it for after-the-event (ATE) insurance premiums, it announced yesterday.’

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Litigation Futures, 30th November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Home Office to be challenged in High Court over ‘shameless’ fee for UK-born children to become British citizens – The Independent

Posted November 28th, 2018 in children, citizenship, fees, judicial review, news by sally

‘Government fees of more than £1,000 for UK-born children to register as British citizens are to be challenged in the High Court, after campaigners won permission to apply for judicial review.’

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The Independent, 28th November 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Some 125 barristers earned more than £1m last year – Legal Futures

Posted November 27th, 2018 in barristers, budgets, consultations, fees, licensing, news, remuneration, statistics by sally

‘There were around 125 barristers reporting fees of more than £1m last year, and another 200 who brought in more than £500,000, new figures from the Bar Council have suggested.
The Bar Council, including the Bar Standards Board, is set to raise an extra £900,000 by imposing higher practising certificate fees (PCFs) on barristers earning more than £500,000 for the first time.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 27th November 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bar Council reaction to Lord Chancellor’s AGFS announcement – The Bar Council

Posted November 27th, 2018 in barristers, consultations, criminal justice, fees, pilot schemes, press releases by sally

‘Responding to the Lord Chancellor’s announcement during Saturday’s Bar Council Annual Conference of more funding for the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS) Andrew Walker QC, Chair of the Bar, said: “The Lord Chancellor’s announcement that there will be further funding for the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS), following the recent consultation, is welcome. So too are his comments about the future – about the scope to improve the way in which criminal defence advocates are paid, and his commitment to working together with the professions to make criminal advocacy sustainable.”

Full press release

The Bar Council, 26th November 2018

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Annual Bar and Young Bar Conference 2018: David Gauke speech – Ministry of Justice

Posted November 26th, 2018 in artificial intelligence, barristers, brexit, budgets, courts, divorce, fees, speeches by sally

‘Lord Chancellor David Gauke spoke about the revised Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme in his speech on 24 November 2018.’

Full speech

Ministry of Justice, 24th November 2018

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

High Court pulls plug on CFA-backed Kenya group action – Litigation Futures

Posted November 22nd, 2018 in armed forces, class actions, colonies, fees, Kenya, limitations, news, rape, torture by sally

‘The High Court yesterday dismissed the group litigation brought on behalf of more than 40,000 claimants in the so-called Mau Mau case, after six years of work done by lawyers operating on a “no win, no fee” basis.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Price cap plan to clamp down on high rent-to-own fees – The Guardian

Posted November 22nd, 2018 in consumer credit, consumer protection, fees, financial regulation, interest, news by sally

‘The City watchdog has proposed a price cap on rent-to-own companies in a clampdown on “excessive charges” expected to save 300,000 vulnerable customers up to £22.7m a year.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Court of Appeal clears way for Mastercard hearing – Litigation Futures

Posted November 15th, 2018 in appeals, banking, class actions, EC law, fees, judicial review, jurisdiction, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear an appeal against the decision that stopped the massive £14bn Mastercard class action – the biggest opt-out claim in English legal history.’

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Litigation Futures, 15th November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Service charge claims – paying trial fees and concurrent jurisdiction – Nearly Legal

Posted November 12th, 2018 in fees, jurisdiction, leases, news, service charges by sally

‘Hyslop v 38/41 CHG Residents Company Ltd QBD 05/11/2018. CHG were the freeholder of a property with various leasehold flats. The FTT had determined that Ms Hyslop and other leaseholders owed CHG certain service charges. H applied to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal out of time and this was granted. However CHG then brought a claim in the county court against H for non payment of service charges over a five year period.’

Full Story

Nearly Legal, 8th November 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Online will providers 77% cheaper than solicitors – Legal Futures

Posted November 1st, 2018 in fees, internet, Law Commission, news, probate, solicitors, statistics, wills by sally

‘Online will providers are 77% cheaper than solicitors on average, new research has found.’

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Legal Futures, 1st November 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Barristers becoming as vulnerable to cyber-attacks as solicitors – Legal Futures

‘Increased use of technology at the Bar and in the court system has left barristers as vulnerable to cyber-attacks as solicitors, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has warned.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 1st November 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Firm terminated retainer “without notice or good reason” – Litigation Futures

Posted October 31st, 2018 in fees, indemnities, insurance, law firms, news, notification, winding up by sally

‘A law firm’s decision to terminate its retainer without notice to the client – because it was closing down – was unreasonable and it could not claim the fees due before then, the High Court has ruled.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 31st October 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

‘We are at a pivotal point’: Bar Council adds voice to AGFS anger – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 18th, 2018 in advocacy, barristers, fees, news by sally

‘Advocates are ‘seriously questioning’ whether a career at the criminal bar is financially viable, the barristers’ representative body has said, as it warns the government that the situation is fast approaching the point of no return.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 16th October 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Partial relief from sanction for claimant who submitted partial budget – Litigation Futures

‘A claimant who submitted a budget that did not include figures for trial preparation or trial has won relief from a decision that limited the entire budget to court fees only – but only for those parts of the budget that were completed.’

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Litigation Futures, 17th October 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.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 sally

‘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.’

Full Story

Zenith PI, 9th October 2018

Source: zenithpi.wordpress.com

Bereaved family say they need £50,000 to pay for legal representation at inquest – The Guardian

Posted October 11th, 2018 in bereavement, costs, fees, inquests, legal representation, news by sally

‘The parents of a vulnerable student who took her own life at a university where there has been a series of deaths have spoken of the difficulty of ensuring there is a fair and transparent investigation because they are struggling to match the legal firepower of other parties involved.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th October 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Doing the same thing all over again – Nearly Legal

‘A county court appeal arising out of a set of proceedings starting with a disrepair claim by a private sector tenant, which raises issues of service and when second proceedings are an abuse of process. Our thanks to Hardwicke Chambers for making the judgment available.’

Full Story

Nearly Legal, 7th October 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk