AI use among lawyers soaring but impact on fees uncertain – Legal Futures

Posted September 24th, 2024 in artificial intelligence, fees, legal profession, legal services, news by tracey

‘Four out of five lawyers are currently using or planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools, according to new research – but the impact on pricing remains unclear.’

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Legal Futures, 24th September 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Are You Guilty of Money-Laundering? A Tale of Chinese Cotton, Lawyer’s Fees and Unintended Consequences – Financial Remedies Journal

‘It is not often that a family law blog warns ordinary hard-working honest family lawyers that they might be unwitting criminals. This is that blog. You should read it.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 17th September 2024

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

Settlement fees waived for bereaved partners facing destitution – Home Office

Posted September 11th, 2024 in bereavement, families, fees, government departments, immigration, news, visas by tracey

‘People dealing with the death of their partner and facing financial hardship will soon be able to apply to have the application fee for settlement waived.’

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Home Office, 10th September 2024

Source: www.gov.uk

Judge’s “concern” that law firm’s administrator was too close to owner – Legal Futures

Posted August 27th, 2024 in administrators, fees, insolvency, law firms, news by tracey

‘A judge has set aside his order for payment of a law firm’s administrator after new evidence raised “a sense of real unease and concern” about the decision.’

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Legal Futures, 27th August 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

No mercy for litigant in person who had not bothered with the rules – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 23rd, 2024 in barristers, civil procedure rules, fees, litigants in person, news by tracey

‘The High Court has once again shown no mercy on a litigant in person who failed to appreciate the civil procedure rules.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 21st August 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Green light for billionaire to challenge law firm’s £13m fees – Legal Futures

Posted August 2nd, 2024 in appeals, costs, fees, law firms, news, solicitors by michael

‘The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision that none of the 79 invoices worth nearly £13m received by a billionaire businessman over six years were statutory bills, meaning they remain open for challenge.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd August 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Firm fined £10,000 for over-charging from damages – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 16th, 2024 in agreements, damages, fees, fines, law firms, news, Solicitors Regulation Authority by tracey

‘A West Yorkshire firm has been fined by the regulator for charging personal injury clients higher fees than allowed under the rules on damages-based agreements.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th July 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Judge rejects defendant’s request to pay law firm’s £2m costs – Legal Futures

Posted July 3rd, 2024 in costs, fees, fraud, law firms, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has refused a request from a defendant in the London Capital & Finance fraud case to use the proceeds of sale of his home to pay his solicitors over £2m.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd July 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Leasehold miscellaneous – Nearly Legal

Posted July 1st, 2024 in fees, forfeiture, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges by tracey

‘A few quick notes on various leasehold related cases. Howe Properties (NE) Ltd v Accent Housing Ltd (2024) EWCA Civ 297. Accent Housing levied a management fee on leaseholders which was at flat rate and a) differed by tenure (freehold and assured tenancies were at different rates) and b) was charged as against Accent’s management costs across its whole estate, some 3058 leasehold properties, not just this specific development.’

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Nearly Legal, 30th June 2024

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

A lawyer has been imprisoned for defrauding the Legal Aid Agency – Crown Prosecution Service

Posted June 25th, 2024 in barristers, fees, judges, legal aid, news, sentencing by tracey

‘A barrister and part-time immigration tribunal judge has been jailed for defrauding the Legal Aid Agency, along with other lawyers, by falsely claiming defence legal costs.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 21st June 2024

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Police pay legal fees over parking ticket – BBC News

Posted June 24th, 2024 in fees, news, parking, police, prosecutions by tracey

‘Police have agreed to pay the £1,500 legal fees of a driver they wrongly prosecuted for a parking offence.’

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BBC News, 24th June 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lawyers take lord chancellor to high court over legal aid fees – The Guardian

Posted June 17th, 2024 in asylum, fees, immigration, legal aid, lord chancellor, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘The lord chancellor is being taken to the high court over claims that legal aid fees are so low they are preventing lawyers from providing representation for thousands of people who are eligible for it.’

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The Guardian, 16th June 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Challenge to Birmingham City Council’s policy to charge disabled persons for services at the statutory maximum fails – Landmark Chambers

‘The claimant (C) was a severely disabled young man who had never worked and was never going to. He sought to challenge Birmingham’s policy of recovering the maximum amount of the cost of his care even though a greater proportion of his income was recovered compared to an individual who required care but could work.’

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Landmark Chambers, 10th May 2024

Source: www.landmarkchambers.co.uk

Council defends High Court challenge from care home operators – Local Government Lawyer

Posted June 12th, 2024 in care homes, fees, judicial review, local government, news by sally

‘Northumberland County Council has successfully defended a legal challenge brought by an unincorporated association of care home operators regarding the weekly fees paid by the local authority to care home operators.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th June 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Charging disabled persons for services – Local Government Lawyer

‘A recent challenge to Birmingham City Council’s policy to charge disabled persons for services at the statutory maximum has failed. Joe Thomas explains why.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 31st May 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Crime and punishment: how 14 years of Tory rule have changed Britain – in charts – The Guardian

‘“Justice delayed is justice denied” goes the old legal maxim – one that has captured the state of the court system in England and Wales in recent years.’

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The Guardian, 2nd June 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Costs order was ‘fair’ where barrister forgot to renew his practising certificate, High Court judge finds – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Restricting the recovery of a barrister’s fees to work done while he held a practising certificate was not unfair, the High Court judge has ruled.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 28th May 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Barristers turning away from government legal work over frozen fees – Legal Futures

Posted May 17th, 2024 in barristers, fees, government departments, judiciary, news, remuneration by sally

The failure to increase the rates of pay for barristers handling government work since 1997 has created a “very high level of dissatisfaction and exasperation”.

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Legal Futures, 17th May 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

All or Nothing – Cambridge Law Journal

Posted May 2nd, 2024 in barristers, consumer protection, fees, news, unfair contract terms by sally

‘Glaser v Atay [2023] EWHC 2539 (KB) is a significant decision in two respects. First, it is a vanishingly rare example of a superior court striking down a contractual term as unfair under Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA). Second, the case contains interesting – and ultimately problematic – discussion of the effect of a term being unfair, an issue seldom explored in previous cases.’

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Cambridge Law Journal, 3rd April 2024

Source: www.cambridge.org

Pension Ombudsman highlights importance of clear fee information – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 30th, 2024 in fees, news, ombudsmen, pensions by tracey

‘A recent UK Pension Ombudsman (PO) case flags the importance of pension firms providing clear and accurate fee information to savers from the outset. However, the case highlights that it is not the PO’s role to decide whether fees charged are reasonable or fair.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th April 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com