Legal firms don’t respond to SME legal needs which is both a problem and an opportunity – Legal Services Board

Posted May 22nd, 2013 in fees, legal services, news, small businesses, statistics by sally

“The Legal Services Board publishes today a report on the legal needs of small businesses. The
report – In need of Advice? – is the first time that this issue has been investigated in England and
Wales.”

Full story (PDF)

Legal Services Board, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk

Related link: Findings of the Small Business Legal Needs Benchmarking Survey

Access to justice at risk with court fee plans, warns CJC – Litigation Futures

Posted May 22nd, 2013 in consultations, courts, fees, legal aid, litigants in person, news by sally

“Government plans to reform the regime for court fees remissions and introduce a means test are too severe and ‘will diminish access to justice for a sizeable group of low-income families’, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) has warned.”

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Litigation Futures, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Massive unmet legal need among small businesses, landmark research finds – Legal Futures

Posted May 22nd, 2013 in fees, legal services, news, small businesses, statistics by sally

“Legal problems are costing small businesses in England and Wales £100bn a year, with fears over the cost of legal advice meaning they are far more likely to go it alone than seek help, authoritative new research from the Legal Services Board (LSB) has found.”

Full story

Legal Futures, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Interview: Chris Grayling – Law Society’s Gazette

“In his foreword to the consultation on ‘transforming’ legal aid, justice secretary Chris Grayling explains that change is needed to ‘boost public confidence’ and cut costs, which he claims have ‘spiralled out of control’. Speaking to the Gazette, he offers no empirical evidence that the public has lost confidence in the system. But he claims to have received ‘lots of letters and emails’ from people concerned about legal aid entitlement. He alludes to prisoners getting legal aid ‘to argue they should have a different cell’, and migrants receiving civil legal aid.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 20th May 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Changes to Civil Procedure Rules and court costs made in April 2013 – OUT-LAW.com

“From 1 April 2013 a number of changes to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPRs) governing court action in England and Wales took effect. This is a summary of those changes.”

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OUT-LAW.com, May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Criminal legal aid cuts to reach £370m – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 20th, 2013 in budgets, consultations, fees, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

“The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that projected savings of £150m in fee cuts will not, as was expected, count towards required cuts of £220m a year – taking cuts in criminal legal aid to £370m.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 17th May 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Cut Price Justice – Garden Court Chambers Blog

“Anna Morris explains why the legal profession and the public must unite to oppose the government’s attack on legal aid.”

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Garden Court Chambers Blog, 20th May 2013

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

Stopping poor quality and time-wasting expert evidence in family courts – Ministry of Justice

Posted May 16th, 2013 in consultations, delay, expert witnesses, family courts, fees, news, standards by sally

“New national standards to raise the quality of experts used in family courts and get rid of time-consuming evidence which adds little value in helping judges reach a decision were announced by the Government today.”

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Ministry of Justice, 16th May 2013

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

Ministers seek to cut £50m legal aid bill for expert witnesses in family courts – The Guardian

Posted May 16th, 2013 in consultations, evidence, expert witnesses, family courts, fees, legal aid, news by sally

“Too many expert witnesses are being paid to give evidence of little value in family courts, according to the Ministry of Justice which is proposing a fresh round of cuts to legal aid.”

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The Guardian, 16th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar Council Publishes Legal Aid Consultation Core Case – Family Law Bar Association

Posted May 14th, 2013 in barristers, consultations, fees, legal aid, news, tenders by sally

“The Bar Council has published a document summarising it’s core case in respect of the current consultation in respect of legal aid. Read that document here. The proposals include the introduction of Price Competitive Tendering in criminal work and further fee cuts to solicitors (10%) and experts (20%) in family cases.”

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Family Law Bar Association, 8th May 2013

Source: www.flba.co.uk

Grayling: No more using judicial review as a cheap delaying tactic – Ministry of Justice

Posted May 8th, 2013 in fees, immigration, judicial review, news, time limits by sally

“The culture of using meritless judicial review applications to delay immigration decisions and hold up development will be attacked by new controls announced today [7 May] by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.”

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Ministry of Justice, 7th May 2013

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

Success Fees and ATE Premiums in the Patents County Court: Henderson v All Around the World Recordings Ltd – NIPC Law

Posted May 7th, 2013 in civil procedure rules, costs, county courts, fees, insurance, news, patents by sally

“As I mentioned in “Intellectual Property Litigation – the Funding Options” 10 April 2013, it was possible until the 31 March 2013 for a litigant to enter an agreement with his or her solicitors and counsel known as a conditional fee agreement (‘CFA’) whereby the lawyers would look to the other side for payment not only of their assessed costs but also of an uplift known as a success fee and the premium for insurance against their own and the other side’s costs in case of failure known as after-the-event (‘ATE’) insurance if they won the case or obtained a satisfactory settlement. As I also mentioned in that article, it is still possible to enter a CFA but any success fee and ATE insurance premium must now be paid by the successful party – usually out of any damages or accountable profits he or she may receive.”

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NIPC Law, 4th May 2013

Source: www.nipclaw.blogspot.co.uk

Turning the tide on compensation culture – Ministry of Justice

Posted May 2nd, 2013 in compensation, fees, insurance, news, personal injuries by sally

“Major law changes are turning the tide on the growing compensation culture, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said today [1 May].”

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Ministry of Justice, 1st May 2013

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

An introduction to qualified one way costs shifting: New CPR 44.13-17 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted May 1st, 2013 in appeals, civil procedure rules, costs, damages, fees, news by sally

“In ‘part-payment’ for the loss of recoverability of the CFA success fee, Lord Justice Jackson gave Claimants a 10% uplift on general damages, which was enacted in rather peculiar fashion by the Court of Appeal in Simmons v Castle by means that can only be described as ‘judicial legislating’.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 19th April 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Exeter lawyer’s anti-legal aid tendering petition signed by 24,000 – BBC News

Posted May 1st, 2013 in competition, criminal justice, fees, legal aid, news, tenders by sally

“A petition against proposed changes to criminal legal aid set up by an Exeter-based solicitor has attracted more than 24,000 signatures.”

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BBC News, 30th April 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New legal aid reforms end ‘justice for all’, lawyers warn – The Independent

“England’s 800-year-old tradition of fair and open access to justice for all will
be destroyed by sweeping Government plans to reform criminal legal aid, senior
judges and magistrates warn today.”

Full story

The Independent, 28th April 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Action on time-wasting judicial reviews – Ministry of Justice

Posted April 24th, 2013 in budgets, fees, judicial review, news, time limits by sally

“New controls will tackle the soaring number of judicial review applications being made in England and Wales.”

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Ministry of Justice, 23rd April 2013

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

Government pressing ahead with (most of) its proposals to restrict access to judicial review – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted April 24th, 2013 in budgets, consultations, fees, judicial review, news, time limits by sally

“The Ministry of Justice has released its response to the comments generated by the consultation paper on judicial review that was published in December. Unsurprisingly, the Government has signalled that it intends to press ahead with most of the proposals upon which it consulted.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Update from the Chairman: legal aid consultation – The Bar Council

Posted April 23rd, 2013 in barristers, consultations, fees, legal aid, news by sally

“Bar Council met on Saturday 20 April, for the first time since the consultation was published. It was attended by all the Circuit Leaders and the Criminal Bar Association’s Chairman and Vice-Chairman.”

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The Bar Council, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Grayling: No more using judicial review as a cheap delaying tactic – Ministry of Justice

Posted April 23rd, 2013 in consultations, delay, fees, immigration, judicial review, news, planning by sally

“The culture of using meritless judicial review applications to delay immigration decisions and hold up development will be attacked by new controls announced today by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 23rd April 2013

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