“A ban on payment surcharges above the cost of processing a transaction should apply to all businesses, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 9th November 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
“This consultation invites views on the fees for applications for authorisation and annual fees for the regulation year 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 and initial views on a fees framework for complaints handling by the Legal Ombudsman.
This consultation is primarily aimed at persons authorised to provide regulated claims management services in England & Wales under the Compensation Act 2006 and those businesses and individuals contemplating making an application for authorisation.”
Ministry of Justice, 9th November 2012
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson has challenged a high court ruling that News International is not liable to pay his legal fees over the phone-hacking scandal. Lawyers for Coulson told the court of appeal in London on Thursday that criminal charges relating to his time as editor of the Sunday tabloid were ‘absolutely essential’ to the meaning of a key clause in his contract with News International.”
The Guardian, 8th November 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
The Daily Telegraph have recently introduced a limited paywall for readers overseas. Users outside the UK will be permitted to view 20 Daily Telegraph articles per month for free, after which they will need to pay a subscription fee to access content.
“Since 1st October 2012, the LSC has been refusing applications for prior authority for experts if their fees are set within the codified rate [ as per the Community Legal Service (Funding) (Ammendment No.2) Order 2011]. However there is an exception – that is if the hours requested by the expert are ‘unusually large’. So the question for practioners is what constitutes an ‘unusually large’ amount of hours ? The odds are that if, for instance, you are instructing a psychologist for a bog standard cognitive assessment of a parent, then the hours are likely to be very much the same across the board. But as soon as any form of complexity creeps in, then how long the assessment / report takes to complete begins to vary. And when you get to Independent Social Workers, what is the ‘norm’ for the LSC and the ‘norm’ for the Independent Social Worker seem continents apart.”
Garden Court Family Law Blog, 31st October 2012
Source: www.gcfamily.wordpress.com
Litigators: Survive & Thrive (PDF)
Speech by Lord Dyson, Master of the Rolls
Civil Justice Section Conference, 18th October 2012
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
“Implementing the Jackson costs reforms will inevitably lead to satellite litigation, the master of the rolls has warned. He urged courts and lawyers to ‘do what they can’ to minimise it.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 19th October 2012
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“The Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into payments made after Barclays tapped Middle Eastern investors for emergency funds in 2008.”
The Guardian, 30th August 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Legal Services Commission’s contract managers have been conducting informal assessments of files and I have been receiving a number of queries from not-for-profit (NfP) agencies because cases advising on entitlement to benefits appear to be disallowed on a fairly regular basis, writes Vicky Ling. It is clear that the goalposts have moved since the introduction of fixed fees in 2007, and cases that would previously passed audit are now been nil assessed.”
LegalVoice, 3rd August 2012
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
“A ban on the referral fees blamed for creating a ‘compensation culture’ will be difficult to police and may not even be effective, regulators have warned.”
Daily Telegraph, 29th July 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“This article discusses the rise in applications against solicitors for third party costs orders, where solicitors have acted on conditional fee agreements and may be said to have funded or controlled litigation.”
Full story (PDF)
4 New Square, 25th July 2012
Source: www.4newsquare.com
“A new law firm which promises clients fixed fees and immediate face-to-face meetings with barristers has become the latest alternative business structure (ABS). Red Bar Law was formed in September last year and applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for ABS status in January. Today the SRA confirmed it has become the ninth organisation to be granted a licence, which will be effective from 10 July.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd July 2012
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“Draft regulations which propose to allow local planning authorities to increase the fees they charge for planning applications have been laid before Parliament, but the cap on the maximum fees that can be charged remains the same.”
OUT-LAW.com, 23rd July 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
“Legal insurance and conditional and fixed-fee arrangements aren’t serving people’s best interests.”
The Guardian, 19th July 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Government is to press ahead with plans to introduce fees for workers wishing to raise a claim with an employment tribunal from the summer of 2013, it has announced. Those on low incomes can apply for exemption from the proposed fees.”
OUT-LAW.com, 16th July 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
“The government announced on Friday the introduction of a fee of up to £1,200 for taking claims to an employment tribunal.”
The Guardian, 13th July 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
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