The cost of clamping down on ‘no win, no fee’ legal arrangements – The Guardian

Posted March 30th, 2011 in costs, fees, news, personal injuries by sally

“Ken Clarke’s announcement on Tuesday that the government is to reform the costs of civil litigation has been portrayed as a crackdown on lawyers’ fees. That always makes a pleasing headline but the reality is that the justice secretary wants the public to do it for him.”

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The Guardian, 30th March 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Kenneth Clarke unveils plans to tackle compensation culture – The Guardian

Posted March 30th, 2011 in compensation, costs, fees, lord chancellor, news, small claims by sally

“Proposals to tackle Britain’s ‘damaging compensation culture’, control legal costs and divert cases from courtrooms into online resolution have been unveiled by the justice secretary.”

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The Guardian, 29th March 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lawyers in civil cases face bonus cap – The Guardian

Posted March 28th, 2011 in fees, legal profession, news by sally

“The government will next week announce a clampdown on ‘fat cat’ lawyers in civil cases by capping bonuses and tackling what ministers describe as the perverse position in which lawyers can be awarded a greater proportion of payouts than claimants.”

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The Guardian, 25th March 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Telefónica Móviles España SA v Administración del Estado, Secretaría de Estado de Telecomunicaciones – WLR Daily

Posted March 25th, 2011 in competition, EC law, fees, law reports, telecommunications by sally

Telefónica Móviles España SA v Administración del Estado, Secretaría de Estado de Telecomunicaciones (Case C-85/10);  [2011] WLR (D)  102

“National legislation that provided for a fee to be levied on operators of telecommunications services holding individual licences for the use of radio frequencies, but which did not allocate a specific use to the income derived from that fee, and which significantly increased the fee for a particular technology, was not precluded by article 11(2) of Directive 97/13/EC.”

WLR Daily, 10th March 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Legal advice ‘too expensive’ warns bar regulator’s chair – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 23rd, 2011 in barristers, fees, legal services, news by sally

“Legal advice is ‘too expensive’ and has ‘moved out of reach of the middle classes,’ the chair of the Bar Standards Board said this week.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd March 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Family lawyers face up to challenges ahead – Law Society’s Gazette

“Family law is facing an unprecedented year of change, with practitioners under intense pressure to be innovative if they want to maintain the viability of their practices. Some family law departments are already downsizing, or are being closed, as experienced practitioners move firms or set up their own niche practices. However, others are embracing change and are among their firms’ top teams in terms of fee income and profitability.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 17th March 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Miners’ compensation: why did some solicitors take too big a slice of the pie? – The Guardian

Posted March 9th, 2011 in claims management, compensation, fees, miners, news, solicitors by sally

“Despite delivering £4bn for sick miners and their families, exploitation by some solicitors cast a shadow over the profession.”

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The Guardian, 8th March 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Sousa v Waltham Forest London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Posted March 7th, 2011 in costs, fees, insurance, law reports by sally

Sousa v Waltham Forest London Borough Council [2011] EWCA Civ 194; [2011] WLR (D) 71

“A successful claimant was entitled to seek costs which included a success fee under a conditional fee agreement where the agreement had been entered into between the claimant’s insurers and the lawyers acting for him and the applicable insurance policy provided him with an indemnity as to costs.”

WLR Daily, 4th March 2011

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note that once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Landmark judgment highlights retainer letter lapse – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 4th, 2011 in contracts, fees, news, solicitors by sally

“A High Court judge warned solicitors of the need to be clear in retainer letters, as he ruled that a firm had breached its contract by refusing to carry out further work for a client until he had paid his bills, in a decision that the judge admitted ‘may seem harsh’.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 3rd March 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Injured by the NHS? Prepare for further pain – The Guardian

Posted March 3rd, 2011 in costs, fees, legal aid, medical treatment, negligence, news by sally

“Justice ministry hopes to remove clinical negligence from legal aid and make claimants pay fees and premiums out of damages.”

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The Guardian, 3rd March 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar leaders warn of impact of tuition hikes on diversity – Legal Week

Posted February 24th, 2011 in barristers, education, equality, fees, news, universities by sally

“Leading figures at the Bar including former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer, Bar council chairman Nicholas Green QC and chair of the Bar Standards Board Baroness Ruth Deech have called for the Bar to take action to improve diversity in anticipation of hikes in university tuition fees.”

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Legal Week, 24th February 2011

Source: www.legalweek.com

Tuition fees: Teenagers seek human rights judicial review – The Guardian

Posted February 24th, 2011 in education, fees, human rights, judicial review, news, universities by sally

“Two teenagers are seeking a judicial review into the government’s decision to allow university tuition fees to almost treble to up to £9,000 from next year.”

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The Guardian, 24th February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Law academics slam Jackson’s civil justice proposals – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 14th, 2011 in civil justice, costs, fees, news by sally

“An independent panel of law academics has branded Lord Justice Jackson’s proposals to reform civil litigation costs as ‘misleading and ‘inconsistent with a fundamental principle of civil justice’, as it published a report today.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 11th February 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Jackson slams piecemeal civil litigation funding proposals – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 2nd, 2011 in costs, damages, fees, insurance, news by sally

“Government proposals to modify Lord Jackson’s comprehensive package of civil litigation reforms would be a ‘disaster’, according to Lord Jackson.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 2nd February 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police v Information Commissioner – WLR Daily

Posted January 28th, 2011 in disclosure, fees, freedom of information, law reports by sally

Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police v Information Commissioner [2011] EWHC 44 (Admin); [2011] WLR (D) 19

“In estimating whether the cost of complying with a request for information would exceed the appropriate limit for the purposes of claiming exemption from the obligation to comply in reliance on section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, a public authority was not permitted by regulation 4 of the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 to take account of time which it expected to spend in redacting exempt information from relevant documents before disclosing them to the applicant.”

WLR Daily, 27th January 2011

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Campbell libel ruling exposes ‘deeply flawed’ CFA system – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 28th, 2011 in costs, defamation, fees, freedom of expression, news by sally

“Bumper success fees for lawyers in libel cases will soon be a thing of the past following last week’s ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the Naomi Campbell case, solicitors predicted this week.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 27th January 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Chancery Lane hails landmark ruling on access to justice – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 27th, 2011 in costs, fees, news, solicitors by sally

“Solicitors must be allowed to shoulder the risk of adverse costs orders on behalf of their clients to ensure proper access to justice, the Court of Appeal ruled today.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 26th January 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Reforms set out for employment tribunals – The Independent

Posted January 27th, 2011 in employment tribunals, fees, news, unfair dismissal by sally

“The Government today put forward plans to increase the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims from one to two years and suggested fees for taking employment tribunal cases under plans to reform the system.”

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The Independent, 27th January 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

European court deals blow to no win, no fee deals in Naomi Campbell case – The Guardian

Posted January 19th, 2011 in defamation, fees, human rights, news, privacy by sally

“The European court of human rights today (18 January) unanimously ruled that the recovery of success fees by lawyers in privacy and defamation cases represents a significant violation of freedom of expression, in a case brought by the publisher of the Daily Mirror.”

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The Guardian, 18th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Related link: Full judgment: Mirror Group News v UK

Libel success fees – myth and reality – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 13th, 2011 in defamation, fees, news by sally

“There is a myth that claimant libel lawyers win almost every libel case they bring and charge double their fees, which must be paid by the defendant, usually a media organisation. The reality is very different.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 13th January 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk