Regina (Ben Hoare Bell Solicitors) and others v Lord Chancellor – WLR Daily

Posted March 17th, 2015 in judicial review, law firms, law reports, legal aid, regulations, ultra vires by sally

Regina (Ben Hoare Bell Solicitors) and others v Lord Chancellor [2015] EWHC 523 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 114

‘The scope of regulation 5A of the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No 3) Regulations 2014 extended beyond the circumstances which could be seen as rationally connected to the stated purpose given for its introduction, making it inconsistent with the purposes of the statutory scheme contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.’

WLR Daily, 3rd March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Lawyers ‘are using threats to stop negative client reviews’ – The Independent

Posted March 6th, 2015 in consumer protection, defamation, internet, intimidation, law firms, news by sally

‘Thin-skinned lawyers are abusing their legal standing by threatening defamation action against members of the public who post negative reviews of their services on TripAdvisor-style websites.’

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The Independent, 5th March 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Blow for MoJ as regulations on judicial review and legal aid ruled unlawful – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Government’s introduction through regulations of a “no permission, no fee” arrangement for making a legally aided application for judicial review was unlawful, the Divisional Court has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th March 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Law firms and medical agencies launch judicial review over whiplash reforms – Litigation Futures

Posted March 5th, 2015 in consultations, expert witnesses, law firms, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘A group of personal injury firms and medical reporting agencies has pushed ahead with its plan to issue an application for judicial review against the government, challenging its reforms to medical reporting in whiplash cases.’

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Litigtation Futures, 3rd May 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

No duty on solicitors to check credit status of parties, High Court rules – Legal Futures

Posted March 5th, 2015 in consumer credit, law firms, news, solicitors by tracey

‘Solicitors are not under a general duty to check the credit status of parties in a commercial transaction unless instructed to, the High Court has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 4th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

AMT Futures Ltd v Marzillier, Dr Meier & Dr Guntner Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH – WLR Daily

Posted March 4th, 2015 in appeals, contracts, domicile, EC law, jurisdiction, law firms, law reports by sally

AMT Futures Ltd v Marzillier, Dr Meier & Dr Guntner Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH [2015] EWCA Civ 143; [2015] WLR (D) 95

‘A tortious claim for inducement of breach of a contractual term providing for exclusive jurisdiction of the English Court brought against a defendant domiciled in Germany where the harmful event did not occur in England could not be brought in the English court since article 5(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 did not apply.’

WLR Daily, 26th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Al-Sweady file exposes the smearing of British soldiers – Daily Telegraph

‘Evidence drawn up on David Cameron’s orders alleges that Public Interest Lawyers continued to pursue torture and murder claims for a year after realising that they may be “untrue”.’

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Daily Telegraph, 1st March 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Court Appeal overturns ruling that law firm wrongly paid out £2.3m from client account – Legal Futures

Posted February 23rd, 2015 in airports, appeals, breach of trust, client accounts, insolvency, law firms, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision that a Sussex law firm wrongly paid out £2.28m it had received from a group of investors in what turned out to be a doomed airport investment scheme.’

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Legal Futures, 20th February 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law firms need to rethink approach under ‘fundamentally dishonest’ rule, barristers warn – Litigation Futures

‘Claimant solicitors have been warned that they need to review their retainers and advise clients about the implications of the new ‘fundamentally dishonest’ rule being introduced shortly.’

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Litigation Futures, 23rd February 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

UK admits unlawfully monitoring legally privileged communications – The Guardian

‘The regime under which UK intelligence agencies, including MI5 and MI6, have been monitoring conversations between lawyers and their clients for the past five years is unlawful, the British government has admitted.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The view from the bench (III) – New Law Journal

Posted February 16th, 2015 in case management, judiciary, law firms, news, solicitors, witnesses by sally

‘Elizabeth Metliss considers the judicial view of law firms.’

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New Law Journal, 13th February 2015

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

High Court grants SRA power to destroy millions of documents held after interventions – Legal Futures

Posted February 10th, 2015 in costs, documents, law firms, news, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘The High Court has backed an application by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to destroy millions of documents seized from firms it has intervened in and had to store since, at significant cost to the profession.’

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Legal Futures, 10th February 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Legal aid providers “trying to innovate” but destablised by cuts – Legal Futures

Posted February 4th, 2015 in budgets, case management, law centres, law firms, legal aid, legal services, news by sally

‘More than a third of advice agencies that have so far implemented charging for legal services appear to have done so sustainably, a survey of post-LASPO innovations has found.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd February 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Innovation in the delivery of legal services’ report – LegalVoice

Posted January 27th, 2015 in law firms, legal services, news, reports, speeches by sally

‘Legal aid firms and advice agencies are being encouraged to embrace new technologies to survive in the post-LASPO world. A new report by LV director David Gilmore and Matthew Howgate, following on from the 2014 Innovation in the delivery of legal services conference, provides examples of what firms and not-for-profit agencies are doing to survive in the wake of the legal aid cuts. The authors conclude that it is ‘impossible to see the LASPO cuts as anything but an absolute disaster’. However, they argue that across the advice sector there are ‘strong ideas’ emerging.’

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LegalVoice, 26th January 2015

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

“Tesco Law” in theory will be “Asda Law” in reality – The Future of Law

Posted January 20th, 2015 in alternative business structures, law firms, news by sally

‘In the run up to the Legal Services Act and its “aftermath” the name that came to symbolise the supposed rise of consumer brands entering the legal market was Tesco.’

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The Future of Law, 19th January 2015

Source: www.blogs.lexisnexis.co.uk

On-call solicitor plan adopted with ‘cavalier disregard for fairness’ – The Guardian

Posted January 20th, 2015 in criminal justice, law firms, legal representation, news, solicitors by sally

‘A theoretical business model adopted by the justice secretary to employ on-call solicitors was selected with “cavalier disregard” for fairness and real-world experience, the high court has heard.’

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The Guardian, 19th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Pro bono – what lies ahead in 2015? – The Future of Law

Posted January 8th, 2015 in law centres, law firms, legal aid, news, pro bono work by sally

‘2015 looks set to be a critical year for the pro bono movement and its uneasy relationship with legal aid. The well-worn pro bono mantra – that pro bono is “an adjunct to and not a replacement for legal aid” – has been challenged in recent years. The Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012) effectively scrapped public funding for much of social welfare law advice in April 2013 and the legal profession is finally beginning to rethink the formula. Legal aid lawyers are rightly sceptical about ministers trying to co-opt pro bono – but LASPO 2012 is a game-changer.’

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The Future of Law, 7th January 2015

Source: http://blogs.lexisnexis.co.uk

High Court bats away challenge to privilege of ‘without prejudice’ costs letters – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 6th, 2015 in costs, law firms, news, privilege by sally

‘Without prejudice’ correspondence between law firms on the costs of a complex dispute between mosquito net manufacturers was protected by privilege and not admissible in court, the High Court has ruled in a case with combined costs of £4.6m.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th January 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Al Sweady inquiry Q&A: What happened on 14 May 2004? – The Independent

Posted December 18th, 2014 in aggravated vehicle taking, armed forces, inquiries, Iraq, law firms, murder, news by sally

‘Q: What happened on 14 May 2004?

A: The summer of 2004 saw a sharp spike in attacks on Coalition forces by the Mahdi Army militia in southern Iraq. British troops were ambushed at two locations either side of the “Danny Boy” vehicle checkpoint, near Al Amarah. Witnesses said the fighting was particularly fierce and had involved the use of bayonets by British troops for the first time since the Falklands War.’

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The Independent, 17th December 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Al-Sweady Inquiry: Legal battles after fighting ends – BBC News

Posted December 18th, 2014 in armed forces, inquiries, Iraq, law firms, murder, news, torture by sally

‘There’s anger, as much as relief and a sense of vindication, inside the Ministry of Defence and the Army at the end of this long public inquiry into allegations of murder and abuse by British soldiers in Iraq in 2004.’

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BBC News, 17th December 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk