‘Informed consent’ fees dispute set for Court of Appeal showdown – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Afees dispute in a personal injury claim with the potential to affect thousands of similar cases is set to be contested in the Court of Appeal.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 24th March 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Judge allows use of documents shared by mistake – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 23rd, 2021 in disclosure, documents, evidence, news, privilege, solicitors, witnesses by sally

‘A High Court judge has granted defendants permission to use documents inadvertently shared by the claimants’ solicitors before trial.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 22nd March 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

High Court: No duty on barrister not to cause instructing solicitor loss – Legal Futures

Posted March 23rd, 2021 in barristers, fees, negligence, news, set-off, solicitors by sally

‘A barrister was not liable to her instructing solicitors for the fees they claimed they lost out on as a result of her alleged negligence, the High Court has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd March 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Court allows defendants to use statements disclosed by mistake – Litigation Futures

Posted March 22nd, 2021 in disclosure, documents, evidence, news, privilege, solicitors, witnesses by tracey

‘The High Court has granted permission to defendants to use the contents of four otherwise privileged witness statements which were disclosed by the claimants’ solicitors by mistake.’

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Litigation Futures, 22nd March 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Oliver Campbell: Calls to review 30-year-old murder conviction – BBC News

‘A man with learning difficulties who admitted to a murder 30 years ago should have his conviction quashed because he confessed to police without a lawyer present, his solicitor says.’

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BBC News, 16th March 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Impact on lawyers of traumatic cases “worsened by pandemic” – Legal Futures

Posted March 15th, 2021 in barristers, coronavirus, legal aid, legal profession, mental health, news, solicitors by tracey

‘Covid-19, coupled with the savage cuts in legal aid, have greatly added to the vicarious trauma suffered by social justice lawyers and other law workers from being immersed in clients’ day-to-day problems, the authors of a new book have argued.’

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Legal futures, 15th March 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Court can order solicitor to attend wasted costs cross-examination – Litigation Futures

Posted March 12th, 2021 in civil procedure rules, costs, courts, cross-examination, news, solicitors by sally

‘The court has the power to require a solicitor to attend court for cross-examination in respect of a wasted costs application, a High Court judge has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 11th March 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge refuses to grant solicitor injunction after “grave robber” claims – Legal Futures

Posted March 9th, 2021 in defamation, enforcement, injunctions, news, solicitors, undertakings by tracey

‘A High Court judge has refused to grant a solicitor a permanent injunction to enforce undertakings made by the son of a client that he would stop making defamatory statements.’

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Legal Futures, 9th March 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law Society president to step down amid dishonesty accusations – The Guardian

Posted March 4th, 2021 in disciplinary procedures, Law Society, news, solicitors by sally

‘The president of the Law Society is stepping down from his role after being accused of dishonesty during a decade-long legal dispute that went to the high court.’

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The Guardian, 3rd March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Senior solicitor wins libel claim over misconduct allegations – Legal Futures

Posted March 3rd, 2021 in damages, defamation, news, professional conduct, solicitors by sally

‘A senior solicitor at the Environment Agency has won his libel action against the owners of a garden centre business who accused him of professional misconduct in prosecuting one of them.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd March 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Solicitor failed to check whether jailed client wanted to sell property – Legal Futures

‘A veteran solicitor did not confirm that his imprisoned client had given instructions to transfer a £300,000 property to his mother, with the client claiming after it happened that he knew nothing about it, a tribunal has heard.’

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Legal Futures, 24th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Legal Services Board under fire for “neglecting impact of Covid” – Legal Futures

‘The Bar Council and Law Society have accused the Legal Services Board (LSB) of failing to take into account the impact of the pandemic on the profession in its latest draft strategy.’

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Legal Futures, 17th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Solicitor lied to High Court in claim brought by former partner – Legal Futures

Posted February 11th, 2021 in disciplinary procedures, evidence, news, solicitors, witnesses by sally

‘A solicitor who lied to a High Court judge during the trial of a dispute with a former partner in his law firm has been struck off.’

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Legal Futures, 11th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

A cheaper route to qualifying? ULaw unveils SQE pricing – Legal Futures

Posted February 10th, 2021 in education, fees, legal education, news, solicitors, universities by sally

‘The University of Law (ULaw) has unveiled a range of courses to prepare students for Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), costing from £500 to £16,500 – the latter being little different from the legal practice course (LPC).’

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Legal Futures, 10th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

25% uplift is usual for outdated guideline rates, says judge – Litigation Futures

Posted February 9th, 2021 in fees, indexation, inflation, news, solicitors by tracey

‘The conventional approach in relation to the guideline hourly rates (GHR) is to uplift them by about 25% to reflect the effects of inflation since they were set in 2010, a High Court judge has said. He refused without more evidence to reduce the impact of inflation by commercial pressures on solicitors to keep their fees lower.’

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Litigation Futures, 9th February 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Supreme Court to consider costs orders against regulators – Legal Futures

‘The Supreme Court is to consider whether costs should only be awarded against regulators in unsuccessful cases where there is good reason to make an order, it announced today [27 January].’

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Legal Futures, 27th January 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Solicitor fined for failing to disclose counsel’s opinions to ATE insurer – Litigation Futures

‘An experienced solicitor who failed to disclose two counsel’s opinions on a case to an after-the-event (ATE) insurer, one of them assessing chances of success at less than 50%, has been fined £8,000.’

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Litigation Futures, 27th January 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Transparency failures put three firms in the dock – Legal Futures

‘Law firms in London, Manchester and Bath have become the first sanctioned for failing to publish price and service information, with compliance made a condition of their authorisation.’

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Legal Futures, 15th January 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Tribunal rejects law firm’s second challenge to age discrimination ruling – Legal Futures

Posted January 14th, 2021 in age discrimination, employment tribunals, law firms, news, solicitors by tracey

‘An employment judge has refused a second application from a law firm to reconsider his decision to award an experienced property solicitor damages of £13,200 for age discrimination when he applied for a job with it.’

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Legal Futures, 14th January 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Criminal solicitors body warns members it is not safe to attend Magistrates’ courts – Local Government Lawyer

‘The London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association (LCCSA) has advised its members that it is not safe to continue to attend Magistrates’ courts.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th January 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk