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Government publishes bill to reverse impact of PACCAR ruling
House of Lords: Bill had first reading yesterdayThe Ministry of Justice yesterday published a two-clause bill to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling in PACCAR and return certainty to litigation funding agreements (LFAs).The Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill restores the position that LFAs are not damages-based agreements (DBAs) and thus do not have to comply with…
Newly qualified solicitor struck off for false time recording
SDT: Lack of experience not a mitigating factorA newly qualified solicitor who “falsely recorded time across a number of files” to show his law firm that he was meeting his billing target has been struck off by Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).Matthew Nester denied acting dishonestly and said it had always been his intention to complete…
Lady Chief Justice speaks out in support of cab-rank rule
Carr: Judges and advocates need moral courageThe Lady Chief Justice yesterday spoke out in support of the cab-rank rule, arguing that without it “law and justice become an arbitrary concept”.Baroness Carr also called for a significant increase in the study and scrutiny of the criminal courts to provide the basis for further reform.The cab-rank rule…
Four out of 10 big law firms have ‘energy-burning’ websites
Websites: Energy usage needs to be addressed to meet net-zero goalsMore than 40% of the top 200 law firms have been awarded an ‘F’ rating (the worst) for the energy used by their websites.Simon Marshall, founder of legal marketing agency TBD, said reducing load times and image sizes could “have real-world consequences in terms of…
Break up PDF bundles with a single click
By Legal Futures Associate CasedoOne of the continued frustrations in law is the delivery of single PDF bundles alongside late-submitted documents that need to be included in the bundle itself.Casedo is delighted to announce that the recently released update enables users to break up monolithic PDFs with a single click.To date there have been…
No substitute for full compensation
By Legal Futures Associate ARAGFebruary saw the publication of not just one, but two reports making significant proposals for the NHS. However, both documents also make recommendations that could have a profound impact on the future of justice and compensation for people injured through medical treatment or care.The first of the two reports to drop was…
Short suspension for junior solicitor who groped colleague
SDT: Solicitor was sacked for conduct at partyA male solicitor who groped and propositioned a female colleague at his firm’s Christmas party has been suspended for three months.Frederick William Adams lost his job at Plexus Law as a result of what he did and told the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) that he had misread the…
High Court upholds wasted costs order against law firm
Spencer: Wasted costs proceedings in the public interestA circuit judge was entitled to make a wasted costs order against a firm of solicitors that failed to translate their client’s statement and pleadings for use at trial, the High Court has ruled.Mr Justice Martin Spencer held that His Honour Judge Monty was “fully entitled to…
Money laundering solicitor finally pays off confiscation order
FCA: Court sent a clear messageA struck-off solicitor and money launderer has finally satisfied the £716,719 confiscation order made against him in 2017, after facing a return to jail.Dale Robert Walker, 64, was last month sentenced by City of London Magistrates’ Court to 62 days in prison for his “wilful and neglectful failure” to pay…