Monthly Archive for April, 2007

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Banks, limitation dates and Newly Qualified Barristers

By NL on 13/04/2007. 0 Comments

I’m not going to weigh in on the details of the case brought by newly qualified barrister Tom Brennan against Nat West, apparently adjourned for a full day’s argument on the issue of whether aggravated and exemplary damages are even available, prior to the main hearing, two hours not being enough.

I admire Mr Brennan’s determination, but, assuming that he is correctly quoted by the BBC, I fear for his command of civil litigation. Mr Brennan apparently said

“It should be noted that any delay is going to assist the defendants because only six years of charges can be made,” he said.

“Every day that passes, more money is being

… Read the full post

Posted in Various (non-housing). Tags: , .

costs outrage

By NL on 11/04/2007. 0 Comments

The issues of fees in miner’s white finger and respiritory disease claims, following the institution of a compensation scheme, has been rumbling on for some time. All hell seems to have broken loose with the report that Beresfords, a small firm that, via some sort of association with the Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM), handled many of the claims made £20.4 million (pre-tax) in one year, including a personal profit of £16.8 million (pre-tax) for the lead partner of three.

This has been met with howls of outrage, not least because, as the Times points out, more than half of the miners, or their estates, only received £2000 or less. … Read the full post

Posted in Various (non-housing). Tags: .

Show me the money

By NL on 11/04/2007. 0 Comments

My blog is worth $22,581.60.
How much is your blog worth?

That should see me through about six months as a trainee. £12K! For my erudesence? Pah. I’m cheap but not that cheap.

[Thanks to Tim Kevan of Read the full post

Posted in Various (non-housing). Tags: , .

Ring out wild bells

By NL on 07/04/2007. 0 Comments

And finally…

Nearly Legal has a training contract, and mirable dictu, with a legal aid firm (at least pro tem) and to start shortly. I’ve come over all Fotherington-Thomas. Hello birds, hello sky.

It was about bloody time somebody took a punt on what was evidently seen by many as a bit of risk. I can say with some confidence I will be good at it. Bring on the last few hurdles to qualification.

But this will mean a change hereabouts. I had already decided that, should a miracle happen and someone decided to take me on as a trainee, I was not going to do “a trainee’s … Read the full post

Posted in Various (non-housing). Tags: , .

Multimedia extravaganza and some paranoia

By NL on 03/04/2007. 0 Comments

Thanks to Elle, here is the channel 4 news report from Friday 30 March on Legal Aid, incorporating Fisher Meredith solicitors voting no. In case this has short self life on the Channel 4 site, here is a quicktime version (Warning, slow to load). [Now removed for space limit reasons].

Rumour has it that Fisher Meredith did indeed sign on Monday. I don’t blame them at all. At least they had the courage of their convictions to stand with the non-signers until after the inital deadline. When it became clear not signing had not had sufficient impact on the immediate situation, they had to act to continue their practice.… Read the full post

Posted in Various (non-housing). Tags: , .

Messy

By NL on 02/04/2007. 0 Comments

A predictably messy aftermath to the great unified contract signing debacle. The LSC extended the deadline to today at the last moment. Why, so that it could pick up some of the hold outs from Friday, expecting them to be thoroughly demoralised by the announced 85% sign up rate. It probably worked.

Of course the mood of the holdouts cannot have been improved by the behaviour of Bindmans. I can understand the reasoning of firms who signed, I can understand that of firms who didn’t sign, but I struggle with a firm which announces that it will not sign, that the contract offends against practicality and principle, and that … Read the full post

Posted in Various (non-housing). Tags: .

That could have gone better

By NL on 01/04/2007. 0 Comments

Oh dear. The LSC claims an 85% sign up rate to the unified contract. Assuming that this is accurate, this seems to me to fall into the hinterland of bad, but not bad enough to stop the roll-out. In fact, it is pretty much the precise point where the LSC can argue the shortfall will be made up by remaining firms taking on more, but also where this will, in reality, present severe difficulties.

The figure is the headline national rate, as I suggested would be given. I don’t think the headline rate will tell the whole story. It appears that specific areas will likely have a significantly lower take … Read the full post

Posted in Various (non-housing). Tags: , .
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