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A baptism of fire

14 May 2009 / John Mcquater
Issue: 7369 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services , Costs , Personal injury
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Costs & serving the needs of injured people will dominate John McQuater’s term of office

Taking on the role of president of the Association of Personal lnjury Lawyers (APIL) is both an honour and a rather daunting prospect— particularly in the current climate. In fact, what a welcome I had when last week, Lord Justice Jackson published his preliminary report on the review of civil litigation costs. Needless to say, the paper will take some serious time and thought to digest—not least because it is in two volumes which exceed more than 600 pages, not including the appendices.

Something as important as justice, like other vital aspects of our society such as healthcare and education, does come at a cost and, over recent years, much has been said about the funding of personal injury claims, not least the use of conditional fee agreements.

It is worth remembering that until a decade ago many personal injury claims were funded by legal aid. In

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Sports, education and charities practice welcomes senior associate

Ellisons—Carla Jones

Ellisons—Carla Jones

Partner and head of commercial litigation joins in Chelmsford

Freeths—Louise Mahon

Freeths—Louise Mahon

Firm strengthens Glasgow corporate practice with partner hire

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One in five in-house lawyers suffer ‘high’ or ‘severe’ work-related stress, according to a report by global legal body, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)
The Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO’s) plea for a budget increase has been rejected by the Law Society and accepted only ‘with reluctance’ by conveyancers
Overcrowded prisons, mental health hospitals and immigration centres are failing to meet international and domestic human rights standards, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) has warned
Two speedier and more streamlined qualification routes have been launched for probate and conveyancing professionals
Workplace stress was a contributing factor in almost one in eight cases before the employment tribunal last year, indicating its endemic grip on the UK workplace
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