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09 September 2010 / Rita Leat
Issue: 7432 / Categories: Features , Wills & Probate
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Regulation? It’s faster in Scotland. Rita Leat explains why

The debate for regulation of will writing rumbles on in England with a host of supporters for regulation, among whom the Law Society and the Fellowship of Professional Willwriters & Probate Practitioners have featured heavily, without reaching a successful outcome. Why is this? Perhaps, until the existence of the Legal Services Act 2007 and the establishment of the Legal Services Board (LSB) as an over-arching regulator for legal services, there simply has not been an easy vehicle that could make regulation happen.

Arguably the Legal Services Act 2007 creates the greatest changes in legal regulation for over a century and has opened up the access to the law. This will hopefully and ultimately change the way many people regard the law. No longer will consumers have to obtain their legal services from solicitors; other providers can now come forward to offer their wares. Enter stage right: the so called ‘Tesco Law’.

Consumer protection

There have been cries from within the industry in the past that have

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Sponsored by
London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
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NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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