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Safety first

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

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
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