The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has fired a warning shot against practitioners who might be tempted into fraud in personal injury cases. A report by the Insurance Fraud Task Force in January called for more to be done about bogus insurance claims. The SRA has drawn up a list of areas where there may be compliance concerns, including: cold calling; referral fees; acting without client approval; paying damages to third parties; and bringing claims without clients’ knowledge. Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, says the consequences of failing to adhere to the code of conduct could be “severe”.
25 March 2016
SRA personal injury fraud warning
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Devonshires—Rebecca Eastwood
Housing management and property litigation practice strengthened by Leeds partner hire
Trowers & Hamlins—Rahul Sagar
Banking and finance practice bolstered by partner hire
mfg Solicitors—Ian Sheppard
Commercial litigation team welcomes senior associate in Birmingham
NEWS
From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed
Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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