Professional negligence claims brought against law firms in the High Court have almost tripled in the last year, jumping to 418 in 2013/14, according to City law firm RPC. Many claims involved property and conveyancing disputes and include subprime mortgage lenders as the claimants. RPC attribute the sharp rise to the impending deadline for claims arising from losses sustained during the 2008 financial crisis. Claimants have six years in which to launch claims.
10 December 2014
Surge in negligence claims
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Signature Litigation—Catherine Naylor
International fraud and asset recovery offering boosted by partner hire
Stevens & Bolton—Alexa Payet
Private wealth disputes team adds contentious probate specialist
Morgan Lewis—Paul Feldberg
Firm strengthens investigations and sanctions capabilities with London partner hire
NEWS
Cheshire West, which established an ‘acid test’ for deprivation of liberty safeguards, has been overturned by the Supreme Court
The Chancery Division and other segments of the High Court are to be replaced by a new Business and Property Division (BPD), in a major civil justice shakeup
Law firms that hold client money will need to file annual accountants’ reports and make a declaration, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) confirmed this week
Two district judges and a tribunal judge have been sanctioned for delays in delivering judgments and orders
Private equity (PE) investment into UK law firms halved to £250m last year, but deal volume rose, according to research by Acquira Professional Services’ Momentum private equity market tracker
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