http://project023.com/ en-us Nucleus CMS v3.51 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://project023.com//nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://project023.com/ xml-rss2.php?itemid=6 The Code of Conduct that the Solicitors Regulation Authority has developed binds the solicitor that is holding your file. The Authority represents over 100,000 solicitors that are currently working in the UK, as well as some foreign solicitors that have clients in Britain. The Code has clear guidance on how your solicitor should handle their relationship with you, including how your legal file is maintained and copied.
You solicitor may therefore allow you to copy the contents of your legal file that rightfully belong to you. This is common practice if you need copies of legal documents for your bank for instance. If you are in dispute with your solicitor, the Solicitors Regulation Authority can give you advice on how to proceed. And if your solicitor is blocking you from obtaining your legal file with no good reason put forward to do this, you can make a complaint to the Legal Complaint Service about your solicitor’s conduct.
Also, you may decide to change the solicitor you are using. You still own the legal file that your existing solicitor has at their offices (so far as the contents are rightfully yours and not the solicitor’s) , but your new solicitor will invariably contact your existing legal representative to obtain either your original legal file or a copy. Your new solicitor will also ask your old solicitor whether they intend to exercise a lien on your legal file. This could happen if you have yet to pay the fees you owe to your old solicitor, or you are in dispute with them over another matter.
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Some commentators believe that judges have too much power and usurp the rightful boundaries of their role. Such views can be seen in the frequent media uproars that sentences handed down by judges to criminals are not appropriate uses of the sentencing power. ‘Judicial activism’ is a term used to describe the judicial construction of statutes so differently from their original legislative intent that the resulting application of them can more accurately be attributed to the judiciary, rather than to the legislature. It is also used critically to describe decisions that are based more upon personal and political considerations than on the existing law.

The issue of judicial activism is closely tied to concept of the separation of powers – the separation of power between the different arms of government: the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Some people are of the view that because the legislature is the only body elected by the people it is the only body that should appropriately decide the law. However, others believe that the judiciary is an essential check on the power of the government, and necessary to apply rigid laws to individual circumstances. Also, the judiciary may be required to respond to changing circumstances when the legislature is too slow to respond. However, whilst judges may be applying the law differently, they do not create the law – they are not legislators in the true sense of the word.

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]]> General xml-rss2.php?itemid=5 Thu, 3 Jun 2010 11:41:00 -0500 xml-rss2.php?itemid=4 For other types of matters, costs orders are ordinarily made. For example, if you bring a personal-injury claim for compensation and you win, the losing party must not only pay you the compensation (damages) you are claiming but they must ordinarily also pay your solicitor’s fees as well.
No-win, no-fee agreements are common for personal injury cases. There are common misconceptions about how costs are allocated in no-win, no-fee arrangements. Arrangements do vary and you must check the specifics of your agreement. However, you should be aware that in some conditional fee agreements (CFAs) – as no-win, no-fee cases are properly called – you could be liable to pay court costs, the costs of any medical reports that are needed and any other miscellaneous costs that your case might attract. Additionally, some no-win, no-fee solicitors do not pay all of the compensation payout to their clients. It is common practice that some solicitors retain what is called an uplift fee or success fee that can be anything up to 100 per cent of their standard fee, however normally this is recovered from the other side. You should ensure you fully understand the terms of your agreement with your solicitor before you sign it and before they proceed with your case.
It is possible to insure against these additional costs and the event of you losing your compensation claim. Many solicitors that work on a no-win, no-fee basis offer this insurance – known as before-the-event insurance – themselves, but you can obtain this independently if you wish. Before-the-event insurance can protect you from any additional costs your case might attract.
]]> General xml-rss2.php?itemid=4 Thu, 3 Jun 2010 11:40:20 -0500 xml-rss2.php?itemid=2 However, resentment towards the lawyers and the legal profession as a whole is prevalent in societies all over the world, and this resentment is not something which has only come about in recent times. In the eighteenth century lawyers were abolished in many countries, including France. There were complaints in the nineteenth century all over the world regarding the number of lawyers; many people felt that there were too many lawyers. There was continued ill feeling towards lawyers in many countries including England, Canada, Australia and the United States. However, it became clear that despite this ill-feeling, lawyers were an essential part of society, and a necessity to ensure that laws are upheld and understood by everyone.

A world without lawyers would mean that people wouldn’t be able to receive advice about the law. Looking at law in its simplest terms, there are two main areas: civil and criminal law. In civil law one person or company takes action against another individual or company, with the purpose being to uphold the rights of individuals. In criminal law it is usually the state which takes action against someone who has broken the rules of society e.g. murder. The purpose of criminal law is to uphold law and order and to protect society. If there were no lawyers, individuals would not be able to take action in civil law as there would be no-one to explain the often complex legislation, and, similarly, a world without lawyers would mean that no-one would be able to provide advice to someone accused of something under criminal law, or indeed impose a criminal law sanction and ultimately protect society.

These, and many other areas of law, require a detailed and complex understanding. For example, 3,600 new criminal offences have been introduced in less than a decade. Furthermore, areas of law such as tax, employment and property are extremely complex, and without lawyers we wouldn’t be able to simplify the rules and regulations in place, which would render such rules and regulations useless.
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