The legal year in 60 seconds

LEGAL AID

United front: The legal profession's united in opposition to the cuts to criminal legal aid broke down spectacularly between March and April with two thirds of barristers backing the Criminal Bar Association's deal with justice secretary Chris Grayling.

A total of 1,249 barristers voted in favour of the deal and 629 against in a CBA poll. Richard Atkinson, chairman of the Law Society's criminal law committee, described the CBA's behaviour as "hypocritical and extremely disappointing".

TRAINEE RECRUITMENT

Poaching talent: In September, SJ investigated claims from some law firms that their competitors have an unfair advantage in their recruitment processes by failing to adhere to a voluntary code of conduct put in the place by the SRA. The regulator's voluntary code to good practice for the recruitment of trainee solicitors was drawn up in 2007 to assist with the recruitment of both law and non-law degree students as trainee solicitors.

Employers voluntarily agree to comply with their responsibilities under the code which states that offers of employment as a trainee solicitor will not be made before 1 September in the student's final year of undergraduate study. However, firms that do not sign up to the code may be preying on the fears of students and poaching talent from under the noses of their competitors.

PERSONAL INJURY

Critical peers: The Lord Chancellor was strongly criticised by the House of Lords in November for his Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill (SARAH). The Bill aims to tackle 'compensation culture' and provide volunteers with greater protection from claims of negligence when acting in 'the common good'.

However, Lord Beecham described the Bill as "another Grayling gimmick" and highlighted other issues with which the Lord Chancellor should be more concerned. While Lord Pannick said it was "a statement of the legally obvious".

LEGAL OMBUDSMAN

Travel expenses: The chief legal ombudsman, Adam Sampson, resigned in November following an investigation into governance issues over his travel expenses, which are reported to have been around £20,000 over five years.

Despite the LeO's accounts being signed off by the National Audit Office (NAO) for four years, the NAO described the arrangement as "novel and contentious" because Sampson is said to have claimed for travel from home to work and back again. Sampson, who lives in London but worked out of LeO's Birmingham offices, denied wrongdoing.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

CPD changes: The national education and training company Progressive Legal ceased trading in May after 19 years following the SRA's announcement to abolish the mandatory 16 hours of CPD for solicitors. It was the first course provider to close after the regulator said that a fixed quota of CPD hours should be replaced by an annual declaration of continuing competence.

EMPLOYMENT LAW

Minimum wage: In October, the Birmingham Employment Tribunal was asked to decide whether an assistant was an employee or worker for national minimum wage purposes. Midlands firm, Law Partnership Solicitors, was alleged to have paid a law assistant the "lowly amount" of £20 a day but agreed to pay him a £4,000 backlog after he complained he had not been paid the national minimum wage. Aaron Matthews alleged he was owed a total of £9,995 in unpaid wages because of the minimum wage difference.

BARRISTERS

Public interest: The LeO published its first public interest decision in December against a practising barrister. The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) named Birmingham based Tariq Rehman of Kings Court Chambers, after making 14 decisions against him in the past year. The complaints relate to poor service found in the majority of immigration law cases. The total awards amount to £8,087. With the LeO investigating a number of new complaints against Rehman it decided there was a public risk from his continued operation.

CONDUCT

Strike off: A solicitor was struck off in March for forging signatures on lasting powers of attorney. Katherine Anne Edwards signed certificates which said that, in the opinion of a solicitor, her clients understood what they were doing when they granted the power of attorney. The SRA argued that as well as forging her colleagues' signature, Edwards did not have sufficient experience to know her clients understood what they were doing.

SOLICITORS JOURNAL

New editor: A TV legal expert was revealed as SJ's editor at large in April. Kevin Poulter, an employment law specialist at Bircham Dyson Bell, was announced as the first editor at large of Solicitors Journal as part of a major revamp of the 158-year-old title. Poulter had been a regular writer for SJ and featured as the legal expert on ITV's The Alan Titchmarsh Show as well as contributing to the Guardian and The Times.

PARALEGALS

Qualification route: Guidance issued by the SRA in August will allow paralegals who have passed a legal practice course (LPC) to qualify as solicitors without having to complete a training contract. The Law Society said that although the change was part of the SRA's Training for Tomorrow regulatory reform, it has yet to consult stakeholders on any specified details. SJ

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