Radio Silence 

Training today it might be quiet here.

Little by Little 

The written guidance for 2013 Contract work continues to trickle out. Yesterday saw the publication of Lord Chancellor’s Guidance on Civil Legal Aid. It comes with this warning however: “It should be noted that this guidance is based on the Act and Regulations still subject to Parliamentary approval”. Nothing like being prepared well in advance!

Clarification 

I was asked to confirm the precise requirements for Social Services provided evidence of Domestic Abuse from the Draft Civil (Procedure) Regualtions at the end of the webinar last Friday. As we were close to “time gentlemen please” and I had a thick level arch file to thumb through to find it, this was not […]

Insourcing 

We have previously used TLS’ Richard Miller’s clever argument that Government does not pay for its external legal advice on the cheap. We use this, for instance, when Chris Grayling is calling for QCs to be used less frequently in the Criminal Justice system. A “We wont if you wont” response follows. The more serious […]

Storm Clouds? 

Is it a coincidence that 2 of the top 4 stories in the current Gazette involve northern firms going into administration? The circumstances surrounding Cobbetts is the more controversial, especially the “pre pack” sale and the resultant 2p in the pound to unsecured creditors. (Do not get me started on this topic and administrators). Closer […]

London Can Take It 

I am going to see Public Service Broadcasting, in Hartlepool, in a couple of weeks time, and then again in Boro a few weeks later. I think this it is really, really clever and very different from my standard post Fleet Foxes output.

Computer Says No 

Yesterday we had a bit of a moan about the LSC’s apparent policy of rejecting every enhancement claim on a CDS 7. One can’t help but speculate that such a claim, for the ongoing Pistorius case, might meet with the same response: It could not be seen that exceptional competence, skill, expertise or dispatch had […]

Blanket Policy? 

I upset someone at the LSC recently for publicly suggesting they were operating a blanket policy. (Actually I did no such thing but that’s what happens when you rely upon heresy, and worse still give a damn about what I say in public). Now I am not alleging a blanket policy here. Back in September […]

Look After the Pennies 

Twice this week clients have used an almost identical version of “Is it just me or are the LSC trying to claw back every single penny they can?” Andy has just said the near same thing. Yesterdays conversation involved a cost neutral VAT matter – “if, acting on your advice*, we have wrongly claimed VAT […]

And Im Not Even Joking 

Have you had problems, on billing, with regard to disbursements? We thought so. We have too, and plenty of them. This, from the LSC, goes some way to help, no really it does. It has also received a grunt of appreciation from the Costs Drafting team at HQ. It is only 3 pages long, covers […]