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Chronicle of a death foretold (Pt 1)

08 May 2015 / Kerry Underwood
Issue: 7651 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession
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Kerry Underwood documents the spectacular failure of ABSs

Alternative business structures (ABSs) were put in place to justify an attempt to eradicate lawyers from representing ordinary members of the public. Not surprisingly they have proved to be a spectacular failure, both individually and conceptually.

It will be a central theme of this three-part series on the decline and fall of ABSs that governments of all persuasions, along with civil servants, many academics and the usual suspects in terms of advisers and self-selected consumer spokespeople have wholly misunderstood the role and nature of law and lawyers and the judicial process leading to reforms that have deeply damaged this country and threaten to set it on the road to totalitarianism.

Some observers believe that this is a deliberate and calculated attack on a system (the courts) and a profession (lawyers) who do not do the government’s bidding, whatever the colour of that government. Legal aid cuts are cited as key evidence by the conspiracy theorists. No-one, not even the government, maintains

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
Lawyers have broadly welcomed plans to electronically tag up to 22,000 more offenders, scrap most prison terms below a year and make prisoners ‘earn’ early release
David Lammy, Ellie Reeves and Baroness Levitt have taken up office at the Ministry of Justice, following the cabinet reshuffle
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