Lawyer
suspended in R21m scam - 21 July
An attorney who admitted to running a money-lending operation
through his firm's trust account, causing a loss of nearly
R21-million, was suspended by the Pretoria High Court from
operating as an attorney. It is claimed that Louis Visser started
the money-lending operation in mid-2006 and was now insolvent.
Visser, who had been practising since 2003 under the name of LJ
Visser Attorneys, apparently offered bridging finance to clients
in property and related matters. - IOL
website
Legal
aid auctions on hold after new delay - 21 July
Plans for "reverse" auctions of legal aid contracts to best
value bidders looked in doubt last night after ministers announced
delay of three years. In the face of overwhelming opposition, the
Government and the Legal Services Commission, which runs the £2.1
billion legal aid scheme, announced that they were delaying the
timetable. Two pilots will proceed in July 2010, in Greater
Manchester and Avon and Somerset, but a much longer timescale has
been given to evaluate them. - Times
Online website
Regional
law firms take severe steps to cut costs - 21 July
Britain’s leading regional law firms, suffering even more
severely from the downturn in the legal services market than their
London rivals, are imposing drastic cost-cutting measures in an
attempt to stave off further job losses. - Times
Online website