The Gazette reported recently that the Legal Services Consumer Panel, which is the body set up by the Legal Services Board to advise it on what is in the best interests of consumers, is generally in favour of letting one solicitor act for both buyer and seller in a conveyancing transaction.

In-house lawyers don’t expect a high profile in the press over the summer months. But July and August this year were different.

The patent blogs – yes, there are such things – have been buzzing this week with the opinion given by the advocates-general of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) on the legality of the proposed scheme to make the patent process more competitive in the EU. And thank goodness for the blogosphere, because without it the opinion might have remained hidden.