Features | Law Gazette

My Legal Life: Jane Keir

jmaher — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:23:54 +0000

I didn’t have a strong urge to follow any of the subjects I did at A-level – French, history and politics. I knew I didn’t want to be a teacher or a linguist. My careers adviser said law had a broad basis. I was articled with Henmans in Oxford. They had four offices and it was like working for four different law firms.

Law firms and bank finance

jmaher — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:31:03 +0000

Solicitors who want to retain – let alone extend – their borrowing will have to shape up, think ahead and be prepared to ‘put some skin in the game’ if they expect any bank to fund them in future. That is the stark message from bankers and sector consultants, six years into the worst financial crisis the UK has witnessed in 100 years.

My Legal Life: Mark Stephens CBE

jmaher — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:51:24 +0000

I was tricked into a legal career through a conspiracy between my father (an artist) and our lodger (in the music business) who thought I should have ‘a proper job’. I wasn’t so terribly disappointed to have been hoodwinked into the law. I feel its my natural métier. I was taught a Marxist analysis of the law at university and it made me think about the law very differently.

Indonesia: treasure islands

jmaher — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:24:32 +0000

Indonesia’s rise as a major industrial power is attracting foreign investors and an increasing number of international law firms. South-east Asia’s biggest economy has been expanding steadily over the past decade. Growth was 6.2% in 2012, and although it slowed down in the first quarter of 2013, the archipelago remains an attractive investment destination, thanks to well-developed energy and resources sectors and its burgeoning book of business related to sharia-compliant banking and finance.

My Legal Life: Sherina Petit

jmaher — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:24:23 +0000

My grandfather was a solicitor, and my dad still is a solicitor, in Mumbai. During the school summer holidays, a great day out was to sit with my dad in the office. I have always wanted to be a lawyer and I started work as a trainee with dad, who was a partner at a magic circle-equivalent firm in Bombay. I went to Government Law College – attending at 6.55am. At 10.30am I would go to work until about 10pm. It was pretty full-on, but the best training was on the job rather than in law school.

Competition law

jmaher — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:52:57 +0000

The coalition government was just six months old when it announced a ‘bonfire’ of 192 quangos, among them the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading. Fast forward to 2013 and, albeit without much ministerial fanfare, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has a CEO-designate, Alex Chisholm. He is preparing to lead a merged organisation set to be formally established on 1 October; the authority will assume full functions and powers in April 2014.

Interview: Lisa Cameron

jmaher — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:05:04 +0000

Big Four professional services giant Ernst & Young has a code referred to internally as ‘The Ten Commandments’. They are all core to the firm’s business, but three in particular weigh on UK general counsel Lisa Cameron’s mind: one, nine and 10 – respectively ‘take on the right clients’, ‘always consult’ and ‘always live our values’.

My Legal Life: Richard Charlton

jmaher — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:37:20 +0000

I chaired a tenants association in Stepney, east London, and at the time the government was trying to take our homes away from us by force under the Housing Act 1988. By intensive lobbying and campaigning we defeated them in the House of Lords and the law changed. That was a watershed for me in recognising the power of the law.

Law centres: living on the edge

jmaher — Fri, 24 May 2013 10:12:40 +0000

Last week’s London Legal Walk, coming weeks after swingeing legal aid cuts were introduced, could be read as a show of strength by the whole legal community. Some 7,500 lawyers and staff from firms, legal departments and chambers of all sizes walked to raise funds to support local advice agencies. At the time of writing, an impressive £575,000 was raised. But that in no way comes near the amount taken out of scope by ministers.

Advising small businesses

jmaher — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:04:59 +0000

Last week the Legal Services Board published research into the legal needs of small businesses (tinyurl.com/omgmthu). The report, which analyses the findings of a legal needs survey of 9,703 small businesses, is broadly representative of the 4m enterprises which constitute 99% of all businesses in England and Wales (defined as employing between one and 50 people). It shows high rates of problem incidence – 38% a year – and low usage of legal services. Only 12% of legal problems result in a demand for advice from solicitors’ firms.