Deven Pamben
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Tribunals in Wales face major shake-up
Tribunals in Wales face substantial reform after their supervisory body found them lacking in independence, openness, impartiality and efficiency.
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Straw vows corruption bill will become law
Justice secretary Jack Straw has told parliament that he is determined to ensure that the draft bribery bill becomes legislation before a general election. He was responding last week to a joint committee’s concerns about the parliamentary time available for the new measure, which would create two new offences.
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Kent local authority legal teams join forces
Three mid-Kent local authorities are to join forces in a shared legal services project that aims to save more than £250,000 a year.
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Cuts, freezes and sabbaticals mooted at top-100 firms
Top law firms are re-evaluating their staffing policies by introducing more flexible working to avoid making redundancies, according to research by Sweet & Maxwell.
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Charles Plant named as SRA’s next chair
Charles Plant has been appointed chair of the Solicitors Regulation Authority board. The Herbert Smith consultant will take up his post on 1 January 2010, taking over from Peter Williamson. The appointment was made by a panel of five, chaired by Elizabeth Filkin, the former parliamentary commissioner for standards.
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Professional independence in danger, incoming president warns
The legal profession is in danger of losing its independence, incoming Law Society president Bob Heslett warned last week.
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Law Society research shows women’s share of the profession growing
The number of women admitted to the profession grew five times faster than the rate for men in the 10 years to July 2008, new Law Society research reveals.
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MoJ publishes report on local legal advice
A government-commissioned report on local legal advice provision has recommended that the Legal Services Commission work with service providers to reduce the bureaucratic burdens heaped upon them.
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Lawyers on honours list
Michael Smyth, a partner at Clifford Chance, has been awarded a CBE for services to pro bono legal work in the Queen’s birthday honours list. A partner since 1990, Smyth is an author of Business and Human Rights Act (2000) and chairman of Public Concern at Work, the whistleblowing charity.
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LSB’s £20m is a drop in the ocean, says Kenny
The £20m set-up costs of the Legal Services Board and Office for Legal Complaints to be paid for by the sector ‘is a not a real issue’, according to LSB chief executive Chris Kenny.
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Chancery Lane defers decision on compensation fund levy
The Law Society’s Council yesterday deferred a final decision on the level of this year’s compensation fund levy until its next monthly meeting in July.Society president Paul Marsh said this was to accommodate further discussion with the SRA on the matter.
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LCS puts coal-compensation claims on hold
The Legal Complaints Service has gone against the advice of its watchdog by refusing to re-open around 160 complaints against Yorkshire law firm Raleys concerning compensation payments to miners.
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SRA proposes recovering costs of investigations
Solicitors found guilty of breaking rules could be further hit in the pocket with the cost of investigations doubling under plans put forward by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
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Chancery Lane defers decision on compensation fund levy
The Law Society’s Council today deferred a final decision on the level of this year’s compensation fund levy until its next monthly meeting in July. Society president Paul Marsh said this was to accommodate further discussion with the SRA on the matter.
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Forced-marriage case training for lawyers
Solicitors working on cases involving forced marriage and honour-based violence are to be offered specialist training and accreditation.
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Whitehall department struggles to recruit BME solicitors
One of the biggest Whitehall departments is having a ‘depressing’ struggle recruiting black and minority ethnic lawyers, according to its legal chief.
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Former justice minister cleared of code breach
Former justice minister Shahid Malik (pictured) has been cleared of breaching the ministerial code over a rental agreement.
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Law firms must adopt a mature attitude to age
During a recent speech to aspiring lawyers at the College of Law, Cherie Booth QC mentioned age and how ‘we’ have not got our heads around the issue.
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Appeal court denies attempt to block publication of complaint details
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is considering the ramifications of a Court of Appeal decision to allow the magazine Private Eye to publish details of a complaint against former Law Society president Michael Napier. Napier, senior partner at Irwin Mitchell, had been seeking an injunction to stop publication of identifying details ...
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Warning on the cards for 11,000 law firms
Solicitors in England and Wales are to be issued with warning cards to help prevent them becoming involved in fraudulent activity.