All Law Gazette articles in Archive – Page 1266
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Local government - London Authorities Mutual Limited
The phoenix is a splendid mythical bird that is serious about regeneration. Near the end of its 500-1,000 year lifecycle it burns itself to ashes, only to emerge anew to live through another lifetime.
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Last chance to see… that PII form before your broker pulls it away
Ok, I promise that we'll stop talking about PII now. Actually, I'm lying – it's not that I find it the most riveting subject in legal practice right now, but it is very timely, as we news people say, and we've a duty to give you as much information about ...
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Beware CMCs bearing gifts
I read with interest the letter from Denise Kitchener, chief executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, headed ‘Cutting out the middle man’ (see [2009] Gazette, 20 August, 5). I found myself smiling wryly at the comment of the Ministry of Justice regulator who – presumably with a straight ...
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Separated from parliament, will the Supreme Court become too powerful?
Creating the Supreme Court ‘as a result of what appears to have been a last-minute decision over a glass of whisky’ seems to verge on the frivolous, Lord Neuberger tells me. ‘You muck around with a constitution like the British Constitution at your peril, because ...
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City firms reject panel pitch offers due to billing terms
City firms are hitting back at increasingly aggressive cost-cutting by their corporate clients by rejecting offers of panel pitches or putting in pitches that they know are destined to fail, the Gazette has learned. Senior lawyers from the magic circle down to mid-tier commercial firms told ...
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SRA is striving to boost efficiency as demands significantly increase
The increase in the practising certificate (PC) fee has come at a difficult time, as the recession continues to bite in most sectors of the legal profession. Members of the profession have the right to expect that the SRA will do its utmost to avoid placing an additional financial burden ...
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Breaking the mould
As one might imagine, City lawyers are not the only ones to enjoy a few perks when times are good. So does the City’s troupe of journalists. When cash is plentiful, so are the freebies, and magic circle firm Allen & Overy is (or was) one of the most generous. ...
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Carbon footprint pledge
City firm Olswang has pledged to cut its carbon emissions by 10% in 2010 as part of a new environmental campaign. The 10:10 campaign, launched last week, was set up ahead of December’s climate change talks in Copenhagen. Olswang, the only law firm among the founding members of the campaign, ...
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CFS panel cull deferred pending talks
The Law Society has secured a two-week stay of execution for sole practitioners in a ‘first round’ of negotiations over the decision to axe 3,600 practitioners from the conveyancing panel of the newly merged Britannia and Co-operative Financial Services (CFS). Sole practitioners will remain on the ...
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Personal injury claims portal under fire
An online personal injury service that claims to save consumers time and money by cutting lawyers out of PI claims has come under fire from solicitors. Lawyers claimed the new service would see claimants ‘swallowed alive’ by companies’ claims departments. Itsmyclaim.com describes ...
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Helping the community is good for law's hard-nosed image
Corporate social responsibility has come of age. Everybody is embracing it, from magic circle firms to sole practitioners, all trying to be considerate neighbours, treat others with respect, reduce fuel consumption, recycle waste materials, participate in the community and adopt other responsible behaviours.
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Employment complaints rise by a third – LCS
Complaints against employment solicitors have risen by almost a third in the past year, while personal injury lawyers saw a 15% rise, the Gazette has learned. However, complaints against conveyancing solicitors fell by nearly a fifth, to 1,184. The latest figures, obtained ...
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SRA considers foreign lawyer language test
Foreign qualified lawyers seeking to practise in England and Wales may have to pass an English language test under proposals to be considered by the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority board this week. The SRA’s education and training committee has put forward the recommendation as an amendment to ...
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The true cost of social mobility
Your feature about social mobility underplayed what can be the biggest barrier for applicants to the law – money (see [2009] Gazette, 20 August, 8).
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Court jesters offer light relief
Is there something about the courtroom – the gravitas of the surroundings, the adversarial ambience – that makes people’s minds (professionals included) turn to mush? Having stumbled across some of the amusing courtroom quotes collated by Mary Louise Gilman, editor of the National Shorthand Reporter, Obiter is beginning to wonder. ...
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Defendants on videolink 'get raw deal', warn solicitors
Defendants who appear in court via videolink are being ‘treated differently’ from those who appear in person, solicitors have warned, with a much higher proportion going unrepresented. The pilot virtual court, whereby defendants make their first appearance in court via videolink from a police station, has ...
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Swiss legal professional privilege plea for foreign in-house lawyers
Europe’s largest association of corporate general counsel has asked the Swiss government to bolster legal professional privilege for foreign in-house lawyers working in the country. The call comes after the Swiss government put forward a draft bill to grant resident corporate counsel a right to legal professional privilege – a ...
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New ideas to squeeze more value from private practice
Long gone are the days when going in-house was likened to putting on a comfy pair of slippers. General counsel now enjoy high status as custodians of the corporate purse strings. They want more for their money and are getting it. Fixed fees and rigorous panel ...
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Solicitors in referral tie-up with IFAs
Solicitors and independent financial advisers (IFAs) have entered into a nationwide tie-up to take advantage of the relaxation of the rules on partnerships between lawyers and non-lawyers. Some 600 law firm members of the 360 Legal Group will be given access to 1,700 IFA members of ...