All Law Gazette articles in Archive – Page 1409
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Lawyers, banks and balance sheets
Post recession, the banks have been labelled with the word ‘difficult’. It seems that many law firms maintain the policy of minimum contact and disclosure. What is this based on? Dare I suggest one reason might be that the bank will find out just what weaknesses exist in these law ...
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'Poor financial management’ at MoJ, committee concludes
The Ministry of Justice risks making ‘ill-informed’ cuts to services when attempting to slash £2bn from its budget, unless it gathers adequate data and fully understands what it spends, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said today.
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STEP members optimistic about 2011
More than half of the respondents to a survey of trust and estates practitioners expect that business across all areas of the practice they work in will ‘improve’ or ‘improve significantly’ over the coming year, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) has reported.
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Chancery Lane hails landmark ruling on access to justice
Solicitors must be allowed to shoulder the risk of adverse costs orders on behalf of their clients to ensure proper access to justice, the Court of Appeal ruled today. Giving judgment in Sibthorpe and Morris v London Borough of Southwark, the court said that a conditional ...
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Conveyancing Quality Scheme advertising campaign to launch
The Law Society is to launch a consumer-facing advertising campaign to promote its Conveyancing Quality Scheme this spring, it said last week. The campaign will feature online ‘pay per click’ banner advertising, as well as promotional material including posters and stickers which will be made available ...
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Legal aid cuts - what are the alternatives?
In its impact assessment on the legal aid green paper, the government notes that people who no longer receive legal aid may tackle disputes differently or - as seems more likely in many situations - may decide not to tackle an issue at all. Ministers accept ...
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Solicitor Deal to head Appeals Unit
Solicitor Angela Deal (pictured) is to head the new specialist Appeals Unit launched today by the Crown Prosecution Service. The Appeals Unit, which is part of the Special Crime Division at CPS headquarters, was initially set up in June 2010, but has been taking on ...
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College of Law launches two-year law degree
The College of Law has developed a two-year law degree that will focus on improving students’ employment prospects and practical legal skills while covering the curriculum in the same depth as a traditional three-year course, it said this week.
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Calunius Capital raises £40m fund
Third-party litigation funder Calunius Capital has raised £40m from a private fundraising in Guernsey, marking the first successful closure of a third-party litigation fund for 15 months. Calunius, which previously acted as a broker rather than an investor in litigation, will use its Calunius Litigation Risk ...
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Six solicitors defend £50m fraud charges
Six solicitors charged with offences relating to a series of alleged commercial mortgage frauds worth a total of nearly £50m appeared in Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which brought the charges, alleges that the six solicitors and two non-solicitors ‘participated in ...
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Legal aid cuts spark child abduction fears
Leading family solicitors have warned that withdrawing legal aid for private law family cases could lead desperate parents to abduct their children. Lawyers also predicted that the government’s reforms would prompt people to make false allegations of domestic violence in order to obtain legal aid. ...
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Misusing ABSs
I refer to the letter from Tim O'Sullivan of the Bournemouth and District Law Society. I agree with his view, and predict that alternative business structures may lead to a tidal wave of claims arising from misuse of client money and the use of ABS law firms as a front ...
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Coalminer court actions set for 'special hearing’
All pending court actions brought by former coalminers who allege their solicitors did not claim adequate government compensation on their behalf have been suspended pending a special hearing in April, the Gazette has learned. The miners allege their solicitors did not claim adequate compensation for vibration ...
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Administrative law
Discrimination – Employment – Government administration – Department for Business Innovation and Skills R (on the application of Cordant Group Plc) (claimant) v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (defendant) and HM Treasury (interested party): QBD (Admin) ...
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Cuts will ‘prevent young lawyers from entering legal aid sector’
The proposed cuts to legal aid could prevent low-income students from entering the legal aid sector, the Junior Lawyers Division has warned. In response to the government’s consultation on legal aid reform, the JLD has said that the proposed £350m budget cuts will ‘severely affect’ entry ...
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Aircraft purchase, Russian deal, water metering, and property
Easy purchase: City firm Norton Rose advised airline easyJet on buying 15 Airbus A320 aircraft worth $1.1bn (£700m); upgrading its order for 20 A319 aircraft to 20 A320 aircraft, and securing options for a further 33 A320 aircraft. Airbus was advised by its ...
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A practical approach to LPC over-subscription
by Rachel Falconer, West London Law Society Junior Lawyers Division committee member and solicitor with Hodders Law In October 2010, BPP announced the decision to open three new branches nationwide, namely in Cambridge, Newcastle and Liverpool. This announcement sparked a heated debate and provoked passionate challenges ...
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Marketing budgets – not such a black art!
Are you in marketing budget limbo-land? Perhaps, you submitted your 2011 marketing budget for approval last year, but do not expect to hear what and how much has been approved for at least a month, maybe longer? Or maybe you are just starting ...
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Jackson attacks government's partial reform plan
Lord Justice Jackson criticised the way the government plans to implement his reforms to civil justice costs in a sternly worded letter to the justice secretary last week. Jackson (pictured) said the detailed package of reforms aimed at reducing civil litigation costs, which he published last ...
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DLA Piper to merge with Australian firm
National firm DLA Piper is poised to merge with its Australian associate firm DLA Phillips Fox, the firms announced today. If partners approve the merger, DLA Piper, which posted global revenues of £581m for the 2009/10 financial year, would have the biggest Australian operation for a ...