All Law Gazette articles in Archive – Page 1589

  • News

    Referral fee ban is SRA's mission impossible

    2012-06-13T00:00:00Z

    As any lazy person knows (I’m told), it’s pretty easy to get out of doing a job you hate. Just moan incessantly about having to make the tea/clean the bathroom/take a trip to Westfield, to the point where you’ll never be asked again. If all else fails, do such a ...

  • News

    Shared parenting presumption in law reform proposal

    2012-06-13T00:00:00Z

    The government seeks to introduce a legal presumption of ‘shared parenting’ where relationships break down, under proposals outlined today. The plans to strengthen the law so children have an ongoing relationship with both parents if they separate are set out in the Ministry of Justice consulation. ...

  • News

    Could 8 Out of 10 Cats help market your firm?

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    I quite like watching the TV comedy show 8 Out of 10 Cats. Not just because of its entertainment value but because of what it highlights about marketing – yes, even the marketing of law firms. In case anyone doesn’t know, 8 Out of 10 Cats ...

  • News

    ‘Hundreds’ of miscarriage of justice claims over legal advice failings

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    Hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees convicted of immigration-related offences such as failure to produce a passport may have been the victims of miscarriages of justice, the Gazette can reveal.

  • News

    CCRC concern over advice given to refugees

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is concerned that potentially hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees have been wrongly convicted after being advised to plead guilty to offences relating to their entry to the UK.

  • News

    SIFA warns against liberalisation of referrals process

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    Solicitors referring clients for financial advice will be exposed to indemnity claims if the process is liberalised, the profession has been warned. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is considering relaxing rules which dictate that lawyers can refer clients only to independent financial advisers, as opposed to advisers ...

  • News

    CPS delays rollout of ALS interpreters

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    The Crown Prosecution Service has delayed its rollout of the Ministry of Justice framework agreement for the provision of interpreters and translators, the Gazette has learned. The CPS was due to sign up fully to the agreement on 1 June. The MoJ ...

  • News

    Chancery Lane warns of ‘anomalies’ in referral fee ban

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    The Law Society has warned of a ‘danger of anomalies’ in the government’s plan for banning referral fees. The Ministry of Justice is finalising the specifics of the ban, which will apply only to personal injury cases. Payment and receipt of the fees will be prohibited ...

  • News

    How firms can benefit from lawyers taking up non-executive appointments

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    For some, the lure of a string of non-executive directorships represents a potentially lucrative nest-egg between giving up full-time legal work and retirement proper. For others, the chance to be on the board as a part-time director provides invaluable education into how organisations are run and how boards operate. They ...

  • News

    Women ‘out-perform men in judicial appointments’

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    Women made up around half the judicial appointments during a six-month period, despite forming as little as a fifth of the candidate pool. The sixth set of official statistics published today by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) shows women starting to outperform men. Based on 13 ...

  • News

    Two High Court cases focus on the legality of assisted dying

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    Next week the High Court will begin hearing two cases that raise profound ethical issues. The question in each case is whether it can ever be lawful to help another person take their own life. This is a subject on which we might reasonably have expected ...

  • News

    Nominations open for Law Society Excellence Awards

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    The Gazette has opened nominations for its Legal Personality of the Year accolade, one of a suite of Law Society Excellence Awards designed to recognise the profession’s most outstanding and dynamic practitioners. This is the sixth year of the Society’s Excellence awards, which include: Solicitor ...

  • News

    Top GP backs government plans to check whiplash claims

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    A leading GP has backed government plans to cut the cost of whiplash claims by requiring claimants to see specialists. Dr Peter Swinyard, chairman of the Family Doctors Association, told the Gazette there had been a marked increase in patients complaining of stiff necks following car ...

  • News

    The 'bishops versus the lawyers'?

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    The schismatic nature of the debate on same-sex marriage is redolent of pre-modern times. Indeed, the Telegraph went as far back as Henry Vlll, asking readers (somewhat melodramatically): ‘is gay marriage the greatest threat to the established role of the Church of England since the Reformation?’

  • News

    Bulldog muzzled

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    We must confess that the Obiter office was deserted by two minutes to five on Monday. Our patriotic/deluded team was keen to join in a lusty rendition of the national anthem with Stevie G and the lads, evoking the Agincourt spirit for England’s Euro 2012 clash with France.

  • News

    Greenwich LBC sees off equality challenge

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    Greenwich Community Law Centre (the law centre) once again failed to overturn a decision by Greenwich London Borough Council (the council) after the law centre was not reappointed following a recommissioning exercise. On 24 April, the Court of Appeal, in upholding the 21 December 2011 decision of Cranston J, found ...

  • News

    SRA chief wants more trainee positions

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    Solicitors Regulation Authority board chair Charles Plant (pictured) today calls on the Law Society to launch a campaign encouraging solicitors to employ more trainees, after the regulator abolished the minimum salary requirement. And he insists there is ‘little evidence’ that the 30-year-old mandatory minimum ever met its stated objectives of ...

  • News

    News focus: College of Law chief explains post-buyout plans

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    The College of Law (CoL) is set to expand in the UK and overseas with ‘brand and values intact’ following its £200m sale to a private equity firm, chief executive Nigel Savage has told the Gazette. Savage condemned the current wide-ranging review of legal education and ...

  • News

    Combating forced marriages requires more than robust legal measures

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    by Talvinder Penaser, solicitor at Leeds Family Law The legislation on tackling forced marriage provides civil remedies for a breach of a forced marriage protection order (FMPOs).

  • News

    Shropshire Council sets up legal company

    2012-06-14T00:00:00Z

    A local authority is to incorporate its own trading company to supply legal and other support services. Shropshire Council last week endorsed a plan for setting up the new company, to be known as ip&e group Limited, standing for ‘Inspiring Partnerships and Enterprise’. ...