Headlines – Page 1043

  • News

    ‘No limits’ to regulation review

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    The Ministry of Justice has said there will be no limits to a far-reaching review of the regulation of legal services. Justice minister Helen Grant (pictured) today called on regulators and providers of legal services to show how the burden of regulation can be reduced. ...

  • News

    Takeover fever lifts fast-rising DWF

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    A spate of acquisitions - including that of defunct Cobbetts - boosted income at business law firm DWF by 84% in the latest financial year, while profit per equity partner rose by a comparatively modest 4%. For the year to 30 April, the firm today ...

  • News

    Review of regulation? Let’s fire the LSB for a start

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    In a former life I was an entertainment writer. I interviewed Steve Coogan and Sir Cliff – I even went to a Justin Bieber concert (my hearing is still suffering from the screaming – not my own I should add). I was great fun at dinner ...

  • News

    Maclays to axe up to 30 jobs

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Anglo-Scottish firm Maclay Murray & Spens has announced a redundancy consultation which will lead to up to 30 job losses. About half of the jobs at risk are fee-earning roles, with the firm's corporate and property practices likely to be most affected. All of MMS’s four ...

  • News

    Claims management ‘list of shame’ to go online

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Claims management companies that are under investigation will be named online, the Ministry of Justice said today. The list, which goes live next Thursday, will include details of what action is being taken and the reason for it. The MoJ, which runs ...

  • News

    Financial management

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    As the economy sputters along and the 'green shoots' of growth remain just that, many legal firms are struggling to stay afloat, let alone grow. Even for those finding opportunities to expand, the persistent issue of cash management remains a constant challenge and irrespective of your trading position, it remains ...

  • News

    Treasury counsel condemn reforms to judicial review

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Treasury counsel have joined the wave of concern over the government’s legal aid reforms, warning they will ‘undermine the accountability of public bodies’ and create an ‘underclass’ who will be denied access to the courts. In a letter to the attorney general Dominic Grieve QC, 145 ...

  • News

    Return magistrates’ courts to local control

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    by Penelope Gibbs, director of Transform Justice, a charity working for an effective justice system Recent news that the courts might be privatised was the first time the management of the courts had hit the headlines for years.

  • News

    Client spending squeeze forcing firms to merge

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Large commercial law firms face a squeeze in client legal spending in the next 12 months, as virtually all corporate clients who have not yet reviewed instructions and spend plan to do so. The result will be massive consolidation among firms. That is the conclusion ...

  • News

    Growth rate plummets at top 100 firms

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Fee income growth achieved by the top 100 UK law firms more than halved in 2012/13, according to financial consultant Deloitte. The country’s leading firms managed a 2.6% increase in revenue for the last financial year, compared with a 6.6% increase in 2011/12. The year was capped off by a ...

  • News

    Don’t bad-mouth the profession, Hudson tells Co-op

    2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Co-operative Legal Services has sought to distance itself from comments reportedly made by its sales and marketing director suggesting that putting the customer first is ‘an alien approach’ for solicitors. Reporting the launch of the Co-op Legal Services’s multi-million-pound TV and radio advertising campaign, Marketing Week ...

  • News

    SRA vigil as over 50 law firms fear collapse

    27 May 2013

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority is continuing to supervise more than 50 firms at risk of financial collapse, after reporting a figure of 56 in March.

  • News

    Legal firms looking to outsource back-office work

    27 May 2013

    Outsourcing providers say they are experiencing a wave of interest from law firms looking to transfer the employment of back-office staff.la

  • News

    Quarter of GCs lack resources to manage

    27 May 2013

    As European in-house legal budgets rise across the board, a divide is opening up between departments that have sufficient resources to provide legal advice coverage, and those that do not. That is the conclusion of benchmarking research by Consero Group carried out among members of its European General Counsel Forum. ...

  • News

    EU justice growth scheme under fire

    27 May 2013

     The EU’s ‘Justice for Growth’ project,came in for criticism at last week’s plenary session of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) in Athens

  • News

    Lexcel divide could help cut PII premiums

    27 May 2013

    The Law Society is considering expanding its Lexcel practice management standard scheme by creating separate quality marks for sectors such as private practice and in-house.

  • News

    Colombia lawyers ‘still persecuted’ - Caravana report

    27 May 2013

    Assassinations, death threats, unlawful detention and other abuses of lawyers continue unchecked in Colombia

  • News

    Society guidance to stave off flood risk

    27 May 2013

    The Law Society has published a practice note to help conveyancers protect the owners of an estimated five million properties at risk of flooding.

  • News

    UK urged not to opt out of criminal law initiatives

    27 May 2013

    The government’s indecision over whether or not to opt in to more than 130 EU criminal law measures owes more to ‘political impetus’ than the desire to see good law, 

  • News

    Tell clients to donate more in wills, charities group urges

    2013-05-27T00:00:00Z

    A charities group has called on solicitors to remind clients to consider leaving money to good causes in their will, after a trial scheme increased legacies left by £1m.