Headlines – Page 1385
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Language wars – a preliminary skirmish on patents
The patent blogs – yes, there are such things – have been buzzing this week with the opinion given by the advocates-general of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) on the legality of the proposed scheme to make the patent process more competitive in the EU. And ...
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Media management skills becoming a must for in-house lawyers
In-house lawyers don’t expect a high profile in the press over the summer months. But July and August this year were different.
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Law Society commences court action over tender process
The Law Society is taking the Legal Services Commission to court seeking a declaration that the family tender process and outcome are ‘unlawful’, and asking for a suspension of the new contracts. Chancery Lane has today formally commenced judicial review proceedings of the LSC’s recent tender ...
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Could acting for both sides change the nature of the conveyancer’s role?
The Gazette reported recently that the Legal Services Consumer Panel, which is the body set up by the Legal Services Board to advise it on what is in the best interests of consumers, is generally in favour of letting one solicitor act for both buyer and seller in a conveyancing ...
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You can buy in advice, but not organisational change
Organisational change is in the headlines everywhere this summer. The NHS is a particular focus with BHS boss Sir Philip Green being asked to make recommendations for change. In a recent Radio 4 Today programme interview on this issue, businessman Sir Gerry Robinson and Professor Colin Talbot's comments on Sir ...
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High Court judge brands welfare tender ‘irrational’
A High Court judge has today branded some of the criteria used by the Legal Services Commission in its recent social welfare tender ‘utterly absurd and totally irrational’. Mr Justice Collins also said the ‘tick-box’ exercise adopted by the LSC was not appropriate for tendering to ...
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Social mobility and exclusion in the legal profession
Last summer, when arch-Blairite Alan Milburn produced a report for the Cabinet Office on social mobility and the professions, it got limited publicity.
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Law Commission consults on criminal law reforms
The Law Commission has proposed a cut in the number of criminal offences for regulatory breaches. In a consultation published today, the commission said using civil penalties for technical breaches of farming, food safety, banking and retail laws would save the criminal justice system £11m a ...
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Hammonds in talks on transatlantic merger
City firm Hammonds and US firm Squire Sanders & Dempsey are discussing a merger that would create a 1,300-lawyer transatlantic practice with combined revenues of more than £400m. In a statement released this afternoon, the firms said that they are ‘evaluating the possibility’ of a tie-up, ...
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Good timing makes law firm marketing easier
As with so many things in life, timing is vital when it comes to writing law articles as a way of marketing your firm. Good timing can improve your chances of getting your article published in the media and it can help maintain a steady flow of material for your ...
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Indemnity insurer ‘breaking FSA rules’, says Chancery Lane
Insurers are breaching Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules by telling law firms to accept professional indemnity insurance (PII) quotes within seven days, the Law Society has said.
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High street firms ‘fear for the future’
The future of many high street firms could be in jeopardy unless they adopt a more customer-friendly approach to business, according to a new study. Some 87% of lawyers in sole practitioner and small firms already fear for their future, the analysis found, with many ...
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The coming regulatory revolution
The European Commission is concerned at the take-up of electronic commerce in the EU.
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Immigration cap will ‘strangle’ City law firms, Chancery Lane warns
The government’s plan to impose an annual cap on immigration will ‘strangle’ City law firms, the Law Society warned today. The cap will ‘severely restrict’ firms’ ability to conduct overseas work; prevent firms from attracting overseas lawyers and moving employees to London from their international offices; ...
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Lloyds’ hidden agenda
Despite 26 years of good service, we have recently suffered the blow of withdrawal of our conveyancing panel membership by Lloyds Banking Group. We are obviously taking immediate steps to seek the rescission of this decision. It is important for firms to appreciate ...
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Duty solicitors are not ‘overpaid’
I was surprised to see Mr Edwards’ claim that many duty solicitors are ‘overpaid’. When one considers the hours worked, experience gained and education obtained in the pursuit of duty solicitor status, duty solicitors are in the main underpaid. If one compares a duty solicitor’s salary to that ...
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Big is not better
On 10 February 2010 several large legal aid fims met Jack Straw and discussed the future. The MoJ has disclosed the names of the firms which attended but has indicated that the agenda and minutes are secret. I wonder if Tony Edwards' recent comment in the ...
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Unrealistic deadlines
I am primarily a conveyancing solicitor and have recently been dealing with a number of purchases whereby I have been given 10 working days to exchange contracts from receipt of the papers. Do solicitors not realise when placing these deadlines that the solicitor acting for purchasers needs to apply for ...
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Green nightmare
Department of Energy and Climate Change documents have reportedly revealed that the much-vaunted Carbon Reduction Scheme will be enforced against company executives and employees with the sanction of heavy fines and even imprisonment if there is perceived to be any failure to provide ‘assistance’ and so on. This revelation is ...
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The age of criminal responsibility is much too low
Following the sentencing of two 11-year-old boys at the Old Bailey for the attempted rape of an eight-year-old girl, the Law Society has called for the age of criminal responsibility to be increased.