Headlines – Page 1401
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News
Stock market jitters hit equity capital markets teams
A year of failed and suspended stock market listings has hit the fortunes of equity capital markets (ECM) teams across the City, senior corporate finance lawyers said this week. A far higher than average number of unfinished initial public offerings (IPOs) has dampened fee income, damaged ...
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Forced mediation 'may not serve interests of children'
Family solicitors have warned that government plans to divert private law disputes over children away from the courts and towards mediation may not lead to child-focused outcomes. One of the options being considered by the government’s family justice review is to make mediation compulsory in ...
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From social media to business tool
These days it is not a question of whether or not we should embrace technological changes and emerging social media but more a question of how do we keep up with the waves of changes and innovations? If we don’t keep on top of these things and make the most ...
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MoJ confirms quango cull
The Ministry of Justice has today confirmed that the Youth Justice Board and two court rules committees are among the legal quangos to be abolished as part of a drive to cut costs and ‘reinvigorate public trust’ in democracy. The bodies to be scrapped include: the ...
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How fair is Britain?
Recent research claims that the ‘inherently masculine’ UK legal profession still has a long way to go before it achieves an acceptable level of diversity and equality.
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New sentencing guidelines proposed for assault
The Sentencing Council has proposed changes to the guidance given to judges on sentencing people for assault. In a consultation paper published today, it proposes that those convicted of assault should be sentenced based on the harm caused to the victim and their culpability, rather than ...
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How law firms can reduce the cost of property liabilities
Without question, the use of property by legal firms as both a financial and strategic tool has evolved very quickly in the past three years, aided by the recession. It has transformed from a traditional ‘place to do work’ to one with a myriad of agendas. ...
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LSC announces contract start dates
The LSC has announced that all non-family legal aid contracts and family mediation contracts will start on 15 November 2010. It also announced that all current ‘family only’ and ‘family with housing’ contracts will be extended until 15 December 2010. The quashing order issued two weeks ago by the High ...
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College of Law supports Browne’s plans on higher education
The government must follow Lord Browne’s recommendation to remove the fee cap on higher education, the College of Law said today. Such a move is necessary to increase competition between higher education establishments, and remove the ‘dividing line’ between public and private tertiary education, the College ...
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Information to unlock bank finance
If there was a core message for attendees at last week’s annual 360 Legal Conference to take away from the day, it was the urgency of addressing financial questions.
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Law Society issues warning over government cuts
The Law Society has warned that access to justice must be protected, ahead of the announcement of the government’s spending review next week. Law Society president Linda Lee said the government must commit to funding legal aid and warned against spending cuts that restrict access to ...
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Sadiq Khan named as shadow lord chancellor
Former human rights solicitor Sadiq Khan was today named shadow lord chancellor, as new Labour leader Ed Miliband assembled his first shadow cabinet. Khan, who was a partner at London human rights firm Christian Khan before standing as Labour candidate for Tooting in the 2005 general ...
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Lord Young declines meeting with profession’s regulator
Lord Young of Graffham turned down an offer to meet with the solicitors’ regulator in advance of his report on health and safety and the ‘compensation culture’, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said. ...
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High Court defamation claims soar
The number of High Court defamation claims has risen to the highest level since the Woolf reforms, figures have shown. Defamation claims in the High Court rose to 298 last year, up 15% from 259 in 2008, according to an analysis of judicial statistics carried out ...
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Homeowners' policy could lower PII premiums
Insurance provider First Title has launched a homeowners' protection policy (HOPP) that it claims could lower professional indemnity insurance (PII) premiums for solicitors, if it becomes widely adopted by clients. First Title said that a similar product launched in Canada led to a 50% drop in ...
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The lie behind the money laundering legislation
I am a regular listener to Radio 4’s Any Questions programme, and always wonder about those panellists who are greeted by a round of applause after their contribution. What must it feel like? Well, now I know. Last week, I was in Vancouver for the International Bar Association’s annual conference. ...
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House price fall could prove fillip for conveyancers
Conveyancing solicitors moved to calm concerns over a looming housing crash this week, and suggested that a fall in house prices could have a ‘silver lining’ for the profession. Last week, the Halifax reported a 3.6% decline in house prices in September, the biggest monthly fall ...
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Is Lord Young being too harsh on personal injury lawyers?
No personal injury lawyer enjoys being called an ‘ambulance chaser’, even if, on occasion, they slip a business card into the bloodied hand of a car crash victim. Such a scene (fictional, I should add) was played out in a TV advertisement I saw last week ...
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Political Risk?
Kenneth Clarke’s speech to the Birmingham Law Society and Lord Young’s pronouncements at the weekend remind me that the political risk issues I learnt about at business school are alive, well and threatening further disruption.
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Political risk?
Kenneth Clarke’s speech to the Birmingham Law Society and Lord Young’s pronouncements at the weekend remind me that the political risk issues I learnt about at business school are alive, well and threatening further disruption.