Headlines – Page 1456
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Downward trend
I fully endorse Trevor F Moore’s comments (see [2009] Gazette, 3 December, 11), with regard to the pointlessness of being a solicitor.
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Matter of principle
I read the letter from Michael Moore claiming that solicitors need to pay referral fees for financial survival. I disagree (see [2009] Gazette, 26 November, 9).
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Act in haste, repent at leisure
It is unfortunate that the present consultation on the assigned risks pool poses only narrow questions. The Solicitors Regulation Authority appears to have made up its mind already. We need a thorough analysis of the problems – and an open mind.
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New laws strengthen the influence of the Law Commission proposals
For a body that exists to promote reform of the law, the Law Commission has surprisingly little legislation that it can call its own. There is little more than a statute enacted in 1965, setting up a body to review the law ‘with a view to its systematic development... simplification ...
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That’s the point
Trevor Moore in his recent letter (3 December) asks ‘what is the point in being a solicitor?’ To a certain extent, I share his frustration at the role of solicitors being constantly undermined, but I firmly believe that there is something inherently ‘special’ about being able to call oneself a ...
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Weight on my mind
Without wishing to make light of what is clearly a very serious matter for the Norfolk solicitor who had been charging clients by the weight of their files – Brian D Woodham’s letter (see [2009] Gazette, 3 December 11)...
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Dictation diktat
As a regular visitor to courts I am well used to being searched and generally do not have a problem with it. What does grate is when I am required to surrender my hand held dictation machine.
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The SRA’s outgoing chair reflects on the ongoing journey towards optimal regulation
Since my decision not to seek reappointment as chair of the Solicitors Regulation Authority beyond this month, I have reflected on both the progress in the regulation of solicitors in recent years and the challenges for the future. With such a vast subject, lack of space precludes mention of all ...
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Hourly fee charging is under fire but it drives efficiency and quality
by Dick Jennings, a practising solicitor and member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & SupplyThere is growing condemnation among in-house counsel of hourly fee charging. Private practice lawyers cower, meekly agreeing or asserting that they have been against it all along.
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In praise of... solicitors
Guardian readers will recognise the above formulation, which the newspaper occasionally employs to applaud society’s less conspicuous mainstays. We employ it in part to balance last week’s opinion, which reflected on the declining respect in which solicitors believe their profession is held and ...
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Water project, lottery loans and town planning
Water works: City firm Trowers & Hamlins advised a consortium of lenders on financing the $1bn (£612m) Salalah independent water and power project in Oman. City firm Denton Wilde Sapte advised the state-owned Oman Power and Water Procurement Company. ...
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Surge of merger activity at top-100 firms
Three-quarters of top-100 law firms have been approached by other firms with a view to merging this year, new research has suggested. However, a fifth of firms unsuccessfully tried to complete a merger over the past year, according to a survey by accountancy and financial services ...
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Immigration lawyers boost for top firms
Highly skilled immigrant lawyers should not have to hold a master’s degree to work for the UK’s top law firms, the government’s migration adviser recommended last week. In its report on Tier 1 immigrants, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) said that such immigrants should be allowed ...
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MoJ fails to answer parliamentary questions about external legal spending
The Ministry of Justice has declined to give full answers to a string of parliamentary questions on its spending on external services. Pete Wishart, Scottish National Party MP for Perth and Perthshire North, asked how much the MoJ had spent on external legal advice since it ...
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Europe appoints new justice head
Europe has appointed its first commissioner to hold a separate justice portfolio, taking a ‘step in the right direction’ towards separating the conflicting demands of justice and security.
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Anger over 'cost-cutting' plans for serious criminal cases
Solicitors and barristers have reacted with anger to last-minute ‘cost-cutting’ proposals on pay for the most serious criminal cases, which they say ‘drive a coach and horses through two years of patient and careful negotiation’. A Legal Services Commission consultation on fees for very high ...
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Jack Straw hints at more autonomous Welsh justice system
Jack Straw has mooted the possibility of a separate justice system for Wales, but not without a referendum showing that this is what the Welsh want. Speaking at a Law Society lecture in Cardiff last week, the justice secretary said there could be ‘an organic development ...
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Lawyers attack government plans to extend family reporting
Family lawyers have attacked government plans to extend the media’s right to report family cases, warning that they will clog the courts with preliminary hearings and lead to miscarriages of justice. The media have been allowed to report on the process of family cases since April, ...
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Law Society unlikely to introduce fellowship scheme
The Law Society appears likely to rule out introducing a fellowship scheme in the near future, but may consider extending membership in light of the introduction of alternative business structures. Introducing a fellowship scheme for solicitors ‘who reach an agreed professional standard’ was one of the ...
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Bar eyes contract push with new procurement vehicles
Solicitors could find themselves approaching barristers for work as the bar takes advantage of new freedoms approved last month, the incoming chairman of the Bar Council told the Gazette this week. Nicholas Green QC said there would be a reversal of the ‘normal order of things’ ...