Headlines – Page 1485
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How others see us: ‘Anglo-Saxon’ values
I attended a round-table discussion this week, put on by one of the Belgian bars, on the topic: ‘What do we expect from a lawyer today?’ The participants came from the media, academia and various parts of the legal profession.
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Law Society to launch legal challenge on legal aid
The Law Society is set to launch a judicial review of the government’s move to drastically reduce the legal costs that defendants can reclaim if they are acquitted of a criminal offence.
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Government to review use of cautions
The justice secretary launched a review today to examine the way cautions and on-the-spot fines are used by the police and Crown Prosecution Service. It follows reports that they have been inappropriately used to punish more serious offences which should be dealt with by the courts. ...
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New guidelines for lawyers on assessing mental capacity
New guidelines to help solicitors, doctors and other professionals assess mental capacity have been jointly issued by the Law Society and the British Medical Association. The guidelines, Assessment of Mental Capacity, set out best practice for dealing with people lacking capacity to make important decisions, ...
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Cross selling: the rainmaker’s not-so-secret weapon
Continuing our investigation into the attributes of a good rainmaker, we turn to the area of ’cross-selling', having previously considered the amount of time spent and a targeted approach. A little while ago, I was attending an event with a matrimonial lawyer, and we bumped into one of her clients ...
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LSB sets out rules for regulators
The Legal Services Board (LSB) today laid down its framework of internal governance requirements for legal regulators. The LSB said that it has provided legal regulators with a clear set of criteria to ensure that regulation is carried out independently of professional interests. The new rules ...
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Family judges must speak out, says Wall
The judiciary must ‘come off the bench’ and speak out about the ‘parlous state of family law in 2009’, Lord Justice Wall has said. Speaking at the Association of Lawyers for Children conference, the Court of Appeal judge said ‘the time has come when the historical ...
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Expert evidence - revisions to the rules have stood the test of time
Expert evidence was one of the most controversial issues in Lord Woolf’s civil justice inquiry in the 1990s.
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Any claim to stamp duty land tax on goodwill should be appealed
Goodwill is produced by, and only by, people and not by things they use in business, but confusion reigns. The purpose of this article is to expose the pretence of clothing real property, land, with the value of goodwill, which is a species of personal property.
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Arbitration
Arbitral tribunals – Beneficial ownership – Islamic law – Real property Bhatti v Bhatti: Ch D (Sir Edward Evans-Lombe): 26 November 2009 The executor applied for summary judgment on ...
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Personal injury
Delay – Discretion – Limitation periods – Road traffic accidents McDonnell and anor v David Walker (executor of the estate of Richard Walker, deceased): CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Waller (vice-president), Rimer, Sir Paul Kennedy): 24 November 2009 ...
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Freedom of information – update on recent FoI cases
The recent controversy over bonuses paid to civil servants employed by the Ministry of Defence highlights the public interest in salaries and bonuses of public sector officials.
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Strictly confidential
It is well known that the post-Christmas period is peak time for divorce lawyers, with a dangerous cocktail of too much booze, too many in-laws and too much time with each other combining to put many a marriage on the rocks.
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Letting it all out
You don’t often see grown men cry, unless you count Paul Gascoigne (pictured). And you especially don’t see lawyers crying, especially not in public, and especially not in the courtroom. But that, it turns out, is just in the UK, where we are too reserved and repressed to really let ...
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Bring on the Christmas cards
Cometh December, cometh the amusing legal Christmas cards. Obiter rather liked this one, sent by Templeton Legal Protection. Anyone who receives a funny legal card is invited to send it on to Obiter Towers, Law Society Gazette, 19 Bell Yard, London, WC2A 2JR to spread the festive cheer.
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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 ...