Headlines – Page 1496
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News
Not going private
Further to your article ‘Land Registry slashes one in five jobs’, published online on 22 October, I am writing to correct one of your points. You said: ‘Offices in Peterborough, Portsmouth, Croydon, Stevenage and Tunbridge Wells will close and other changes will affect staff in Plymouth and London ahead ...
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Freedom at a premium?
Paul Asplin, chief executive of DAS, extols the virtues of legal expenses insurance in his letter of 22 October. The impression is conveyed of a super-efficient system delivering cost-effective justice with the interests of the client being paramount and that to sacrifice freedom of choice is a price worth ...
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Some advocates are more equal than others
Re: Animal Farm (In the Court of Appeal)All animals are equal except that in the Court of Appeal some are more equal than others.
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Law firms fail for lack of cash, not profit
Solicitors are a vain lot. We say this not out of admiration for their sartorial elegance but as a reflection of the first part of a well-worn business axiom – ‘turnover is vanity, while profit is sanity...’ As Professor Stephen Mayson has indicated, this is a ...
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Bank buyouts and nuclear land sales
Loan arrangers: Magic circle firm Clifford Chance advised 11 banks as lead arrangers on a $2.4bn (£1.46bn) financing for agricultural, industrial and energy supply chain manager Noble Group. Noble Group was advised by Allen & Overy. ...
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European Commission accuses law firms on lobbying disclosure
The European Commission has accused law firms of ‘hiding behind the rules’ to avoid revealing the names of clients for whom they conduct lobbying activities. The commission has reopened the debate on disclosure of firms’ lobbying clients despite the UK government’s recent decision not to force ...
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Market guru predicts transatlantic merger could spark more tie-ups
The anticipated transatlantic merger between City firm Lovells and US firm Hogan & Hartson will spark a rash of copycat mergers in the next 12 months, a leading market commentator has predicted. After speaking to a number of large firms considering similar moves, leading consultant Alan ...
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LSC launches £2.1m CLAC tender
The Legal Services Commission has launched a tender for the new £2.1m Community Legal Advice Centre (CLAC) in Barking & Dagenham. The new centre, which will provide a one-stop shop for social welfare problems, will be jointly funded by the LSC and Barking and Dagenham Council. ...
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Firms settle trademark dispute
Nottingham firm Paragon Law has forced West Bromwich and Peterborough firm Paragon Solicitors to change its name and pay legal costs after a trade mark dispute. Paragon Solicitors has now changed its name to H&V Solicitors and paid £20,000 to Paragon Law in costs. The Paragon ...
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Government retreats on plans for contingency fees
The government last week withdrew plans to create a legislative framework for contingency fees in contentious work. Amendments proposed for the Coroners & Justice Bill aimed to regulate so-called damages-based agreements (DBAs) used in tribunals – which are deemed non-contentious – and also allow the justice ...
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Regional administrative courts attract only 8% of cases
The new regional administrative courts have attracted only 8% of new cases since they opened six months ago, figures seen by the Gazette have revealed. In April 2009, the administrative courts began to sit in four regional venues – Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Manchester – to ...
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Law China delegation to promote UK entrants
China offers business opportunities for UK law firms of all sizes, not just the magic circle, the Law Society’s head of international told the Gazette this week as a Chancery Lane delegation visits the country on a joint mission with the Bar Council. Representatives of the ...
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Public unable to name a single law firm, research shows
More than 60% of the public cannot name a single law firm, according to research seen by the Gazette this week, even though 78% have used a solicitor before. However, more than half of those questioned said they would be happy to buy legal services ...
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Money laundering regime will not be relaxed
The government has decided not to relax the UK’s anti-money laundering reporting regime despite calls from a House of Lords committee to do so. In its July inquiry into money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the home affairs subcommittee of the House of Lords select ...
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‘Failed’ Kent virtual court pilot to become compulsory
Only seven defendants have chosen to use the virtual court in Kent since the pilot began three months ago, the Gazette has learned, as the Ministry of Justice seeks to make the Kent scheme compulsory. The pilot enables defendants to make their first court appearance from ...
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Solicitors rebut claim that they ‘overcharge’ for legal aid work
Solicitors hit back this week at claims that they have been overpaid by nearly £25m for legal aid work, blaming the ‘mountain of bureaucracy’ they face from the Legal Services Commission. A report by the National Audit Office said the LSC had overpaid solicitors by an ...
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UPDATE: Calls for end to single renewal date for PII
The Law Society’s council yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of pressuring the Solicitors Regulation Authority to abolish the single renewal date for professional indemnity insurance (PII), in favour of staggered renewals. Some 55 council members voted in favour of the move, with 14 against and three ...
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Exposing the pretence of clothing property with the value of goodwill
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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News
Exposing the pretence of clothing real property, land, with the value of goodwill
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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News
Lawyers provide £400m of pro bono work a year
The value of pro bono work done annually by lawyers has soared to more than £400m according to estimates published by the Law Society in advance of next week’s national pro bono week. The estimated value of the pro bono work performed by private practice solicitors ...