Headlines – Page 1503
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Costly choice
In his Euro blog last week, Jonathan Goldsmith could barely hide his excitement following the judgment by the European Court of Justice in the Eschig case, in which it was held that a clause in an Austrian legal expenses policy did not in fact allow...
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Homme d’affaires
I suppose it is the function of influential thinktanks to take away one’s breath. The College of Law’s Legal Services Policy Institute (‘Scrap training contracts’, see [2009] Gazette, 24 September, 1) certainly does that. New entrants to the profession are overqualified? I don’t think so.
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Subjecting terror suspects to triple jeopardy is an affront to justice
by Dr Amir A Majid LLM DCLis a barrister and reader in law at London Metropolitan University. He is also a part-time immigration judge and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Islamic State Practices in International Law On 11 September, a judge at Woolwich Crown Court ...
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It is time to develop pan-European anti-corruption measures
by Drago Kos, the president of the Council of Europe's Group of States against CorruptionIt is common knowledge that corruption is one of the most dangerous factors jeopardising the rule of law, the economy and democratic development. The reason is straightforward: corruption attacks systems from within and is often facilitated ...
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Bruce Willis can help you improve your online image. Sort of
I went to see the new Bruce Willis movie at the weekend, Surrogate, and it brought to mind two legal marketing topics. For those of you who have not seen the film...
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Brussels simplifies rules on cross-border successions
The European Commission has today adopted a proposal that should greatly simplify the rules on successions with an international dimension in the EU. The aim is to make life easier for citizens by laying down common rules enabling the competent authority and law applicable ...
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The true cost of legal aid cuts
The legal services industry in the UK generates around £15bn a year, which is 1.3% of GDP, while public funding of legal services amounts to just over £2bn. Interestingly, I attended a presentation recently which pointed out that this sum is less than the combined annual fee income of two ...
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Will there be a global code of conduct?
I have just returned from the annual conference of the International Bar Association (IBA) in Madrid – the largest ever, with more than 5,000 lawyers from around the world. It wasn’t the best-designed conference to attend...
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Don’t give away the Crown jewels – hold on, where are those Crown jewels?
I see that that venerable London institution, the London Evening Standard, is becoming a freebie after 182 years of Londoners paying for it. The most interesting comment on this came from the Standard’s editor Geordie Greig...
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Local government: determining bias – and what is a public authority?
‘In law,’ Lord Steyn once reminded us, ‘context is everything’. And context was particularly relevant on 24 June this year, when the Court of Appeal agreed with Mr Justice Collins that a planning inspector’s decision was tainted by apparent bias...
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London and the south-east are learning from the lessons of the downturn
Money is still being made in London and its environs, with a recent bellwether survey suggesting that large law firms – of which the region has more than its fair share – are ‘over the worst’.
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Muttley crew
As lawyers know, when the Legal Services Act 2007 comes fully into force, they will be able to choose from lots of different ‘vehicles’ in which to operate. Speaking at the Young Barristers conference last weekend, Robin Tolson QC of London’s Outer Temple, clearly a fan of the Wacky ...
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Reasons not to be cheerful
Obiter was shocked this week to hear some sad news about the legal profession. Apparently lawyers are the ‘least happy’ professionals in the UK, according to recruiters Badenoch & Clark. In a survey of thousands of (pretty grumpy) professionals, only 52% of lawyers ...
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Ode to nowhere
On no – what have we done. After being roundly castigated for describing conveyancing and probate as ‘prosaic’, the Gazette coupled a shamefaced apology with a tongue-in-cheek plea for poems celebrating those undervalued disciplines. And still they come. This week Peter W Marsh, of Peter ...
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Homeward pound
They say in business that Cash is King, but at Brixton firm Ziadies it’s not only notes bearing the Queen’s head that are legal (sic) tender. The firm says it accepts a new local currency, the Brixton pound, or the B£, as valid payment for oaths and affidavits. The initiative ...
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Factory flaw
The newly announced Claims Process for RTA claims valued up to £10,000 is the latest attack on the rights of those injured in road traffic accidents.
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Fixed costs folly
The news from the current Civil Litigation Costs review by Lord Jackson becomes more depressing by the day. Despite the fact that raising the small claims limit has been debated fully in the recent past, the threat is being made again...
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Conflicting messages
I cannot be the only person who is left feeling utterly bemused by the conflicting ideas that have been aired in the Gazette of late.