Headlines – Page 1527
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Offshore firms stay afloat while governments target tax havens
In the normal course of events, law firms would be falling over themselves to have their headquarters name-checked by the leader of the free world. But not offshore giant Maples and Calder. Its offices at Ugland House on the Cayman Islands were singled out by Barack Obama on his campaign ...
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Great leap forward: survival depends on the challenge of change
This is my final President’s Podium, and while I write it with no little sense of sadness, I do so in the certainty that many in the profession are well placed not only to survive the current downturn, but to flourish in its aftermath.
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Counting the costs
I have just finished reading Lord Justice Jackson's impressive report on civil litigation costs (see [2009] Gazette, 21 May, 14).
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Legacies at risk
I read with interest the comments of Peter Steer, from Wilsons Solicitors, in your feature about charities (see [2009] Gazette, 25 June, 10).
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Shrinking Gazette
The Gazette is a superb source of professional news, information and gossip which is a ‘goody’ I eagerly await each week. Last year’s change in format is a great improvement. The news content remains invaluable.
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BVT considerations
I write with reference to the letter from Carolyn Regan (see [2009] Gazette, 18 June, 13). She states that best value tendering will continue to ensure the quality of criminal defence services. Although she does not say so in her letter, I presume she means ...
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We can lead change
Robert Heslett urges the profession to prepare for change (see [2009] Gazette, 18 June, 12), but says little about precisely what it should do. He also highlights a long-standing concern about how new entrants can be imbued with the ethics of the profession. As he is aware, we have been ...
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The LSC must address the scandal of experts pocketing exorbitant fees
It was interesting to read Carolyn Regan on the subject of achieving the best value for taxpayers’ money as far as the Legal Services Commission is concerned (see [2009] Gazette, 18 June, 13). It is depressing that this argument only ever seems to apply to the fees of high-street solicitors ...
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Updated: Solicitor's Handbook is essential in these volatile times
by Andrew Hopper QC and Gregory Treverton-Jones QC authors of The Solicitor’s Handbook 2009 In June 2008 we published the first edition of The Solicitor’s Handbook. It was intended to: replace and improve upon the old Guide to Professional Conduct; collect in one place all of ...
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Seeking fairness on practising fees
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) describes the current practising fee structure as ‘far from logical’ in a discussion paper launched this week. Quite so. Why should a bulk firm with an army of paralegals and very few solicitors pay so little in regulation, when a top-end, lawyer-rich niche practice pays ...
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A tribute: Lord Bingham’s passion for justice and history
For me, last Thursday was Bingham day. I spent the morning interviewing the former senior law lord about a centre for the study of the rule of law to be established in his name. In the afternoon I dipped into a book of essays written in his honour by more ...
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Reforms to practising certificate fee to hit private practice firms
Sweeping reforms to the practising certificate fee that will ‘shift the fee burden onto private practice’ were published for consultation this week. The changes would benefit solicitors in local government, commerce and industry and the Crown Prosecution Service at the expense of those working in private ...
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Insurers claim referral fees push lawyers’ costs out of control
Solicitors have hit out at a report claiming the market in personal injury claims is failing because legal fees are out of control. Arguing that fees could be reduced without restricting access to justice, a study commissioned by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said there ...
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Prejudice against solicitor-advocates is a ‘fact of life’, says solicitor QC
Prejudice from the bar and bench against solicitor higher court advocates (HCAs) is ‘a fact of life’, the first female solicitor QC has alleged. June Venters, who was made a QC in 2007, told the Gazette that as a solicitor HCA she has experienced hostility and ...
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Solicitors take advantage of LDP rules while the bar still lags behind
Three months after Legal Services Act 2007 reforms took effect, solicitors have gained the ‘upper hand’ over the bar, with 61 firms becoming legal disciplinary practices (LDPs). While the number of solicitors’ firms becoming approved LDPs has doubled in the past month, barristers remain unable to ...
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Legal Services Commission publishes new timetable for civil bids
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has published the timetable for the new civil bid rounds and details of its amended contracting proposals, after consultation with providers. Following concerns about the criteria for consortium arrangements, under which firms can join together to provide the package of debt, ...
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Employment solicitors exploit client ignorance over contingency fees
Some employment solicitors may be ‘exploiting client ignorance’ of their funding options for their own gain, research has claimed. However, it was found that generally claimants were happy with the services provided and with the fairness of their fee arrangements.
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Jean-Michel Darrois proposes Clementi-style reforms in France
The architect of Clementi-style reforms of France’s legal landscape visited Chancery Lane this week for a seminar organised by the Law Society’s international division. Jean-Michel Darrois (pictured left), a company law specialist, headed a commission of academics, business people and other non-lawyers which published a ...
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Crown Prosecution Service saves £11.5m by using in-house advocates
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) saved £11.5m last year by using in-house advocates in the Crown court instead of instructing external counsel, its chief said last week. Keir Starmer QC, director of public prosecutions, also announced that Crown prosecutors across England and Wales are to undergo ...