Headlines – Page 1545
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Firms 'lose out' in fighting crime
The burden of complying with new anti-money laundering (AML) regulations is not proportionate to the funds recovered from launderers, according to new research. For every suspicious activity report submitted, an estimated £618 is recovered from criminals, according to the Home Office and Serious Organised Crime Agency. ...
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Legislation mooted on client bank accounts
The British Bankers’ Association and the Law Society may seek legislation to clear up confusion over compensation payable when solicitors’ client accounts are held in collapsed banks. The two bodies are considering asking the government to amend the Banking Bill, currently passing ...
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Sir John Mortimer: 1923-2009
Tributes have been paid to one of the legal profession’s best-known figures, the barrister and writer Sir John Mortimer, who died last week. Desmond Browne QC, chairman of the Bar Council, said: ‘Like his father, the blind advocate whom he immortalised in Voyage Round My Father, John Mortimer brought both ...
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Dock instructions: say no, says Society
Solicitors must firmly resist requests from magistrates and district judges to take instructions from defendants while they are in the dock, the Law Society’s criminal law committee has urged. The warning follows reports of district judges and magistrates refusing to give adjournments for meetings, ...
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Indian 'best friends' criticised
An Indian ‘magic circle’ firm has criticised the formation of ‘best friend’ relationships in the country, saying they do not follow the spirit of rules on foreign lawyers. Rajiv Luthra, managing partner at Luthra & Luthra, told the Gazette that his firm has turned down ...
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Firms looking abroad
Expansion into foreign markets has been pushed to the top of the agenda for commercial law firms looking to grow their business, according to new research. More firms (38% of the total polled) would rather expand into a foreign jurisdiction over the next one to three ...
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Straw defends secret inquest plans
Justice secretary Jack Straw has defended plans to hold secret inquests, citing the need to protect those who provide intelligence for national security. Major change to the coroners system, which Straw described as the least-reformed part of the justice mechanism, is the headline proposal of the Coroners and Justice Bill, ...
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Bill 'could damage public confidence'
Criminal practitioners have warned that several measures in the Coroners and Justice Bill could damage confidence in the justice system and accused the government of pandering to pressure groups. Ian Kelcey, chairman of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, described the bill as a complete ...
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Clampdown on legal aid fraudsters
The Coroners and Justice Bill creates new powers to clampdown on people who make fraudulent claims for legal aid or fail to pay their share of costs. Changes will allow data about individuals to be shared routinely between the Legal Services Commission and the Department for Work and Pensions. Courts ...
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Nuclear developments, energy sales and publishing buyouts
Going nuclear: City firm CMS Cameron McKenna advised energy companies RWE and E.ON on a joint venture to build nuclear power stations in the UK. The project aims to develop 6GW of capacity. ...
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Personal injury
Limitation periods - Personal injury claims Stephen Cain v Bernice Francis: Shona Mckay v (1) Stephen Hamlani (2) Direct Line Insurance Plc: CA (Civ Div) (Sir Robert Andrew Morritt, Lady Justice Smith, Lord Justice Maurice Kay): 18 December 2008 ...
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The issues raised by police officers conferring on their notes
Last May barrister Mark Saunders was killed by police after he repeatedly fired a shotgun out of the window of his Chelsea flat.
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New pre-action protocol for mortgage possession claims
A new civil procedure protocol for lawyers of much practical relevance came into effect on 19 November 2008. It applies to both money and possession claims by the lender on mortgages of residential property.
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Bribery bill and corruption clampdown
This year will see a new Bribery Bill. It promises to reform the criminal law so that a new and comprehensive scheme of bribery offences will enable courts and prosecutors to provide a more effective response to bribery in the 21st century at home and abroad.
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Solicitors and judicial appointments
Solicitors will have to try a little harder if they want to become High Court judges, the Lord Chief Justice suggested last week. ‘I doubt whether it is fully understood that any solicitors intending to seek a full-time judicial appointment should gain part-time sitting experience,’ Lord Judge said, ‘and that ...
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Salaried partners need more support
I write to announce the formation of The Association of Salaried Partners. The purpose of this organisation will be to support the interests of both former and current salaried partners within the legal profession.
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A level playing field
Is it really feasible that a law firm in Carlisle will be allowed to profit-share with a local accountant and save on overheads, while another firm up the M6 in Gretna will not? The answer, fortunately, appears to be no. After years of prevarication and politicking, the Scottish legal profession ...
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Samba sponsor
Football sponsorship is an expensive business and not many provincial law firms expect to see their proud brand emblazoned across the chest of a World Cup-winning captain. Leeds corporate and commercial outfit The Needle Partnership appears to have managed it, however. The firm has signed ...
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Raising the standards of client care
At a recent event a solicitor asked me to sum up what the majority of the Legal Complaints Service’s work involves. My response was surprisingly simple. The problems cited most often by clients are: ‘The matter took too long and cost more than I expected.’ Problems ...
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Lost for words
Reports of the death of the legal typo have been much exaggerated, if our readers are to be believed. Georgie Godby of Cambridge recalls a high-tech example in a contract that was run through an autocorrect function. It read: ‘The manufacturer does not exclude or ...