Headlines – Page 1546
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In the Knowles
Spooky or what? There is at least one man for whom the knighthood of DLA Piper boss Nigel Knowles (pictured) in the New Year Honours will have come as little surprise. In the last Gazette of 2005, Tony ‘Gypsy Rose’ Williams, one-time Clifford Chance managing partner and now head of ...
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Seeking equality with barristers
As you correctly reported, solicitors welcome any system that will allow them to demonstrate that they can compete on equal terms with barristers (see [2008] Gazette,18 December, 1). The quality assurance scheme ‘should’ do that. But will it?
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Sweet music
Basil Preuveneers, council member for Croydon and North Kent, responded to our request for solicitor musicians by revealing that he plays keyboards, trumpet, cornet and accordion. But not at the same time. The photo shows him with actress Jane Asher, president of the Parkinson’s Disease Society, at the society’s annual ...
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Staying the course
Secs appeal. Either you’ve got it or you haven’t, and Ann Moody had it for 39 years and five months. That was how long she was secretary to former solicitor Tony Mackintosh, who retired from Birmingham law firm Tyndallwoods in July 2008 after a career spanning 55 years. He said: ...
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Fees 'frisson'
You reported last week that the Solicitors Regulation Authority ‘voted 13 to two, with one abstention, not to reimpose a ban on referral payments’ (see [2009] Gazette, 8 January, 3). This is correct, save that the vote you refer to was the second vote. This took place immediately after the ...
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Beer, pensions and ice drilling
Beer billions: magic circle firm Allen & Overy advised banks including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan on a €6.4bn (£5.7bn) rights issue by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the recently merged Belgian brewer. ...
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Fairness and justice
Richard Moorhead is right to emphasise that, in contrast to the interpretation being put on his contingency fee studies by those who appear desperate for an alternative to the current costs system, contingency fees are not a solution (see [2008] Gazette, 11 December, 9). It is ...
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Scots unveil plans to revamp £1.2bn legal market
The Scottish government has published proposals to overhaul the nation’s £1.2bn legal market that partly mirror the Clementi reforms introduced south of the border. They include the introduction of alternative business structures, allowing other professionals to set up in business with solicitors and permitting external ownership of law firms.
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Internet ‘first’ for solicitor searches
The internet is on the brink of overtaking traditional channels such as personal recommendations as a way of finding a solicitor to carry out a simple transaction, such as conveyancing or making a will, according to research published this week. The survey, carried out for ...
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Lord Hunt consults on regulation
Lord Hunt of Wirral will today call for evidence from the entire legal profession as part of his Law Society-commissioned review of regulation.
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Met row threatens trials
A row between the Metropolitan Police Service and doctors who care for detainees in police stations is threatening to undermine criminal trials and harm the treatment of those in custody, medical practitioners say. New contracts for the Met’s 150 forensic medical examiners (FMEs) come into ...
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Overwhelming demand for family advice leads to helpline expansion
Advice on family law is to become a permanent feature of the Community Legal Advice service as part of an expansion of the helpline’s remit and service hours. The Legal Services Commission this week launched a tender for law firms or not-for-profit organisations to provide ...
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Liability fears over bad advice
Loopholes in partnership law could allow investors to sue individual hedge fund managers - and possibly partners in law firms - for giving bad investment advice, according to a former hedge fund chief operating officer. Jérôme de Lavenère Lussan, managing director of London law firm Lussan, ...
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Starmer wades into TV trials debate
The new director of public prosecutions has reignited the debate over televising criminal trials, saying cameras in court would ‘bring a breath of fresh air’ to proceedings. In an interview for Channel 4 News, Keir Starmer said: ‘The more the public know about the criminal justice ...
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QC process seen as biased
Solicitors believe that the new process for appointing QCs is still biased in favour of barristers, according to an online survey carried out by the Law Society. Of the 170 who responded to the survey, more than 70% felt the award of silk should be ...
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Solicitors need bench support
The Lord Chief Justice (pictured) has urged the profession to support solicitors who want to pursue a judicial career to help more make it to the High Court bench. Of the 110 High Court judges in post as of April 2008, only one was a solicitor. ...
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No action against ‘touting’ libel firms
The Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority have said they will not act on an MP’s call in Parliament to investigate the alleged ‘active touting’ for business by libel law firms. Denis MacShane (pictured), Labour MP for Rotherham, made the allegation in December. He told an ...
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LCS 'takes too long' on coal health compensation cases
A snapshot of coal health compensation cases shows almost two-thirds of cases handled by the Legal Complaints Service are taking too long. However the audit, carried out by complaints commissioner Zahida Manzoor, shows ‘significant improvements’ have been made, with 99% of the sample audited ...
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Transfer request
Banks have begun asking top law firms to transfer their client accounts to them from other banks in order to secure lending facilities, as some partners move their private accounts abroad to gain full protection from bank collapses.
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More law centres face closure as funding fears increase
Six more law centres are on the critical list and will struggle to survive 2009 as they try to plug funding gaps, according to the Law Centres Federation. Six law centres closed in 2008, leaving 54 centres to cover England and Wales. A similar number ...