Headlines – Page 1565
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A tale of two statistics
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – that’s how we read the latest figures on QC awards. Hats off to Baroness Butler-Sloss for putting such a positive spin on the fact that 75% of solicitor applicants were successful – a record high. ...
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OFT estate agent study will assess new business models
The Office of Fair Trading today (25 February) launched a market study into home buying and selling, following two months of consultation on the scope of the project. It will examine the level of competition between estate agents, and look at the relationship between estate agents ...
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A liberty-based approach to rights could strengthen core freedoms
Philosopher John Stuart Mill quipped: ‘He who knows only his side of the case knows little of that.’ Reviewing The Assault on Liberty: what went wrong with rights last week, Roger Smith (of Justice) went further. Amid flattery – and mischievous misrepresentation – he denies ...
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The ECHR’s ‘realistic’ ruling on unlawful detention
Judgments involving Abu Qatada are a bit like buses: you wait ages for one to turn up and then two come along together. Last Wednesday, the home secretary won her appeal to the House of Lords against a ruling that the radical Muslim cleric could not ...
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Not asked to ‘lobby’
Your news item ‘Firms face lobbying scrutiny’ (see [2009] Gazette, 12 February, 6) fails to distinguish between the lobbying that some parliamentarians are involved in and consultancy arrangements that some firms make with lawyer MPs.
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European ruling deals blow to in-house confidentiality
The group representing general counsel at FTSE-100 companies has been refused permission to intervene in a case on the extent of privilege enjoyed by in-house lawyers – on the ground that neither it nor its members have a ‘direct interest in the result’. Issuing preliminary rulings ...
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LSB cautious on bank-led ABSs
Legal Services Board chairman David Edmonds has hinted to MPs that the oversight regulator will be extremely cautious about letting banks enter the legal services market in the aftermath of the current financial crisis.
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Fury over SRA’s plan for a non-voting BME board member
Groups representing black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors have condemned a proposal to co-opt a BME member on to the Solicitors Regulation Authority board without giving them voting rights. The proposal is a response to Lord Ouseley’s controversial report on the disproportionate number of BME ...
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Solicitors network joins forces with Which?
The new high street network QualitySolicitors.com has allied with consumer body Which? in a commercial venture. People logging on to the QualitySolicitors.com website, to go live in April, will see details of the Which? Legal Service telephone advice line. Meanwhile, clients of Which? needing to ...
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New solicitor QC says that more will take silk
Solicitors will increasingly aspire to become Queen’s Counsel, one of three new solicitor silks has predicted. Judith Gill, international arbitration partner at City firm Allen & Overy, who last week became the second female solicitor silk, said: ‘The more solicitors who are successful the more likely it’ll be that others ...
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Office of Public Guardian launches lasting power of attorney guidance
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has issued new guidance about drafting lasting powers of attorney following criticism of delays, high prices and ‘daft’ bureaucracy (see [2009] Gazette, 29 January, 4).
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UK firms join worldwide Madoff case alliance
Four London law firms were among 34 practices from around the world that met last week in Madrid to launch an international network of lawyers acting for the alleged victims of the Madoff scandal. Bristows, Edwin Coe, Rawlings Giles and Speechlys have joined the group, which ...
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Firm closures: new figures
Nearly 120 more law firms closed in 2008 than in 2007, while four fewer firms opened, Solicitors Regulation Authority statistics show. Despite more firms closing down, 889 new practices were opened in 2008, while 442 closed that year. An SRA spokesman said: ‘The number of firms ...
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Warning over employment dispute resolution code
A senior employment lawyer warned that ‘common sense is not that common’ as the government revealed a new code for resolving workplace disputes. The new Acas code, which takes effect from 6 April, replaces the three-step grievance and disciplinary system of written statement, meeting and ...
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Estate agents merger call
Merging solicitor and estate agent practices could be a viable business model for the future of conveyancing, the E-Homebuying Forum lobby group said this week. The group published a report containing 13 proposals to modernise the homebuying process. Greater use of technology and the introduction of ...
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Legal aid call for collaborative law
State aid should be available for divorcing couples to use collaborative law, family lawyers group Resolution says in the first study of take-up of the non-court process in the UK. The report, to be published today, says that poorer couples are being denied the opportunity ...
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Diverting mentally ill from criminal justice pays dividends
Diverting the mentally ill away from the criminal justice system and towards health services could save £20,000 per case, a report has claimed. The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health report, Diversion: A better way for criminal justice and mental health, compared the costs of criminal ...
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EC intervenes in Bulgarian opening
The European Commission has intervened on behalf of a coalition of law firms attempting to set up practices in Bulgaria. DLA Piper and CMS Cameron McKenna, along with Austrian practices Wolf Theiss, CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz and Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati complained to the commission in November, accusing the Bulgarian government ...
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Allen & Overy to cut 282 lawyers worldwide
Magic circle firm Allen & Overy will cut up to 282 lawyers worldwide as part of the largest recession-triggered redundancy consultation to date. The firm’s announcement last week means that around 630 lawyers are in line to be axed by the top 10 UK law firms – around 3% of ...
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IT systems, fundraising, acquisitions and refinancing
Resourceful integrator: south-west firm Osborne Clarke advised two AIM-quoted natural resources clients, iodine producer Iofina and hydrocarbon producer Nighthawk Energy, on fundraisings worth £5m and £7m respectively. The firm also advised Marks & Spencer on an IT systems integration contract with IBM. IT ...