All articles by James Dean – Page 20
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News
Law Society threatens legal action over complaints staff
The Law Society has threatened the government and the new solicitor complaints handling body with legal action following their decision not to automatically reassign staff from the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) to the new Office for Legal Complaints (OLC). The functions of the LCS are to ...
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MPs lobby to exclude solicitors from asbestos compensation scheme
MPs are lobbying prime minister Gordon Brown to exclude solicitors from any government-run scheme to compensate workers for asbestos-related pleural plaques. A group of Labour MPs closely involved with a parliamentary bill on the matter have held ‘frequent’ private meetings with Brown and senior ministers. Jim ...
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Immigration lawyers boost for top firms
Highly skilled immigrant lawyers should not have to hold a master’s degree to work for the UK’s top law firms, the government’s migration adviser recommended last week. In its report on Tier 1 immigrants, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) said that such immigrants should be allowed ...
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Government moves could hit City pay packets
Perhaps London’s investment bankers are wishing they’d chosen a career in corporate law instead. Alistair Darling looks set to come down heavily on banker bonuses in his pre-budget speech today, with commentators predicting a super tax on bonuses in excess of the impending 50% income tax for high earners.
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Assembly probes spending by mayor’s economic development agency
The cost of work done by law firms advising the Mayor of London’s economic development agency is to be scrutinised by the London Assembly, the Gazette has learned. The news emerged after Boris Johnson answered questions on the amount that the London Development Agency (LDA) paid ...
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Chinese bar strengthens UK links
China’s Tianjin Bar Association (TBA) will visit the UK next week in a bid to strengthen ties with UK lawyers. The TBA delegation will visit London and Bristol on Monday and Tuesday next week, in a move that the Law Society said will provide business opportunities ...
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High-profile City firms reduce carbon footprint
More than a third of Legal Sector Alliance (LSA) firms have reduced their carbon footprint over the last year, according to a report by the climate change action group. Some 35% of the 138 firms in the alliance, including a raft of high-profile City firms, have ...
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Legal groups publish ‘manifesto for justice’
An eight-strong coalition of legal, consumer and campaigning groups today published their ‘manifesto for justice’ as part of a political campaign intended to strengthen justice and the rule of law. AdviceUK, the Bar Council, the Institute of Legal Executives, Justice, the Law Centres Federation, the Legal ...
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Libel judges face a tough time in the media
Mr Justice Eady, eminent libel judge and newspaper hate figure, has thick skin. Speaking at today’s Justice conference on free speech and privacy, Eady quoted snippets from newspaper articles accusing him of ‘moral and social nihilism,’ ‘arrogance,’ ‘immorality,’ and to top it off, ‘amorality’.
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Lisbon treaty to improve access to European courts
The Law Society today welcomed the arrival of the Lisbon Treaty, saying that it will widen access to the European courts for business and individuals. The Society said that the treaty, which came into force today, will pave the way for ‘many more’ challenges to be ...
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Professional indemnity costs rise by £15m
Solicitors paid £15m more to insurers for professional indemnity insurance this year, Solicitors Regulation Authority figures have revealed. The cost of insuring the profession rose from £226m in the 2008/09 indemnity year, to £241m in 2009/10, a rise of 7%. Between them, ...
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SRA moves to scrap assigned risks pool
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will recommend abolishing the assigned risks pool in a consultation to be launched today. The regulator also wants to make it easier for struggling law firms to be taken over rather than shut down.
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Top City firms look to banks to cover further redundancy payouts
Top City firms are preparing for a possible second wave of job cuts by making sure they have secured adequate lines of credit from banks to cover further redundancy payouts, according to one of the sector’s major lenders. Meanwhile, mid-tier law firms are being squeezed ...
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Silverbeck Rymer faces six-figure repayment to former miners
Liverpool firm Silverbeck Rymer could repay more than £100,000 to former miners after being rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for its handling of their government compensation claims. Partners James and Charles Rymer were reprimanded by the SRA for deducting £117,000 in total from 189 miners’ ...
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Office of Fair Trading probes insolvency lawyers' fees
Fees paid to insolvency lawyers are set to come under scrutiny by the Office of Fair Trading after the competition watchdog launched a probe into corporate insolvency. The City of London Law Society’s insolvency committee was due to convene to discuss the OFT’s market study as ...
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Junior lawyers commended for pro bono work
Four young lawyers were honoured for their services to pro bono work at the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) Pro Bono Awards last week. The annual awards, presented by Lord Phillips of Sudbury in a ceremony at Chancery Lane last Thursday, celebrate outstanding pro bono work done ...
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Rise in recruitment of junior lawyers
Recruitment of assistant solicitors has seen its first sustained increase since 2007, research has revealed, in a sign that the jobs market is improving. A study by legal recruiters Hughes-Castell showed that the number of vacancies for assistants rose over the second and third quarters of ...
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Lovells results show static revenues
Half-year revenues at City firm Lovells remained roughly static for the first half of the financial year, the firm reported today. Revenues stood at £259m for the six months to 31 October this year, down slightly from £260m for the same period in 2008/09. ...
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LCS braced for deluge of Scottish equal pay cases
A deluge of impending complaints over Scottish equal pay cases handled by the UK’s most prolific equal pay lawyer could swamp the Legal Complaints Service if they are sent across the border to England, the Gazette has learned.The complaints relate to compensation agreements drawn up by a law firm run ...
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Yahoo! Europe’s general counsel Grainne Brankin
At a gathering of corporate counsel in Geneva earlier this year, Grainne Brankin gave a talk on ‘how to communicate in a crisis.’ This was probably because the general counsel at Yahoo! Europe’s new Swiss headquarters has experienced crisis first-hand.