Last 3 months headlines – Page 1504
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US delays ABS decisions
A decision in the US on whether or not to allow UK alternative business structures to operate across the Atlantic is unlikely to be made until well after 2012, the new American Bar Association (ABA) president Stephen Zack told the Gazette in an interview this week. ...
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Banks to seek assurances from LLPs
The era of banks making unsecured credit freely available to firms may come to an end as banks review the risk profile of practices that have converted to LLP status, it was suggested last week. Chris Marston, head of professional practices at Lloyds TSB, told delegates ...
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Lawyers must protect vulnerable from effect of budget cuts – Djanogly
Lawyers and the legal system will need to find efficiencies and new ways of working to protect the vulnerable from the effects of budget cuts, legal aid minister Jonathan Djanogly told the Gazette this week. He said: ‘Our priority is not what lawyers do, or ...
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More general counsel facing regulatory investigations
UK general counsel have reported a huge increase in the number of regulatory investigations initiated against them, according to research by the London office of US firm Fulbright & Jaworski. The firm’s Litigation Trends survey of 128 UK in-house lawyers across a range of sectors found ...
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Employment solicitor sets up legal aid support network
An employment solicitor has set up a website dedicated to offering support to legal aid firms that are closing down, merging or moving away from publicly funded work.
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Chancery Lane publishes Jackson review response
The Law Society today warned against piecemeal implementation of Lord Justice Jackson’s proposals on civil litigation costs, telling the government that this could be ‘very damaging’ to access to justice. Jackson himself has said that his reforms will not succeed unless they are implemented as a whole.
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TUC brands asbestos ruling 'obscene'
Victims of a deadly disease caused by work-related asbestos exposure could miss out on compensation following a Court of Appeal ruling last week, campaign groups fear. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and trade union Unite branded the victory for insurance companies as ‘obscene’. The ...
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Stock market jitters hit equity capital markets teams
A year of failed and suspended stock market listings has hit the fortunes of equity capital markets (ECM) teams across the City, senior corporate finance lawyers said this week. A far higher than average number of unfinished initial public offerings (IPOs) has dampened fee income, damaged ...
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Forced mediation 'may not serve interests of children'
Family solicitors have warned that government plans to divert private law disputes over children away from the courts and towards mediation may not lead to child-focused outcomes. One of the options being considered by the government’s family justice review is to make mediation compulsory in ...
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From social media to business tool
These days it is not a question of whether or not we should embrace technological changes and emerging social media but more a question of how do we keep up with the waves of changes and innovations? If we don’t keep on top of these things and make the most ...
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MoJ confirms quango cull
The Ministry of Justice has today confirmed that the Youth Justice Board and two court rules committees are among the legal quangos to be abolished as part of a drive to cut costs and ‘reinvigorate public trust’ in democracy. The bodies to be scrapped include: the ...
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How fair is Britain?
Recent research claims that the ‘inherently masculine’ UK legal profession still has a long way to go before it achieves an acceptable level of diversity and equality.
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New sentencing guidelines proposed for assault
The Sentencing Council has proposed changes to the guidance given to judges on sentencing people for assault. In a consultation paper published today, it proposes that those convicted of assault should be sentenced based on the harm caused to the victim and their culpability, rather than ...
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How law firms can reduce the cost of property liabilities
Without question, the use of property by legal firms as both a financial and strategic tool has evolved very quickly in the past three years, aided by the recession. It has transformed from a traditional ‘place to do work’ to one with a myriad of agendas. ...
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LSC announces contract start dates
The LSC has announced that all non-family legal aid contracts and family mediation contracts will start on 15 November 2010. It also announced that all current ‘family only’ and ‘family with housing’ contracts will be extended until 15 December 2010. The quashing order issued two weeks ago by the High ...
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College of Law supports Browne’s plans on higher education
The government must follow Lord Browne’s recommendation to remove the fee cap on higher education, the College of Law said today. Such a move is necessary to increase competition between higher education establishments, and remove the ‘dividing line’ between public and private tertiary education, the College ...
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Information to unlock bank finance
If there was a core message for attendees at last week’s annual 360 Legal Conference to take away from the day, it was the urgency of addressing financial questions.
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Law Society issues warning over government cuts
The Law Society has warned that access to justice must be protected, ahead of the announcement of the government’s spending review next week. Law Society president Linda Lee said the government must commit to funding legal aid and warned against spending cuts that restrict access to ...
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Sadiq Khan named as shadow lord chancellor
Former human rights solicitor Sadiq Khan was today named shadow lord chancellor, as new Labour leader Ed Miliband assembled his first shadow cabinet. Khan, who was a partner at London human rights firm Christian Khan before standing as Labour candidate for Tooting in the 2005 general ...
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Lord Young declines meeting with profession’s regulator
Lord Young of Graffham turned down an offer to meet with the solicitors’ regulator in advance of his report on health and safety and the ‘compensation culture’, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said. ...