Last 3 months headlines – Page 1509
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Law Society wins family tender challenge
The Law Society has won its High Court challenge to the Legal Services Commission’s family tender process. Lord Justice Moses said the process was ‘irrational’. He said it was ‘contrary to the LSC’s own ends’ not to have given firms the details ...
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Family contracts quashed
Family contracts have effectively been quashed following today’s judgment in the Law Society’s successful judicial review of the family tender process. Giving judgment this evening, the High Court declared the LSC’s failure to give advance notice of the requirement for panel membership as unlawful. It also ...
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PII spend predicted to hit record high
Solicitors are facing the ‘most challenging’ professional indemnity insurance market in years, commentators said this week ahead of Friday’s renewal deadline. The news came as the Law Society launched a SafetyNet scheme designed to help firms that cannot obtain cover. Brokers ...
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Life of crime
Sir Ivan Lawrence QC’s new autobiography, My Life of Crime, could spark a revival in lawyers’ memoirs, which have gone out of fashion of late, writes James Morton.
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Counsel count cost of Halliwells collapse
The protracted demise of Halliwells was set to enter its final chapter on Tuesday as administrators awaited creditor approval for proposals that would see the defunct firm formally wound up. As the Gazette went to press, it remained unclear how much secured creditor Royal Bank of ...
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High thrive
Obiter tips his thermal cap to Chris Rawstron (pictured), consultant and former managing partner at national firm DLA Piper, who scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania this month to raise an impressive £10,000 for Marie Curie. Do you have any pics of solicitors in ...
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Neighbour boundary disputes
The days when solicitors spent hours poring over plans drawn on ancient conveyances are long gone. Articled clerks (as they were then called) spent days tracing land ownership through successive generations. The carefree draftsperson cobbled together a parcels clause, or adopted unquestioningly a re-photocopied plan thereby doubling the width of ...
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Female perspective
Obiter is intrigued by a new book to be launched by Hart Publishing next month entitled Feminist Judgments. The book takes bone fide Court of Appeal and House of Lords judgments and rewrites them with a feminist slant, making a point about how ...
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The plight of the mental health lawyer
You don’t have to be mad to work in a mental health practice, but it helps.
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Oxford report recommends tariffs for lawyers’ fees
Governments should introduce tariffs for lawyers’ fees if they want to deliver wider access to justice, according to an Oxford University study of litigation funding systems across Europe published today. The research into the funding and costs of litigation in 35 countries, published by the Foundation ...
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Go for web services and automation but don’t forget your clients
Forgive me for returning to this subject, but as we move into an era of providing services in new ways there are plenty of examples of how not to do it, from those who have had years of experience and who really ought to know better.
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Firms miss out on consumer calls
Law firms that close for lunch and only open during standard nine-to-five office hours could be missing out on up to 38% of consumer enquiries, it has been claimed. Referral service Contact Law has monitored the 60,000 telephone calls it received from consumers in the first ...
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Law Society launches scheme to deliver PII help
The Law Society’s professional indemnity insurance helpline is braced for a surge in calls from firms looking to secure cover before the 1 October renewal deadline. To assist those firms having difficulty securing renewal terms, the Law Society today launched a SafetyNet scheme. ...
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Legal Ombudsman seeks views on complaints publishing
A discussion paper issued by the Legal Ombudsman today is seeking views on whether it should publish the names of firms when it reports details of consumer complaints. The Ombudsman has been set up by the Office for Legal Complaints and begins taking complaints from consumers ...
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Forward to a Finnish future for UK lawyers?
I met the chief executives of the European Bar Associations (CEEBA) in Prague last week. The organisation has been in existence for 50 years this year. It has lost some of its more colourful traditions – such as the collective singing of an organisational song – but still clings to ...
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Surge in judges ordering parenting classes
The number of warring parents being ordered by judges to attend parenting classes has tripled to 3,000 in five months, the Gazette has learned. Figures from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) have shown a threefold rise in the number of separating ...
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Bar regulator proposes relaxing limits on barristers’ role
The Bar Standards Board has set out its stall to become a ‘specialist regulator’ for those providing advocacy and related services – and proposes allowing barristers to carry out work currently performed by solicitors. In a consultation published today, the bar’s regulator proposes that barristers should ...
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How can law firms find the value in their brand?
Intellectual property makes a significant contribution to businesses in almost every sector. The law is no exception. A law firm’s intellectual property, such as trademarks, reputation, copyright, websites and client relationships, can be considered individually or collectively as the brand. Law firm brands are highly valuable, serve many purposes and ...
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City Law School agrees internships
The City Law School has agreed a range of international commercial law internships for students on its Master of Laws (LLM) programmes. The school has renewed an international commercial law internship with US firm Sidley Austin for the fifth year running. The successful candidate will spend ...
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Legal quangos face cull
Nine legal-related bodies are among the 177 quangos set to be axed by the coalition government, according to a leaked report obtained by the Telegraph. The nine bodies are: the Legal Services Commission; the Legal Services Ombudsman; the Legal Deposit Advisory Committee; the Magistrates Court Rule ...