Last 3 months headlines – Page 1560
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Probate – resulting trust and joint bank accounts
Joint bank accounts often give rise to problems on death, either because of uncertainty as to the extent of the deceased’s interest or because of uncertainty as to the correct inheritance tax (IHT) treatment.
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The yoke's on you
Is there, Obiter sometimes wonders, a genetic imperative encoded into the DNA of every solicitor, that makes them physically unable to allow any error to slip past uncorrected? It is, no doubt, this unrelenting quest for accuracy – rather than any desire to make mischief – that prompted Neil Howlett, ...
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The MoJ’s structural reform plan replaces targets with timetables
At last, we have some idea of what the Ministry of Justice is planning to do during the coming months. It was one of the first departments to publish its so-called structural reform plan, setting out how it will implement the coalition agreement. We can gloss ...
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Why not let us do our own duty rotas?
As one due to depart on annual leave, I feel that the Law Society’s comments on the new duty solicitors rota and the delay in issuing it are well founded. I received the rota only on Monday 12 July and find that, during the subsequent fortnight, I have no fewer ...
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Round and round they go
The golfing event of the year has just finished. Not the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews, but a far more impressive two-day golfing marathon just completed by a lawyer from Merseyside firm Weightmans and his colleague. David Lewis, head of the firm’s Liverpool office and Nick Wilson, health and ...
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Safety first at work
Last year saw the lowest number of employment-related fatalities. As a claimant personal injury lawyer I feel a sense of relief. There I was thinking I was an ambulance-chasing waste of space, with no social utility or worth. Perhaps the ‘potty’ Brussels ‘bureaucrats’ who inflicted ...
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Solicitor ahoy
At this time of year the need for a holiday becomes urgent, but for many it is still some weeks off. Many solicitors will find their gaze wandering from the contract in front of them, through the grimy window of their offices, their minds already picturing the exotic delights of ...
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Brand support to give solicitors competitive advantage
Much has been written about the pace of change, smart systems and the threat of consumer-centric major competitors. Fortunately, I believe there are some tasks, for example those requiring our deepest knowledge and expertise, which considered alongside clients’ desire for a face-to-face relationship, that will still require the traditional lawyer. ...
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Legal aid solicitors must not face a repeat of the tendering debacle
Last Thursday I received news that the small firm at which I have recently become a partner will be able to continue to provide a publicly funded service for the people of our town, with its high levels of poverty, family breakdown and unemployment, from 14 October. ...
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Britain's tax system is now among the most complex in the world
Taxpayers may not benefit from changes to fiscal policy – we’re all going to be paying more tax – but they will benefit from simpler tax law. It took nearly two centuries from the introduction of income tax for Britain’s tax law to reach a colossal 4,555 pages by 1997; ...
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Could a graduate tax help reduce the profession's diversity deficit?
by Paul Rogerson editor-in-chief of the Gazette ‘It surely can’t be right that a teacher, or care worker, or research scientist, is expected to pay the same graduate contribution as a top commercial lawyer, surgeon or City analyst… whose graduate premium is so much bigger.’
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Halliwells break-upconfirmed as former rivals move in
The break-up of north-west law firm Halliwells was completed yesterday with confirmation that its Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield operations have been acquired by three former rivals. City firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) has scooped up Halliwells’ Manchester insurance practice, taking on 17 partners, plus other ...
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Stock exchanges, supermarkets, bicycles and banks
China might: Magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Agricultural Bank of China on listing on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges, potentially raising a world record $22.1bn (£14.5bn).
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London law centre admits to ‘speculative’ mental health bid
A London law centre has admitted bidding for mental health work even though it had no experience in the field, but claimed it needed to diversify ‘in order to survive’. Following the result of the Legal Services Commission’s recent mental health tender exercise, lawyers claimed that ...
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Corporate and securities law falls short on human rights
Corporate and securities law recognises human rights, but only to a limited extent, a UN report compiled with input from two magic circle firms has found. There is ‘limited to non-existent’ coordination between corporate regulators and government agencies tasked with protecting human rights, and a lack ...
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New Law Society president unveils conveyancing scheme
The new president of the Law Society has pledged to promote the profession’s role at the ‘heart of society and commerce’, as she revealed plans for a new scheme to support conveyancers. The conveyancing quality scheme, to be launched by the Law Society this autumn, will ...
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Appeal court indemnity blow for insurers
Insurance companies cannot enter the ‘circle of confidence’ between solicitors and clients in the hope of unearthing evidence from seized documents that would enable them to refuse indemnity, the Court of Appeal confirmed last week.
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‘One-stop cyber shop’ for legal services
A ‘one-stop cyber shop’ for legal services across all 27 EU member states was launched last week amid fears about data protection and the expense of maintaining the site.
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Fears mount over ‘£500m’ legal aid cut
Speculation mounted over the future of legal aid this week amid reports that the Ministry of Justice plans to slash the £2.1bn legal aid budget by half a billion pounds. Justice secretary Ken Clarke (pictured) submitted proposals to the Treasury last week, outlining how the department ...