Last 3 months headlines – Page 1567
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When nations saw red
The traumas of the current sporting season are a far (battle) cry from the football war fought between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969, says Russell Evans, a partner at Southampton firm Eric Robinson. An immigration dispute between the two South American nations, coupled with ...
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Halliwells fallout: will banks be wary of lending to partnerships?
Recessions always have a long tail for professional services businesses. And as competitors pick over the carcass of Halliwells, the downturn’s biggest casualty yet in the legal sector, there is great anxiety among industry observers. Is this the thin end of what may turn out to be a very thick ...
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The Law Society is meeting the needs of members in difficult times
In my very first Podium last August, I wrote of the challenges facing the profession in what I anticipated would be one of the busiest years in the Law Society’s history. In my final article as president, I can state with confidence that the Society has met and dealt with ...
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Barristers and solicitors must work collaboratively
by Nicholas Green QCchairman of the Bar Council Budgetary cuts of seismic proportions; economic slump; legal aid revolutions; Jackson on costs; alternative business structures; quality assurance for advocates... it never ends. Myriad pressures are forcing the legal profession to look deeply into itself.
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Inexperienced firms seek help for mental health work
Legal aid cuts have forced firms with no mental health experience to bid for mental health contracts – and they are now urgently seeking to poach staff to enable them to do the work, recruiters have told the Gazette. Toby Williamson, director at national recruiters G2 ...
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Insolvency practitioners overpaid £15m a year
Insolvency practitioners are overpaid £15m a year because unsecured creditors are unable to rein in their fees, the Office of Fair Trading reported last week. In its study on the market for corporate insolvency, the OFT recommended that the government create an independent complaints-handling body to ...
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Satellites, lingerie, mobile phones and entertainment attractions
Satellite finance: City firm Herbert Smith advised Gazprom Space Systems, a subsidiary of energy company Gazprom, on guaranteeing the financing of two telecoms satellites, Yamal 401 and Yamal 402, due to be launched in 2011. Magic circle firm Linklaters advised a consortium of ...
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Rule of law ‘in disarray’ in Zimbabwe
Extra-judicial killings, kidnappings and torture continue unabated in Zimbabwe despite a 22-month power-sharing agreement between the country’s two main political parties, a delegation of legal bodies reported this week. The delegation's report, A Place in the Sun, looks at the state of the rule of ...
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Call for EU to tighten intellectual property protection
Pressure is mounting on EU lawmakers to improve protection for trade secrets and intellectual property (IP) rights, after two business lobbies called for stricter enforcement. A coalition of seven international corporations told the Gazette this week that it has called on the European Commission to afford ...
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Lord Lester demands 'urgent action' on CFA 'scandal'
Libel reformer Lord Lester has called on the government to take ‘urgent action’ on the ‘scandal’ of 100% success fees charged by lawyers working on conditional fee agreements (CFAs) in defamation actions. The barrister and Liberal Democrat peer asked justice minister Lord McNally last week ...
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Lawyers warn that court closures could threaten access to justice
Lawyers have warned that government proposals to close nearly a third of the courts in England and Wales could threaten access to justice and increase pressure on legal aid practitioners. In a consultation launched last week, the Courts Service proposed shutting 157 out of 530 ...
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Acoustic 'youth dispersal' devices ‘a danger to children's hearing'
Acoustic ‘youth dispersal’ devices are a danger to children’s hearing and should be banned immediately, the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe ruled unanimously last week. The devices, designed to be audible only to people under the age of 20, are installed in public places such as shopping centres, ...
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Halliwells becomes biggest casualty of the recession
One of the UK’s biggest regional law firms is expected to disappear from the market shortly, after the economic downturn claimed its biggest victim so far in the legal sector. As the Gazette went to press, Manchester-headquartered Halliwells and its staff were in limbo as ...
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Profits surge as A&O rides out recession
Magic circle firm Allen & Overy increased average profits per equity partner (PEP) by 10% in 2009/10 on the back of falling revenues, the firm reported today. The first of the magic circle to report full-year financials in 2010, Allen & Overy announced PEP up to ...
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Cuts on the agenda of family justice review
The Ministry of Justice has launched a ‘comprehensive review’ of the family justice system, appointing a panel of experts to hear evidence on how the system can improve. However, the panel chair has admitted a principal catalyst for the review is the government’s desire to make spending cuts. ...
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Criminal justice - doing it better with less
In his first speech on criminal justice since taking office, justice secretary Ken Clarke yesterday laid out his plans for the reform of the courts, legal aid and sentencing.
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90% ‘would recommend their solicitor to a friend’
Nine out of 10 people would recommend their solicitor to a friend, according to independent research commissioned by the Law Society. Of 1,011 people questioned by research agency GfK NOP, 505 said they had a solicitor to whom they would go for advice on a legal ...
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Halliwells on the brink of administration
The economic meltdown is set to claim its biggest casualty yet in the legal sector, with Halliwells hovering on the brink of administration. Talks are under way today to transfer the bulk of the top 50 firm’s assets to Liverpool-based Hill Dickinson, though there is no ...
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Supermarketing for lawyers
For a wordy profession, lawyers are a strangely reticent bunch when it comes to marketing. But the advent of the Legal Services Act has helped usher in big-hitting advertisers such as Tesco, Asda and the Co-op, making getting your name out there a commercial imperative.
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PII renewal fury
The annual renewal of our professional indemnity policies is approaching. I contacted our broker to assess what treats might be in store for us. He indicates that it is early days, but that we should budget for a substantial increase – maybe as much as 100%.The reasons for this are: ...