Last 3 months headlines – Page 1695
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Art for art's sake
Many Gazette readers will identify with not quite being able to remember how old they are – at least until the maths is done. Institutions sometimes have the same problem. A few weeks back, the Law Society Art Group (LSAG) asked the Gazette for a small spot to ...
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Jack of all trades
Global capitalism is in turmoil, the dole queues are lengthening inexorably and you’ve more chance of finding Shergar than a buyer for your house. But no matter. Such trifles have been turfed off the front pages by an issue of far greater moment – what to do about messrs Ross ...
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Referral rule breaches widespread
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is to reconsider the controversial question of referral arrangements as new figures show that the number of firms not complying with rules governing referrals remains stubbornly high. The SRA also expressed fears that the current economic climate might encourage practitioners to cut further corners.
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Solicitor poised to sue broker as Society takes action
A two-partner firm is set to sue its broker after its professional indemnity insurance (PII) premium quadrupled, the Gazette has learned – while in a parallel development, the Law Society has created a PII crisis group and hinted it could launch its own action. Joe Golstein ...
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Society and bar clash over solicitor-advocates
The Law Society has hit back at criticism from the bar over the ‘appalling’ standards of some solicitor-advocates, who it is alleged are keeping work for themselves for economic reasons rather than instructing barristers. Law Society President Paul Marsh said the comments were ‘exactly what you ...
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Newspapers plan legal referral services
The Daily Telegraph and another national newspaper are to launch their own legal referrals services. The newspapers have tied or are about to tie deals with legal referrals company Contact Law to offer the company's service under their branding. ...
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'Snowy peaks' charge
Sir Ken Macdonald QC has made an outspoken attack on the criminal justice system for failing to recruit enough black and minority ethnic (BME) staff. In his final official speech as Director of Public Prosecutions, Macdonald (pictured) called on other parts of the justice system to ...
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Defendants value solicitor choice
A choice of solicitor is important to nine out of ten criminal defendants, according to a government-sponsored study published this week. Users perspectives of defence services in the criminal justice system also says that one-third of defendants at police ...
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Firm closures increase
Latest figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority show the number of law firm closures month-by-month since January 2005. As shown by the spike in the green line, September this year was the worst month by far, with 375 firms closing – nearly 40% higher than the September average for the ...
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Social welfare contract threat
Specialist firms could be lost to legal aid under government proposals for a single social welfare contract, practitioners have warned. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) last week began a consultation on a new procurement model for civil legal aid services. From 2010, the commission plans to ...
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Internet property plea
The Law Society should be the ‘pathfinder’ in developing systems to computerise the process of buying and selling properties, the chairman of the Society’s conveyancing and land law committee said last week. Richard Barnett, who is also senior partner at volume firm Barnetts, told the ...
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Society to vote on Council size
Law Society Council representatives are to put their heads on the block to decide the future size of the body. After more than a year of investigations into the structure of the Council, a vote will be taken at next week’s Council meeting. A consultation ...
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Boris rapped over legal snub
The Mayor of London’s decision not to invite City lawyers on to his high-level economic crisis group has drawn criticism from the City of London Law Society. The new group, which is tasked with helping London through the downturn, will meet regularly to discuss the effects ...
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Lawyers warned of individual fines
Solicitors responsible for their firms’ anti-money laundering systems will now risk being personally fined if they do not have adequate procedures in place, experts have warned. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) last week levied its first fine on a business money laundering reporting officer (MLRO). If ...
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Banking investments, loans and corporate takeovers
Energy boost: City firm Norton Rose advised the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission on signing a uranium exploration agreement with French nuclear power company Areva, and is advising on negotiations over a mining agreement. Magic circle firm Linklaters advised Areva, while Jordan firm Aljazy ...
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Freedom of information: documents and diplomats
Lawyers who act as external legal advisers to large public authorities will inevitably hold a lot of documents about the subject of their instructions. Consequently, when their clients receive Freedom of Information Act requests, some of these documents may be caught by the act as being information ‘held by another ...
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Immigration
Disability living allowance – Immigration policy – Income support – Maintenance – Reliance on third-party support (1) AM (Ethiopia) (2) SA (Somalia) (3) MB (Pakistan) (4) MI (Somalia) & anr v Entry Clearance Officer: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice ...
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Home information packs: happy birthday?
‘If ever a government needs a salutary lesson in what happens when you ignore what the stakeholders say, I introduce to you the home information pack,’ reflects Richard Barnett, chairman of the Law Society’s conveyancing and land law committee. There was never going to be much ...