Last 3 months headlines – Page 1707
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Porn in the post
Obiter’s personal mail is usually an uninspiring mix of junk and bills. This is not the case for certain prisoners at high security Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire. They have been receiving post ostensibly from their legal advisers which turns out to contain ...
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Tales of femininity
More tales, from the terrifyingly recent past, about the judiciary's nervousness of anything vaguely feminine entering the courtroom. Jackie Mensah, an associate with Bennett Griffin in Worthing, recalls ‘having the privilege of experiencing a male district judge at the Principal Registry informing a female counsel that he really couldn't "hear" ...
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CDS Direct unbalances the scales of justice
The feature ‘Dial J for Justice’ (see [2009] Gazette, 5 February, 10) demonstrates how the Legal Services Commission is collaborating with the government to reduce substantially, if not extinguish, access to justice through legal aid. My own experience is apt.
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Taking liberties – we want them back
As an example of gobsmacking candour from an establishment grandee, it ranks alongside former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s startling assertion that the Iraq War was ‘largely about oil’. Former MI5 chief Stella Rimington this week accused the government of exploiting the fear of terrorism to curtail civil liberties. ...
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Claims companies warned on misleading advertising
Claims management firms that mislead consumers by claiming they can arrange for debts to be written off have been warned that they face enforcement action by the Ministry of Justice. Justice minister Bridget Prentice delivered the warning as the MoJ issued new guidance on misleading advertising which sets out ...
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Medium sized firms join forces to take on competition
Two legal heavyweights are to head a national network of law firms formed in the latest response to competition challenges resulting from the Legal Services Act. The Legal Alliance (TLA) is a group of mainly medium-sized firms which will market business and consumer services under ...
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LSC 'arrogant and devious' says helpline pioneer
A top criminal lawyer who helped set up the CDS Direct helpline for detainees has launched an outspoken attack on the Legal Services Commission, which engaged him as a key adviser. Writing in this week’s Gazette, Michael Burdett accuses the LSC of being ‘arrogant and ...
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Law Society to help develop conveyancing websites
The Law Society is to join efforts to develop websites that will display what progress has been made up and down a chain of property transactions. Law Society President Paul Marsh told the Gazette that the Society’s e-conveyancing taskforce is working with a number of ...
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International panel condemns UK anti-terrorism measures
'Excessive’ and ‘abusive’ anti-terrorism measures have undermined international human rights law, according to a report by an independent panel of judges and lawyers. After a three-year study, the Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, established by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), said ...
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Society to help firms fight personal injury 'client capture'
Solicitors attacking the insurance company practice of ‘capturing’ personal injury clients have been promised the support of the Law Society. The Accident Compensation Solicitors Group (ACSG), which lobbies for the right of consumers to choose their own solicitor, has attended a meeting at the Law ...
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Work-permit policy for trainees 'discrimination', appeal tribunal rules
Law firms that refuse to consider training contract applications from students who would need a work permit are having to review the policy following a ruling last week. The Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld a finding of indirect race discrimination on the grounds of nationality against top-30 ...
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Law firms may be forced to disclose lobbying clients
Law firms are a step closer to being forced to disclose the clients on behalf of whom they lobby as the parliamentary debate on lobbying continued this week. Responding to a question last week at prime minister’s question time, Gordon Brown said the government had ...
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Business Court opening date slips back to 2011
The new Business Court, due to open in 2010, will not now be ready until the following year, the Gazette has learned. The new court will replace the Commercial and other courts currently working from St Dunstan’s House in Fetter Lane in the City of London. ...
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UK unfairly burdened by money laundering regulations
UK solicitors are unfairly burdened by anti-money laundering regulations compared with many of their European counterparts, the Law Society has warned. In its submission to the House of Lords Inquiry into Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, Chancery Lane also calls for a Europe-wide ...
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Domestic violence victims get banking help
Victims of domestic abuse can now bypass banks’ money laundering regulations under new measures to help them gain financial independence from their abusers. The Home Office and the British Bankers Association said last week that victims would be allowed to open accounts with only a ...
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Tax specialists dismiss MP's clampdown motion
City tax lawyers have dismissed as unworkable a parliamentary motion urging the government to clamp down on firms that design tax avoidance schemes. Thirty-two MPs have so far signed an early day motion urging the government to ‘investigate and regulate’ the activities of banks, law firms ...
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Sharia finance joins global economic downturn
Hopes that Islamic finance would escape the economic downturn are unfounded, early figures suggest. After six years of growth, the value of sukuk bonds issued fell from $42bn (£28bn) in 2007 to $20bn (£13.4bn) in 2008, according to a new survey. The Islamic Finance 2009 ...
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Mining investments and transport negotiations
China investment: Magic circle firm Clifford Chance, alongside Australian firm Mallesons, advised Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) on its $19.5bn (£13.4bn) investment in the Rio Tinto mining group. The transaction involved the issue of convertible bonds to Chinalco, which will increase Chinalco's shareholding ...
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Baby P case sparks hike in care applications
Fears that vulnerable children would be put at risk because of the soaring cost of family care proceedings appear to have proved unfounded, new figures suggest. Fees for public law childcare applications rose from £150 to £4,825 last May, as part of a government drive ...
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Three solicitors appointed Queen’s Counsel
Three out of four solicitor applicants for Queen’s Counsel (QC) were successful in the latest appointment round, it was announced today (19 February). And women continue to outperform men overall, with 55% of all female applicants successful in 2008/09 compared to 40% of men. ...