Last 3 months headlines – Page 1262

  • News

    Lasting power of attorney process to go online

    2012-07-30T00:00:00Z

    The process of applying for lasting powers of attorney (LPA) is to go on the web under proposals announced by the Office of the Public Guardian on Friday. Basic information about individuals subject to powers of attorney would also be posted online, protected only by a password, according to the ...

  • News

    Intellectual property

    2012-07-30T00:00:00Z

    Hearing - Practice - Defendant seeking to launch television service called ‘NOW TV’ Starbucks (UK) Ltd v British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc and other companies: ChD (Patents) (Mr Justice Arnold): 29 June 2012 ...

  • News

    Leading firms sign up to judicial recruitment campaign

    2012-07-27T00:00:00Z

    Magic circle and other top law firms are spearheading a campaign to encourage more senior solicitors to apply for judicial office. The initiative follows the failure of earlier attempts to bring more solicitors into the judiciary. As the Gazette revealed last year, a committee of senior ...

  • News

    Twitter joke trial must not end here

    2012-07-27T00:00:00Z

    There will be lots of talk of pride in Britain today, but perhaps the biggest source comes from the Royal Courts of Justice rather than the Olympic stadium. It was there, at the Court of Appeal, that justice - and sanity - finally prevailed, as Paul Chambers’ conviction of sending ...

  • News

    Law Society to protest at Santander’s 'panel cull'

    2012-07-27T00:00:00Z

    Hundreds of solicitors are to be culled from Santander’s conveyancing panel - even after paying the lender’s charge of over £100 to have their panel membership reviewed, the Law Society has claimed. The Society said it would be ‘vigorously’ raising its concerns over Santander’s cull, which ...

  • News

    Father and daughter plead guilty to £250,000 legal aid fraud

    2012-07-27T00:00:00Z

    A father and daughter who purported to be able to offer criminal law advice have pleaded guilty to frauds worth over £250,000, some against the Legal Services Commission. Mohammed Arshid Khatana, 51 and his daughter Mahria Khatana, 24, both of Hawkswood Gardens, Brierfield, Nelson, Lancashire, appeared ...

  • News

    Jurisdiction

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Conflict of laws - Challenge to jurisdiction - Civil and commercial matters Antonio Gramsci Shipping Corporation and others v Recoletos Ltd and others: Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Teare): 12 July 2012 ...

  • News

    Competition

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Abuse of dominant position - Claimant company operating bus services on certain routes 2 Travel Group plc (in liquidation) v Cardiff City Transport Services Ltd: Competition Appeal Tribunal (Lord Carlile of Berriew CBE, QC, Peter Freeman CBE, QC and ...

  • News

    Fighting fraud

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Angela Neale’s letter is a timely reminder that vigilance is key in everybody’s efforts to prevent property fraud.

  • News

    Pinning down property crime

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Angela Neale’s letter must not be ignored.

  • News

    Tender points

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    In anticipation of the new legal aid contracts coming into force in April next year, I recently submitted a couple of tenders for new contracts, one of which was to deal with telephone-only advice in family law. Part of the pre-qualification questionnaire awarded points based on experience in providing a ...

  • News

    Retired out

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Ken Clarke, at 72, confirms that judges will have to retire at 70 otherwise ‘politicians or somebody else will have to start appraising their performance’.

  • News

    Living and learning

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    In a tough market where budgets are tight and clients are demanding more for less, lawyers are having to broaden their skill set to stay in the game. Black letter law is not enough - practitioners need to be able to relate it to clients’ practical problems, deal with risk ...

  • News

    New draft code does not go far enough

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Can we afford to prosecute people any more? We have already seen the government’s proposals to introduce what it calls ‘deferred’ prosecution agreements, under which companies that commit economic crimes will be able to escape criminal charges, indefinitely, if they agree to pay penalties and comply with other conditions. Last ...

  • News

    ‘Baby barrister’ threat to solicitors

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Barristers with under three years’ practising experience will be able to take instructions directly from clients if the Bar Standards Board’s latest plan for the extension of public access rules is approved. The board heard last week that ‘baby barristers’ may be the only representation ...

  • News

    Law firm profit divide continues to widen

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Revenue has fallen at a quarter of firms over the last year, and the gap in both profitability and growth in turnover between London and the rest of the UK continued to widen. In most firms headcount has remained static or fallen. These are the ...

  • News

    Magic circle retention rates hold up

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Magic circle firm Clifford Chance has retained 48 of 62 trainees, a retention rate of 77%, it revealed this week, in a clutch of announcements of trainee retention figures at City and international firms.

  • News

    Victims face trek as violence courts shut

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Court closures are forcing victims and witnesses in domestic violence cases to travel more than 50 miles to and from hearings, the ...

  • News

    Solicitors warned of divorce claims

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    Divorce solicitors could face thousands of compensation claims in cases where pensions were undervalued in a divorce settlement, a pensions consultant has claimed. Divorce LifeLine suggests that since pension sharing was introduced in December 2000, around 750,000 people, in half the divorces across the country, could ...

  • News

    Dramatic changes to family migration

    2012-07-26T00:00:00Z

    On 11 June, the Home Office announced the latest round of changes to the UK Immigration Rules. The broad reforms aim to restrict the ability of non-European Economic Area (EEA) migrants to enter or remain in the UK under the family migration route, and to curtail the use of article ...