Last 3 months headlines – Page 1543

  • News

    Female perspective

    2010-09-30T00:00:00Z

    Obiter is intrigued by a new book to be launched by Hart Publishing next month entitled Feminist Judgments. The book takes bone fide Court of Appeal and House of Lords judgments and rewrites them with a feminist slant, making a point about how ...

  • News

    The plight of the mental health lawyer

    2010-09-29T00:00:00Z

    You don’t have to be mad to work in a mental health practice, but it helps.

  • News

    Oxford report recommends tariffs for lawyers’ fees

    2010-09-29T00:00:00Z

    Governments should introduce tariffs for lawyers’ fees if they want to deliver wider access to justice, according to an Oxford University study of litigation funding systems across Europe published today. The research into the funding and costs of litigation in 35 countries, published by the Foundation ...

  • News

    Go for web services and automation but don’t forget your clients

    2010-09-28T00:00:00Z

    Forgive me for returning to this subject, but as we move into an era of providing services in new ways there are plenty of examples of how not to do it, from those who have had years of experience and who really ought to know better.

  • News

    Firms miss out on consumer calls

    2010-09-28T00:00:00Z

    Law firms that close for lunch and only open during standard nine-to-five office hours could be missing out on up to 38% of consumer enquiries, it has been claimed. Referral service Contact Law has monitored the 60,000 telephone calls it received from consumers in the first ...

  • News

    Law Society launches scheme to deliver PII help

    2010-09-28T00:00:00Z

    The Law Society’s professional indemnity insurance helpline is braced for a surge in calls from firms looking to secure cover before the 1 October renewal deadline. To assist those firms having difficulty securing renewal terms, the Law Society today launched a SafetyNet scheme. ...

  • News

    Legal Ombudsman seeks views on complaints publishing

    2010-09-28T00:00:00Z

    A discussion paper issued by the Legal Ombudsman today is seeking views on whether it should publish the names of firms when it reports details of consumer complaints. The Ombudsman has been set up by the Office for Legal Complaints and begins taking complaints from consumers ...

  • News

    Forward to a Finnish future for UK lawyers?

    2010-09-27T00:00:00Z

    I met the chief executives of the European Bar Associations (CEEBA) in Prague last week. The organisation has been in existence for 50 years this year. It has lost some of its more colourful traditions – such as the collective singing of an organisational song – but still clings to ...

  • News

    Surge in judges ordering parenting classes

    2010-09-27T00:00:00Z

    The number of warring parents being ordered by judges to attend parenting classes has tripled to 3,000 in five months, the Gazette has learned. Figures from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) have shown a threefold rise in the number of separating ...

  • News

    Bar regulator proposes relaxing limits on barristers’ role

    2010-09-27T00:00:00Z

    The Bar Standards Board has set out its stall to become a ‘specialist regulator’ for those providing advocacy and related services – and proposes allowing barristers to carry out work currently performed by solicitors. In a consultation published today, the bar’s regulator proposes that barristers should ...

  • News

    How can law firms find the value in their brand?

    2010-09-27T00:00:00Z

    Intellectual property makes a significant contribution to businesses in almost every sector. The law is no exception. A law firm’s intellectual property, such as trademarks, reputation, copyright, websites and client relationships, can be considered individually or collectively as the brand. Law firm brands are highly valuable, serve many purposes and ...

  • News

    City Law School agrees internships

    2010-09-27T00:00:00Z

    The City Law School has agreed a range of international commercial law internships for students on its Master of Laws (LLM) programmes. The school has renewed an international commercial law internship with US firm Sidley Austin for the fifth year running. The successful candidate will spend ...

  • News

    Legal quangos face cull

    2010-09-24T00:00:00Z

    Nine legal-related bodies are among the 177 quangos set to be axed by the coalition government, according to a leaked report obtained by the Telegraph. The nine bodies are: the Legal Services Commission; the Legal Services Ombudsman; the Legal Deposit Advisory Committee; the Magistrates Court Rule ...

  • News

    Why the timidity around billing?

    2010-09-24T00:00:00Z

    In the current economic environment, law firms, like other businesses, are keeping a close eye on cashflow. This is always a particular concern for professional firms, who are rarely paid up front for their services.

  • News

    Even judges are powerless in the face of family cuts

    2010-09-24T00:00:00Z

    Like his predecessor Sir Mark Potter, Lord Justice Wall is not afraid to tell it like it is when it comes to problems in the family justice system.

  • News

    Law Society doubles Diversity Access Scheme places

    2010-09-24T00:00:00Z

    A Law Society scheme that aims to improve social mobility in the legal profession is to double the number of candidates it takes on next year. The Diversity Access Scheme (DAS) supports entrants to the solicitors' profession who face exceptional social, educational, financial or personal obstacles ...

  • News

    LSC puts its case in family judicial review

    2010-09-24T00:00:00Z

    On the second day of the Law Society’s judicial review of the Legal Services Commission’s tender for family legal aid work, counsel for the LSC today told the High Court that it should have been ‘obvious’ to solicitors that panel membership was going to be an important factor in the ...

  • News

    Immigration

    2010-09-23T00:00:00Z

    Administrative decision-making – Armed forces – Character – Conduct R (on the application of Charly Ngouh) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: QBD (Admin) (Mr Justice Foskett): 27 August 2010 ...

  • News

    Fraud

    2010-09-23T00:00:00Z

    VAT – Groups of companies – Input tax – Knowledge (1) Mobile Export 365 Ltd (2) Shelford (IT) Ltd v Revenue & Customs Commissioners: FTT (Tax) (Judge David Williams, K Goddard, R Spector): 6 August 2010 ...

  • News

    Memory lane

    2010-09-23T00:00:00Z

    Law Society’s Gazette, September 1970 View from the countryI will not easily forget the case of Milton v Shrewsbury. It never found its way into any law ...