Last 3 months headlines – Page 1565

  • News

    Plumbing depths

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    In the months since Home Information Packs (HIPs) were introduced, we at the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors have seen and are still seeing alarmingly poor quality in all aspects of building work which requires notification.

  • News

    Britain’s fault-based divorce is anachronistic and in need of reform

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    by Edward Heatona senior solicitor at Mills & Reeve LLP With divorce enquiries reportedly at a 10-year high, pressure is growing from family law professionals – led by family law solicitors’ association Resolution – for reform of the existing ‘fault-based’ system to enable spouses to divorce ...

  • News

    Web entrepreneurs entitled to target serial litigants

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    Early day motions (EDMs), formal motions submitted in principle for debate in the House of Commons, can sometimes lack gravity as well as credibility. MPs have in the past seen fit to spend your money extolling the virtues of Dolly Parton’s oeuvre and the quality of Stornoway’s black pudding. Not ...

  • News

    West Ham United is sold and a flotation by Tiger Airways

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    Rights move: Magic circle firm Linklaters advised financial group UniCredit on a €4bn (£3.49bn) rights issue. US firm Shearman & Sterling advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UniCredit Bank as global coordinators and bookrunners, and a consortium of other banks as bookrunners ...

  • News

    Defamation fees cap risks 'restricting access to justice’

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    Government proposals to limit lawyers’ fees in defamation cases risk ‘restricting access to justice’ according to claimant solicitors, while those representing defendants say they do not go far enough.

  • News

    Top US firms plan London push

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    Top US firms are planning to expand in London in 2010, with trainee, associate and partner positions expected to be up for grabs over the course of the year. White & Case will bring in between 25 and 30 new associates in London this year, London ...

  • News

    Vietnamese lawyer escapes death sentence

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    A Vietnamese lawyer who acts as a consultant for a magic circle firm has been found guilty of activities aimed at ending communist rule, but his death sentence has been commuted to five years’ imprisonment. Le Cong Dinh was charged with activities including posting articles ...

  • News

    MPs condemn 'serial litigant’ website

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    A website set up by an employment solicitor to enable lawyers to identify ‘serial litigants’ in employment cases has been ‘condemned’ in a parliamentary early day motion (EDM) signed by more than 40 MPs. The website, serial-litigants.com, uses records ...

  • News

    BRM Solicitors could repay up to £89,000 to former miners

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    Chesterfield firm BRM Solicitors could repay up to £89,000 to former miners after being taken to task by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for its handling of government compensation claims. BRM partner Peter James McGowan has appeared before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal after admitting a number of ...

  • News

    Firm launches website for 'undersettled’ coal miner compensation claims

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    A Yorkshire firm has set up a new website to gather claims from former coal miners who believe that solicitors undersettled their original government compen­sation claims. The site, Minerscompensationclaims.com, was launched in December by nine-partner firm Jordans. The website aims to gather previously settled claims from ...

  • News

    Legal world comes to aid of Haitian survivors

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    Law firms around the world have offered financial and pro bono support to help survivors of the Haitian earthquake, while the Law Society has launched an appeal to gather donations. Chancery Lane has set up an online appeal which will aggregate money raised by the legal ...

  • News

    Lawyers unite to oppose further criminal legal aid cutbacks

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    The government has united solicitors and barristers in their opposition to proposals to make further cuts to criminal legal aid work. But as both sides seek a solution that protects their members’ interests, there are differences over the best way forward. The Bar Council and Criminal ...

  • News

    Recession fears leaves corporate and property lawyers overstretched

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    Corporate and property lawyers are being overstretched as firms remain fearful of a double-dip recession and refuse to recruit new staff to deal with an upturn in work, the Gazette has learned. At a national meeting of the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD), which represents lawyers from ...

  • News

    Conveyancing solicitors face higher bank charges over Registry portal

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    Conveyancing solicitors will face higher bank charges as a result of the Land Registry’s new electronic portal. On 31 March, Land Registry Direct, the means by which solicitors access the Land Registry’s e-business services, will be replaced by a new electronic platform. ...

  • News

    Website for blacklisted solicitors plans expansion

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    A website that blacklists solicitors and law firms is set to expand its capacity, with the number of visitors to the site now exceeding 1,000 a day, its owner claimed this week. Rick Kordowski, who runs solicitorsfromhell.co.uk, told the Gazette that he plans to expand the ...

  • News

    Firms feel the burden of SRA regulation

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    More than three-quarters of firms think the regulatory burden imposed on them by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority is excessive, research commissioned by the Law Society has shown. However, the study showed a high level of satisfaction with the SRA’s ethics helpline, and an understanding ...

  • News

    Is media access to the family courts endangering children?

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    Ministry of Justice research published this week found that since access by the media to the family courts was widened last April, relatively few journalists had taken the opportunity to attend hearings.

  • News

    Unpalatable answer

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    If referral fees are such a smart idea, why don’t barristers, accountants or chartered tax advisers permit them? The answer is unpalatable. Collectively, they have integrity and intelligence. Solicitors do not.

  • News

    Conflicting interests

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority is consulting upon relaxing the rules on conflicts of interest for solicitors (see [2010] Gazette, 21 January).

  • News

    Unlevel playing field

    2010-01-28T00:00:00Z

    Lord Justice Jackson is to be applauded for bringing forward proposals which will so clearly reduce the cost of litigation by providing a cap on success fees, non-recoverability of after-the-event insurance premiums, and fixed fees across the fast-track.