Last 3 months headlines – Page 1575

  • News

    It’s time to stop taking liberties with human rights

    2009-12-16T00:00:00Z

    Adolf Hitler wouldn’t have known a human right if he had found one nibbling on his breakfast pumpernickel. We’re all agreed on that. The British people, on the other hand, are upstanding citizens who champion the weak and whose love of cricket embodies our profound devotion to fair play.

  • News

    Ghosts of Christmas past and future: client data

    2009-12-16T00:00:00Z

    Here is an easy measure of how well your firm might face up to the increasing competition in the legal services market: did your firm send out personalised Christmas cards this year?

  • News

    Human rights committee warning on civil litigation funding curbs

    2009-12-16T00:00:00Z

    The government must consider evidence that civil court costs rules and funding limitations are preventing people who have suffered human rights abuses at the hands of UK companies from seeking redress, the Joint Committee on Human Rights said today. In its report on business and human ...

  • News

    Commons committee renews call for statutory lobbying register

    2009-12-16T00:00:00Z

    The Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) has renewed its call for a statutory register of parliamentary lobbyists, while also criticising the government for its slow progress in bringing about effective self-regulation of the lobbying industry. PASC published a lengthy report on lobbying in January, to which ...

  • News

    It’s time to stop taking liberties with human rights

    2009-12-16T00:00:00Z

    Adolf Hitler wouldn’t have known a human right if he had found one nibbling on his breakfast pumpernickel. We’re all agreed on that. The British people, on the other hand, are upstanding citizens who champion the weak and whose love of cricket embodies our profound devotion to fair play.

  • News

    Staff shortage stops Burma probe into international law firms

    2009-12-16T00:00:00Z

    An investigation into international law firms’ dealings in Burma has been called off because of a staff shortage at the organisation planning the probe. Pressure group Burma Campaign UK (BCUK) said this week that it will not be publishing its annual ‘dirty list’, a list of ...

  • News

    Lovells agrees merger with Hogan & Hartson

    2009-12-15T00:00:00Z

    City firm Lovells and US firm Hogan & Hartson will unite to form Hogan Lovells on 1 May next year after partners gave the green light to a merger. Hogan Lovells will have combined revenues of around $1.8bn (£1.1bn) and 2,500 lawyers in more than 40 ...

  • News

    How others see us: ‘Anglo-Saxon’ values

    2009-12-14T00:00:00Z

    I attended a round-table discussion this week, put on by one of the Belgian bars, on the topic: ‘What do we expect from a lawyer today?’ The participants came from the media, academia and various parts of the legal profession.

  • News

    Law Society to launch legal challenge on legal aid

    2009-12-14T00:00:00Z

    The Law Society is set to launch a judicial review of the government’s move to drastically reduce the legal costs that defendants can reclaim if they are acquitted of a criminal offence.

  • News

    Government to review use of cautions

    2009-12-14T00:00:00Z

    The justice secretary launched a review today to examine the way cautions and on-the-spot fines are used by the police and Crown Prosecution Service. It follows reports that they have been inappropriately used to punish more serious offences which should be dealt with by the courts. ...

  • News

    New guidelines for lawyers on assessing mental capacity

    2009-12-14T00:00:00Z

    New guidelines to help solicitors, doctors and other professionals assess mental capacity have been jointly issued by the Law Society and the British Medical Association. The guidelines, Assessment of Mental Capacity, set out best practice for dealing with people lacking capacity to make important decisions, ...

  • News

    Cross selling: the rainmaker’s not-so-secret weapon

    2009-12-11T00:00:00Z

    Continuing our investigation into the attributes of a good rainmaker, we turn to the area of ’cross-selling', having previously considered the amount of time spent and a targeted approach. A little while ago, I was attending an event with a matrimonial lawyer, and we bumped into one of her clients ...

  • News

    LSB sets out rules for regulators

    2009-12-11T00:00:00Z

    The Legal Services Board (LSB) today laid down its framework of internal governance requirements for legal regulators. The LSB said that it has provided legal regulators with a clear set of criteria to ensure that regulation is carried out independently of professional interests. The new rules ...

  • News

    Family judges must speak out, says Wall

    2009-12-11T00:00:00Z

    The judiciary must ‘come off the bench’ and speak out about the ‘parlous state of family law in 2009’, Lord Justice Wall has said. Speaking at the Association of Lawyers for Children conference, the Court of Appeal judge said ‘the time has come when the historical ...

  • News

    Expert evidence - revisions to the rules have stood the test of time

    2009-12-10T00:00:00Z

    Expert evidence was one of the most controversial issues in Lord Woolf’s civil justice inquiry in the 1990s.

  • News

    Any claim to stamp duty land tax on goodwill should be appealed

    2009-12-10T00:00:00Z

    Goodwill is produced by, and only by, people and not by things they use in business, but confusion reigns. The purpose of this article is to expose the pretence of clothing real property, land, with the value of goodwill, which is a species of personal property.

  • News

    Arbitration

    2009-12-10T00:00:00Z

    Arbitral tribunals – Beneficial ownership – Islamic law – Real property Bhatti v Bhatti: Ch D (Sir Edward Evans-Lombe): 26 November 2009 The executor applied for summary judgment on ...

  • News

    Personal injury

    2009-12-10T00:00:00Z

    Delay – Discretion – Limitation periods – Road traffic accidents McDonnell and anor v David Walker (executor of the estate of Richard Walker, deceased): CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Waller (vice-president), Rimer, Sir Paul Kennedy): 24 November 2009 ...

  • News

    Freedom of information – update on recent FoI cases

    2009-12-10T00:00:00Z

    The recent controversy over bonuses paid to civil servants employed by the Ministry of Defence highlights the public interest in salaries and bonuses of public sector officials.

  • News

    Strictly confidential

    2009-12-10T00:00:00Z

    It is well known that the post-Christmas period is peak time for divorce lawyers, with a dangerous cocktail of too much booze, too many in-laws and too much time with each other combining to put many a marriage on the rocks.