Last 3 months headlines – Page 1584
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The Law Society can help solicitors navigate cost issues and training
The law is a noble profession, where to succeed requires not only flair, but business acumen. This is as true for in-house solicitors (whether commerce or government-based) as it is for private practice. We all have to work within a budgetary framework and provide outputs and outcomes relative to cost. ...
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Equal treatment
I read in the Gazette of 22 April that the Co-operative Group is planning to promote its legal services and become an alternative business structure (see [2010] Gazette, 22 April, 4).
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‘Gold-plating’ of anti-bribery legislation threatens competitiveness of UK business
by Jason Mansella barrister at 7 Bedford Row Chambers, London, specialising in white-collar crime and Financial Services Authority litigation No one would argue that before 2010 the UK’s anti-corruption legislation was not archaic and inadequate. Piecemeal attempts to make the old law fit for purpose through ...
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The bar has ambitious plans for capitalising on changes
The bar has been criticised for being slow to respond to the opportunities presented by the Legal Services Act. Indeed, some solicitors may have been lulled into a false sense of security by its apparent inertia. Barristers have never been greatly renowned for their managerial or ...
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Partner promotions up at top City firms
Top City law firms have upped their partner promotions this year, in what appears to be a good round for City lawyers. As the Gazette went to press, only two City firms outside the magic circle, Norton Rose and Denton Wilde Sapte, and two within ...
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FTSE-100 group attacks ECJ ruling on Akzo Nobel appeal
The group that represents in-house counsel at FTSE 100 companies has attacked a preliminary ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on legal privilege rights for in-house lawyers as illogical and ‘flawed’. The GC100 said it was ‘very disappointed’ by advocate general Juliane Kokott’s opinion ...
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Chancery Lane condemns criticism of Chinese human rights lawyers
Two Chinese human rights lawyers face losing their licences to practise law following ‘absurd’ accusations by Beijing Municipal Judicial Bureau that they had behaved illegally in court. Chinese human rights lawyers Tang Jitian and Liu Wei, who represented a follower of the Falun Gong movement in ...
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Quinn Group considers selling insurance arm
Quinn Insurance, the Irish insurer currently in administration, looks destined to be sold following a statement from its parent company Quinn Group issued last week. Quinn Group said it had concluded that it ‘should consider selling Quinn Insurance’ in the interests of Quinn Insurance employees and ...
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Barristers could have right to sue solicitors for unpaid fees
Barristers would be able to sue solicitors for unpaid fees under proposals published by the Bar Council last week to put the relationship between the two professions on a more commercial footing. The consultation proposes the introduction of new legally binding contractual terms to govern the ...
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Employment Appeal Tribunal: ‘Job applications must be genuine’
A litigant who brought age discrimination claims against 20 recruitment agencies has lost an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) on the grounds that she had no genuine interest in the vacancies for which she had applied. The EAT said the judgment could serve as ...
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QualitySolicitors to launch personal injury claims management scheme
National law firm network QualitySolicitors is to launch a new personal injury claims management scheme designed to target claimants from higher socio-economic groups and drive down the cost of referrals, the Gazette can reveal. QualitySolicitors Personal Injury (QSPI) is a members-only claims management-style company which will ...
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Law Society survey reveals BME insurance divide
Law Society research into last year’s professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewal process has revealed a growing divide in the market, with ethnic minority firms encountering greater problems than most of the rest of the profession. The Society said it would ‘explore urgently’ the reasons behind the ...
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RTA portal launch runs into trouble
The new road traffic accident (RTA) information exchange, which is designed to handle hundreds of thousands of low-value RTA claims, has been dogged by problems since its belated introduction last week, the Gazette has learned. Many solicitors have still not received access codes for the new ...
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Quality and competence are not the same
Diane Hayter, chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel, is right in saying that ‘CPD is an insufficient check of quality’ 1 April). In the eyes of the client...
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Law Society seeks to block privilege for non-lawyers
The Law Society has been granted permission to intervene in a Court of Appeal case that could see legal professional privilege (LPP) extended to non-lawyers. In his High Court judgment in Prudential v Special Commissioner of Income Tax and Philip Pandolfo (HM Inspector of Taxes) in ...
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Why are councils and unions cross with a certain lawyer?
There is a long tradition of lawyers being unpopular. Take the jokes: What’s the difference between a catfish and a lawyer? One is a slimy, bottom-feeding, slippery creature and the other is just a fish. Or what’s the difference between a dead rat on the road and a dead lawyer? ...
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Spike in mergers predicted in 2010
The year ahead is likely to see a spike in mergers and team hires among the top 100 law firms, with 20% looking to expand overseas, according to research published this week. Sweet & Maxwell’s annual survey of law firm finance directors reveals that 40% of ...
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Solicitors to launch scheme to drive down PI referral costs
National law firm network QualitySolicitors is to launch a new personal injury scheme designed to target claimants from higher socio-economic groups and drive down the cost of referrals, the Gazette can reveal. QualitySolicitors Personal Injury (QSPI) is a members-only claims management-style company which will be launched ...
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Child care lawyers are qualified
I do not recognise the picture presented in your article entitled ‘Fears over child care lawyer shortage’ (see [2010] Gazette,15 April, 1).
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Reinstate income threshold for PC fee
I read with interest your Opinion column about whether there should be discounts on the PC fee for part-time workers and your request for readers' views (see [2010] Gazette, 29 April, 10).