Last 3 months headlines – Page 1588
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Scottish solicitors reject ‘Tesco law’ – and raise fears of flight to England
The likelihood of Scotland’s ‘big four’ law firms defecting to England appears to have risen this afternoon, following a landmark vote against the introduction of alternative business structures (ABSs) north of the border. At a special general meeting of the Law Society of Scotland, members voted ...
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Plans to introduce consumer class actions set to be revived
Specialist litigators have expressed hope that government plans to introduce class actions will be revived after the election.Provisions to introduce consumer class actions against banks were dropped during the pre-election ‘wash-up’ procedure that ensured the Financial Services Bill became law, after the Conservatives raised a raft of concerns.
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Recession makes the trainee jobs market tougher than ever
The recession has made the trainee jobs market tougher than ever, with more than a third of graduates expecting to work more than 50 hours a week and almost 40% forced to look for jobs outside law, according to research published today.
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Don’t fall foul of Bribery Act, law firms warned
Law firms need to put risk mitigation procedures in place to avoid potential prosecutions under the new Bribery Act arising from corrupt clients, experts have warned. Eoin O’Shea, a partner at City firm LG, said: ‘As with money laundering, firms and practitioners need to be careful ...
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Child’s view holds sway in international abduction case
A six-year-old girl has become the youngest child to have her views influence a court’s decision, in an international child abduction case. In Re W (Children), the Court of Appeal last week refused a father permission to appeal against a High Court ruling which found that ...
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Co-op in new drive to promote legal services to food shoppers
The Co-operative Group is planning a new campaign to promote its legal services to food shoppers in its 3,000 supermarkets nationwide. The news came as the group, which aims to be one of the first alternative business structures, told the Gazette that it believes ‘the die ...
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Regional administrative courts issue more cases than expected
The new regional administrative courts have issued more cases than expected in their first year of operation, according to figures seen by the Gazette. In April 2009, the Administrative Court began to sit in four regional venues in Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Manchester to increase access ...
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Judicial mediation in Employment Tribunal cases falls short
Mediation provided by judges in Employment Tribunal cases has failed to achieve the anticipated time and cost savings over unmediated cases, the results of a pilot scheme have revealed. The Ministry of Justice piloted a judicial mediation service for Employment Tribunal discrimination cases which started between ...
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New civil legal aid contracts ‘will cause closures’
The new civil legal aid contracts could result in large numbers of family firms exiting the market and leave a single social welfare law provider in some areas, consultants have predicted. David Gilmour, founder of consultancy DG Legal, which specialises in legal aid, said: ‘I ...
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Solicitor concerns over ‘chaotic’ DSCC handover
The ‘chaotic’ handover to the new operator of the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC) may have left detainees unrepresented and caused firms to lose work, criminal solicitors have warned. On 1 April Ventura, one of the biggest call centre operators, took over the running of the ...
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CPS slows recruitment of in-house Crown advocates
Figures obtained by the Gazette have revealed a steep decline in the Crown Prosecution Service’s recruitment of in-house Crown advocates as an alternative to self-employed barristers. CPS figures show that the number of Crown advocates in the CPS increased by only nine in 2009/10, to 1,086.
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New brand to promote barristers’ services direct to the public
A new brand to promote barristers’ services directly to the public is due to launch this summer, the Gazette has learned. Ian Dodd, director of virtual chambers BarFutures, plans to launch the National Advocacy Network, aimed at promoting public access to the bar.
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Local government legal departments braced for cuts
Local government legal departments are braced for a double whammy of budget cuts and an increase in workload, exclusive research for the Gazette has revealed. The study also found that 61% of departments are considering reducing their use of external advisers. The ...
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Quinn to re-enter UK insurance market
Quinn Insurance has been given permission for a limited re-entry into the UK insurance market following an announcement by the Irish Financial Regulator yesterday. However, the relaxation of the regulator’s restrictions preventing Quinn from writing new business in the UK does not extend to solicitors’ professional ...
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How to deal with problem employees and avoid tribunals
Employment laws change so frequently that if you tried to keep on top of them, you would probably go out of business. Or die miserably...
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Coming after Goldman Sachs – and lawyers perhaps?
It looks as though the US’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) are hunting down those they believe to be the architects of the financial crisis. This week, the SEC filed a fraud suit against Goldman Sachs, the recession-defying Wall Street investment bank.
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Tell your clients why they should choose your legal services
There is another big and complex problem that needs to be dealt with as the legal services market continues to change. Simply put, most clients, the general public and and small- and medium-sized enterprises, don’t know the difference between solicitors, lawyers, barristers and other qualified or non-qualified providers of legal ...
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City partnership promotions unveiled
Major City firms announced a wave of partner promotions today, with 33 lawyers made up across the world. City firm Herbert Smith made up 18 lawyers, including 11 in London and three in Paris. The most promotions were in the firm’s energy practice (4). When the ...
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The crucifix discrimination case was a victory for common sense
by Nikki Duncan, who is based in Bond Pearce’s Plymouth office. She advised the Exeter-based Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital on the claim, which was presented in the tribunal by Thomas Kibling from Matrix Chambers Employers will be drawing comfort this week from a landmark tribunal ...
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In memory of Joanna Agacka-Indecka
Last weekend, I was on one of the beautiful country walks which abound around Brussels when I received a text message from my president, to say that the head of the Polish delegation to the CCBE and president of the Polish Bar Council, Joanna Agacka-Indecka, had been among the victims ...