Last 3 months headlines – Page 1624
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ECJ trademark ruling deals blow to ‘lookalike’ products
The European Court of Justice has extended protection for trademarks in the EU in a judgment in L’Oréal v Bellure today. The claimants, cosmetics manufacturers L’Oréal, Lancôme, and Laboratoire Garnier, accused the defendants, Bellure, Malaika Investments and Starion International, of ...
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Nice girls don’t ask
A senior guy from the US moves to London to head up the UK operation. In his first week, 12 men come to his office to tell him who they are and what they do for the company. Not one woman does the same.
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Winning with benefits
If you don’t tell people the benefits of the services you offer, they can’t make an informed choice between using a solicitor or an alternative service. This issue is highlighted by this week’s Gazette news item reporting a link between the Bereavement Advice Centre and a commercial service.
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Sentencing and the attorney general
Whenever the attorney general sticks a political oar into judicial waters, constitutionalists start to get a little bit edgy. Perhaps, then, they were thankful that Baroness Scotland chose not to intervene in the Baby P sentencing earlier this week, thereby preventing the old arguments being reheated.
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Some court costs to rise in civil fee reform
Changes to 30 types of civil court fee will come into effect on 13 July. The Ministry of Justice said the changes are aimed at targeting taxpayers’ money more effectively while helping those in financial difficulty. Several fees will rise. For example, the fee for sending a bailiff to collect ...
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Solicitors and barristers unite to fight BVT ‘reverse auction’
The Law Society and Bar Council have joined forces to warn that access to justice will be reduced if the government ‘ploughs on with its reckless approach’ to best value tendering (BVT). The two bodies, together with the Criminal Bar Association, issued a joint statement as ...
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Cuts, freezes and sabbaticals mooted at top-100 firms
Top law firms are re-evaluating their staffing policies by introducing more flexible working to avoid making redundancies, according to research by Sweet & Maxwell. The legal information provider found firms are introducing more flexibility, offering sabbaticals, retraining and part-time working to their employees.
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Charles Plant named as SRA’s next chair
Charles Plant has been appointed chair of the Solicitors Regulation Authority board. The Herbert Smith consultant will take up his post on 1 January 2010, taking over from Peter Williamson. The appointment was made by a panel of five, chaired by Elizabeth Filkin, the former parliamentary commissioner for standards. ...
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LLPs – an acquired taste
Are LLPs going strong or not? Is it now firmly established that they are a ‘good thing’? The main reasons for not converting have not changed.
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Norton Rose looks east with Australia merger
City firm Norton Rose is to merge with Australian firm Deacons to create the 1800-lawyer Norton Rose Group, the firms announced today. Once the merger comes into force on 1 January 2010, the new firm will have an estimated combined turnover of £420m, with 29 offices ...
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Slaughter and May slammed over £22m bill
Magic circle firm Slaughter and May was accused of running up an ‘astronomical bill’ to the Treasury by a Liberal Democrat peer today. The firm received £22m in legal fees for work relating to ‘financial stability’ in the financial year 2008-09, according to Liberal Democrat research. ...
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Jackman collects legal aid gong
Angela Jackman, a partner at London firm Fisher Meredith, received an award for outstanding achievement at last night’s Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards. Jackman was recognised for her work in the development of education law to ensure justice for disadvantaged children, as well as ...
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Event to remember Henry Hodge
An event to celebrate the life of Sir Henry Hodge is to be held next week. Sir Henry, who was one of the first solicitors to become a High Court judge, died this month. The event will take place at 4pm on ...
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Professional independence in danger, incoming president warns
The legal profession is in danger of losing its independence, incoming Law Society president Bob Heslett warned last week. Heslett (pictured), who assumes the office next month, has identified three key themes and 11 objectives to tackle during his year in office. The themes will ...
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What voting for the Pirate Party means
Here in Brussels, we are still trying to come to terms with the European election results. Voters have had their fun kicking Gordon Brown, rewarding Silvio Berlusconi for the topless women at his villa, or giving a seat to the Pirate Party in Sweden...
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Serious concerns are raised with the first non-jury criminal trial
By Raj Chada, a partner in the criminal department at Hodge Jones & Allen The recent bout of soul searching with regard to jury trials has come as a result of a Court of Appeal decision in the Menzies World Cargo trial, which has allowed the ...
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Local government: surveillance powers, tenancy and effective consultation
There is always a public authority tension between what might be called 'customer-centred governance' and regulation. So while most local authorities will try to be 'customer responsive' to their council tax payers and other stakeholders, their regulatory functions mean that not everyone will always feel treated as a 'customer'. For, ...
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Criminal procedure
Legal advice – Living expenses – Money laundering – Proceeds of crime Crown Prosecution Service v Susan Jane Campbell: Michael Joseph McInerney v Financial Services Authority: Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency v Graeme Trevor Carlton: CA (Crim ...
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Despite the recession Birmingham continues to attract new talent
One-time workshop of the world, today a metropolis renowned for its diversity and commercial nous, Birmingham has grown accustomed to reinventing itself. Since the early 1990s, England’s second city has been in a long regeneration phase. And although the recession has hit it hard, major development projects are keeping Brummies’ ...
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Top dogs herding cats
Obiter has always lived by the maxim ‘be nice to your human resources people, for when the chopping starts, it is they who will be wielding the axe.’ But perhaps such thinking is for losers and wimps. Certainly ...