Last 3 months headlines – Page 1658
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Government move to slash costs in defamation cases
New proposals to limit costs in defamation proceedings were published today by the Ministry of Justice. Mandatory cost-capping and limiting recoverable hourly rates are both being considered. The development comes amid mounting concern about the high cost of legal fees in defamation cases.
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Freedom of information - holding data for others
An Ofsted inspection is a worrying time for school staff, students and parents.
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Data page for February 2009
The data page is the financial rates and data compiled for the Law Society Gazette by MoneyFacts Group, the UK's largest supplier of savings and mortgage data. DownloadsDownload the Data Page for February 2009 below ...
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Election fever
Never mind Westminster: election fever is already mounting in Chancery Lane, with Monday’s deadline for council members to put themselves forward as candidate to be the Society’s next deputy vice-president. In theory, any council member can put themselves forward by submitting a 250-word ‘statement and disclosure ...
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Taking the biscuit
In case you don’t know, the difference between a cake and a biscuit is that a biscuit gets moist as it stales, while a cake dries. This is a vital distinction as, of course, it underpins Marks & Spencer’s long-running case against HMRC, claiming a rebate for an awful lot ...
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For whom the Bell tolls
In these risk-averse times, hats off to City firm Wedlake Bell for getting involved in the last great nautical challenge: circumnavigating Antarctica solo by oar power. Adventurer Olly Hicks reckons his 15,000-mile ‘Virgin Global Row’ (spot the other sponsor) will take between 18 and 24 ...
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What’s in a name?
Part of the great pub quiz tradition is thinking up a silly team name. Often in two seconds flat. Usually, it’s safe enough to go for the rude or insulting because no one outside the room will know, and in the room most people are a bit squiffy or being ...
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Memory Lane
The Law Society’s Gazette, February 1939 From the President's address to the Students’ Rooms The law must be ...
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A certain vintage
It is a lunchtime glass of wine, she tells Obiter, that keeps 73-year-old legal secretary Angela Rogers going through the afternoon. She has been with Shropshire firm Wace Morgan since January 1960 – that’s 49 years! – and has seen many changes. ‘I have worked through the invention of ...
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South Africa is producing the best wine it has ever made
In South Africa, the political classes are mobilising for an April election. The frontrunner, Jacob Zuma, is beset by allegations of corruption, which he contests, while critics of his party, the ruling African National Congress, fear a wave of nationalisations in agriculture, mining and industry. Driving out of Cape Town ...
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'No evidence' for the decline in the quality of justice
Your news item headlined ‘Pushing novice advocates into court "harming justice"’ reported a number of comments made by the chairman of the criminal bar, Peter Lodder QC, in evidence to the Justice Committee (see [2009] Gazette, 12 February, 3).
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Covering our backs
Your correspondent Ian McLachlan believes that conveyancing is a ‘disorganised mess’ and he is probably correct (see [2009] Gazette, 19 February, 11). However, it is not a mess made by conveyancers. Clients and solicitors no longer trust each other, so everything has to be documented – even the ownership of ...
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Otiose requirements
I am utterly astonished by the content of Ian McLachlan’s letter. Yes, the public do want their homes to be transferred as quickly and cheaply as possible. For that to be achieved they are mainly dependent on money supply, and the needs and wishes of the ...
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A tale of two statistics
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – that’s how we read the latest figures on QC awards. Hats off to Baroness Butler-Sloss for putting such a positive spin on the fact that 75% of solicitor applicants were successful – a record high. ...
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OFT estate agent study will assess new business models
The Office of Fair Trading today (25 February) launched a market study into home buying and selling, following two months of consultation on the scope of the project. It will examine the level of competition between estate agents, and look at the relationship between estate agents ...
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A liberty-based approach to rights could strengthen core freedoms
Philosopher John Stuart Mill quipped: ‘He who knows only his side of the case knows little of that.’ Reviewing The Assault on Liberty: what went wrong with rights last week, Roger Smith (of Justice) went further. Amid flattery – and mischievous misrepresentation – he denies ...
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The ECHR’s ‘realistic’ ruling on unlawful detention
Judgments involving Abu Qatada are a bit like buses: you wait ages for one to turn up and then two come along together. Last Wednesday, the home secretary won her appeal to the House of Lords against a ruling that the radical Muslim cleric could not ...
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Not asked to ‘lobby’
Your news item ‘Firms face lobbying scrutiny’ (see [2009] Gazette, 12 February, 6) fails to distinguish between the lobbying that some parliamentarians are involved in and consultancy arrangements that some firms make with lawyer MPs.