Last 3 months headlines – Page 1659
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European ruling deals blow to in-house confidentiality
The group representing general counsel at FTSE-100 companies has been refused permission to intervene in a case on the extent of privilege enjoyed by in-house lawyers – on the ground that neither it nor its members have a ‘direct interest in the result’. Issuing preliminary rulings ...
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LSB cautious on bank-led ABSs
Legal Services Board chairman David Edmonds has hinted to MPs that the oversight regulator will be extremely cautious about letting banks enter the legal services market in the aftermath of the current financial crisis.
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Fury over SRA’s plan for a non-voting BME board member
Groups representing black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors have condemned a proposal to co-opt a BME member on to the Solicitors Regulation Authority board without giving them voting rights. The proposal is a response to Lord Ouseley’s controversial report on the disproportionate number of BME ...
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Solicitors network joins forces with Which?
The new high street network QualitySolicitors.com has allied with consumer body Which? in a commercial venture. People logging on to the QualitySolicitors.com website, to go live in April, will see details of the Which? Legal Service telephone advice line. Meanwhile, clients of Which? needing to ...
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New solicitor QC says that more will take silk
Solicitors will increasingly aspire to become Queen’s Counsel, one of three new solicitor silks has predicted. Judith Gill, international arbitration partner at City firm Allen & Overy, who last week became the second female solicitor silk, said: ‘The more solicitors who are successful the more likely it’ll be that others ...
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Office of Public Guardian launches lasting power of attorney guidance
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has issued new guidance about drafting lasting powers of attorney following criticism of delays, high prices and ‘daft’ bureaucracy (see [2009] Gazette, 29 January, 4).
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UK firms join worldwide Madoff case alliance
Four London law firms were among 34 practices from around the world that met last week in Madrid to launch an international network of lawyers acting for the alleged victims of the Madoff scandal. Bristows, Edwin Coe, Rawlings Giles and Speechlys have joined the group, which ...
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Firm closures: new figures
Nearly 120 more law firms closed in 2008 than in 2007, while four fewer firms opened, Solicitors Regulation Authority statistics show. Despite more firms closing down, 889 new practices were opened in 2008, while 442 closed that year. An SRA spokesman said: ‘The number of firms ...
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Warning over employment dispute resolution code
A senior employment lawyer warned that ‘common sense is not that common’ as the government revealed a new code for resolving workplace disputes. The new Acas code, which takes effect from 6 April, replaces the three-step grievance and disciplinary system of written statement, meeting and ...
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Estate agents merger call
Merging solicitor and estate agent practices could be a viable business model for the future of conveyancing, the E-Homebuying Forum lobby group said this week. The group published a report containing 13 proposals to modernise the homebuying process. Greater use of technology and the introduction of ...
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Legal aid call for collaborative law
State aid should be available for divorcing couples to use collaborative law, family lawyers group Resolution says in the first study of take-up of the non-court process in the UK. The report, to be published today, says that poorer couples are being denied the opportunity ...
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Diverting mentally ill from criminal justice pays dividends
Diverting the mentally ill away from the criminal justice system and towards health services could save £20,000 per case, a report has claimed. The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health report, Diversion: A better way for criminal justice and mental health, compared the costs of criminal ...
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EC intervenes in Bulgarian opening
The European Commission has intervened on behalf of a coalition of law firms attempting to set up practices in Bulgaria. DLA Piper and CMS Cameron McKenna, along with Austrian practices Wolf Theiss, CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz and Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati complained to the commission in November, accusing the Bulgarian government ...
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Allen & Overy to cut 282 lawyers worldwide
Magic circle firm Allen & Overy will cut up to 282 lawyers worldwide as part of the largest recession-triggered redundancy consultation to date. The firm’s announcement last week means that around 630 lawyers are in line to be axed by the top 10 UK law firms – around 3% of ...
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IT systems, fundraising, acquisitions and refinancing
Resourceful integrator: south-west firm Osborne Clarke advised two AIM-quoted natural resources clients, iodine producer Iofina and hydrocarbon producer Nighthawk Energy, on fundraisings worth £5m and £7m respectively. The firm also advised Marks & Spencer on an IT systems integration contract with IBM. IT ...
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Hammonds to cut up to 20 partners
National firm Hammonds is the latest big name to announce a round of recession-linked redundancies, with up to 20 partners across the country set to go. The firm’s new redundancy consultation, covering almost 10% of its partnership, has already led to the departure of a handful ...
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Commissioner sets new complaints targets
The Legal Services Complaints Commissioner has urged Chancery Lane to make complaints-handling a priority during the transition to the new structure introduced by the Legal Services Act. The new independent Office for Legal Complaints becomes fully operational in 2011.
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Shelter chief appointed legal complaints ombudsman
The embryonic Office for Legal Complaints has announced that its first chief ombudsman will be Adam Sampson (pictured), currently chief executive of housing and homelessness charity Shelter. Elizabeth France, OLC chair, said: ‘The chief ombudsman will play a critical role in building the new disputeresolution system ...
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Chancery Lane unveils client care package
The Law Society and the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner have announced a range of measures costing £275,000 aimed at improving client care by solicitors. Last June the commissioner, Zahida Manzoor, announced she would be imposing a £275,000 fine on the Society following her decision ...
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Media law – offers of amends
Warren v Random House Group Ltd (Nos 1-3) (CA) [2008] EWCA Civ 834; Tesco Stores Ltd v Guardian News & Media Ltd and Rusbridger [2008] EWCH (QB)