Last 3 months headlines – Page 1665
-
News
Big rise in calls for help on stress
The number of case files opened by support group LawCare jumped by two-thirds last year, with stress the main cause of concern. LawCare said that it opened 500 case files and received another 1,925 calls in 2008. This compares with 301 case files and 1,310 calls in 2007. ...
-
News
Solicitors dominate Office for Legal Complaints board
Three solicitors, but no barristers, have been appointed to the body charged with setting up and running a new consumer complaints system for the legal profession. The Legal Services Board on Tuesday named the six successful candidates for appointment to the Office for Legal Complaints, due to become operational next ...
-
News
MP condemns government on libel reform
Justice minister Bridget Prentice has come under fire for ‘dismissing’ arguments made by MPs in a debate on libel laws. In a letter to Prentice (pictured), seen by the Gazette, Rotherham MP Denis MacShane, who led the adjournment debate in December, said: ‘I regret deeply you ...
-
News
Council chief legal officer plan faces opposition
Proposals to require all local authorities to appoint a chief legal officer have run into opposition from groups representing senior council staff. The Law Society and Solicitors in Local Government (SLG) argue that the new post should replace the role of monitoring officer.
-
News
Means testing ‘will leave clients unrepresented’
Many defendants could go unrepresented under government proposals to means-test Crown Court legal aid and cap funds to reimburse those acquitted, the Law Society has warned. Responding to the two Ministry of Justice consultations that ended last week, Chancery Lane said: ‘The introduction of means testing ...
-
News
Law Society regains voluntary accreditation role
The Law Society has regained control of voluntary accreditation schemes from the Solicitors Regulation Authority after 96% of council members voted for them to be handed back to the Society. The vote affects schemes to accredit practitioners in a number of areas, including mental health, ...
-
News
Solicitors act against personal injury ‘capture’
A solicitor group fighting the insurance company practice of ‘capturing’ personal injury clients is to meet the Ministry of Justice next week.
-
News
Army reports surge in recruitment inquiries
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says it has had a surge of enquiries from solicitors and barristers about joining the army as legal advisers. Although figures from this year’s annual intake are not yet available, the MoD said the number of applicants was higher than in recent years, possibly because ...
-
News
Firms settle web spat
A dispute between two Manchester law firms has ended with a modest payout to two clients whose case studies were used on a firm’s website. The argument began when a solicitor moved from Geoffrey Miller to Olliers, which then featured on its site some motoring cases she had worked on. ...
-
News
Lawyers targeted as ID card users
Lawyers may be among the first customers of equipment to read UK identity cards, the minister in charge of the scheme said last week. Meg Hillier, undersecretary of state at the Home Office, told a conference on the business uses of ID cards that one ...
-
News
Gold mines, liquidity pools and retail stores
Waitrose acquisition: City firm Lovells advised retailer Waitrose on its acquisition of 13 stores from the Co-operative group and Somerfield for an undisclosed sum. National firm Addleshaw Goddard advised Co-op and Somerfield. ...
-
News
South Korea hints at market opening
City law firms may steal a march on their US rivals by gaining access to the potentially lucrative South Korean market first, it has emerged. A bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union and South Korea could be signed as early as March, ...
-
News
Poaching teams is profitable, research shows
Large law firms are increasingly looking to poach teams from their rivals as they can quickly turn a profit, according to new research. The annual Smith & Williamson professional practices survey found that 45% of the 102 law firms which took part – most in the ...
-
News
Fatal shootings raise issues over police notes
Last May barrister Mark Saunders was killed by police after he repeatedly fired a shotgun out of the window of his Chelsea flat.
-
News
Data page for January 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 January 2009 below ...
-
News
Criminal law: changes to bail, sentencing and sexual offences
A number of the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (CJIA) have been brought into force.
-
News
Human rights
Sentencing – EC law – Foreign travel – Notification – Sex offenders R (on the application of F) v Secretary of State for Justice: R (on the application of Angus Aubrey Thompson) v Secretary of State for Justice: ...
-
News
Local government
Planning – Human rights – Change of use – Mobile homes (1) Theo Langton (2) Ruth McGill v (1) Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (2) West Dorset District Council: QBD (Admin) (Judge Gilbart QC): 7 ...
-
News
Developing new skills may help lead to prosperity
As some firms struggle to survive, there is no better time than the present for lawyers to develop the extra skills they may need to prosper. From ‘cocktail party’ training to better writing skills to a three-year doctorate in legal practice – just what skills should ...
-
News
Looking for a wife
Spouse gone AWOL? Then ask a law librarian. That was the instinct of the solicitor who called the Law Society library to say his client wanted a divorce, but had no marriage certificate and could not remember the exact date of the marriage or precisely where it took place (‘somewhere ...