Last 3 months headlines – Page 1668
-
News
A bird in the hand
Law Society media supremo Melissa Davis got herself a bargain when she bought a second-hand stuffed owl over the internet for a very reasonable £68. New ones – equally dead, but recently eviscerated – can retail for as much as £600, she told Obiter last ...
-
News
Trolley good show
Even in these tough times, some law firms are still offering new graduates generous starting packages. But none, it seems, can compare to supermarket ALDI. According to the Graduate Market in 2009 survey, published by High Fliers Research, the retailer pays trainee managers £40,000 a year, with an Audi A4 ...
-
News
Down with the kids
While British judicial authorities dither about whether to allow cameras into courts, a US federal judge has shown she’s ‘well up wiv tha yoof’ when it comes to embracing the new media age. Massachusetts District Court Judge Nancy Gertner is allowing a continuous video feed of a crucial hearing to ...
-
News
Judgment day
Obiter’s informal census of solicitor judges has drawn a healthy response, confirming our feeling that the number is now high – especially on the district bench and on tribunals. Keith Martin, of Davies Partnership in St Agnes, Cornwall, says he’s not sure whether ...
-
News
Firm to pay price of trainee sacking
Firms that sack a trainee without the agreement of the Solicitors Regulation Authority could find themselves liable for hefty damages, a landmark employment tribunal decision suggests. Sheffield Employment Tribunal last week ruled that a Manchester firm, Express Solicitors, was in breach of the terms of ...
-
News
Courts system sleepwalking into crisis
A five-year strategy must be agreed between the judiciary, government and HM Courts Service to revive a civil justice system that has been ‘sleep-walking into a crisis’, a heavy-hitting report has warned. Sir Henry Brooke, former vice-president of the Court of ...
-
News
Firms 'lose out' in fighting crime
The burden of complying with new anti-money laundering (AML) regulations is not proportionate to the funds recovered from launderers, according to new research. For every suspicious activity report submitted, an estimated £618 is recovered from criminals, according to the Home Office and Serious Organised Crime Agency. ...
-
News
Legislation mooted on client bank accounts
The British Bankers’ Association and the Law Society may seek legislation to clear up confusion over compensation payable when solicitors’ client accounts are held in collapsed banks. The two bodies are considering asking the government to amend the Banking Bill, currently passing ...
-
News
Sir John Mortimer: 1923-2009
Tributes have been paid to one of the legal profession’s best-known figures, the barrister and writer Sir John Mortimer, who died last week. Desmond Browne QC, chairman of the Bar Council, said: ‘Like his father, the blind advocate whom he immortalised in Voyage Round My Father, John Mortimer brought both ...
-
News
Dock instructions: say no, says Society
Solicitors must firmly resist requests from magistrates and district judges to take instructions from defendants while they are in the dock, the Law Society’s criminal law committee has urged. The warning follows reports of district judges and magistrates refusing to give adjournments for meetings, ...
-
News
Indian 'best friends' criticised
An Indian ‘magic circle’ firm has criticised the formation of ‘best friend’ relationships in the country, saying they do not follow the spirit of rules on foreign lawyers. Rajiv Luthra, managing partner at Luthra & Luthra, told the Gazette that his firm has turned down ...
-
News
Firms looking abroad
Expansion into foreign markets has been pushed to the top of the agenda for commercial law firms looking to grow their business, according to new research. More firms (38% of the total polled) would rather expand into a foreign jurisdiction over the next one to three ...
-
News
Straw defends secret inquest plans
Justice secretary Jack Straw has defended plans to hold secret inquests, citing the need to protect those who provide intelligence for national security. Major change to the coroners system, which Straw described as the least-reformed part of the justice mechanism, is the headline proposal of the Coroners and Justice Bill, ...
-
News
Bill 'could damage public confidence'
Criminal practitioners have warned that several measures in the Coroners and Justice Bill could damage confidence in the justice system and accused the government of pandering to pressure groups. Ian Kelcey, chairman of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, described the bill as a complete ...
-
News
Clampdown on legal aid fraudsters
The Coroners and Justice Bill creates new powers to clampdown on people who make fraudulent claims for legal aid or fail to pay their share of costs. Changes will allow data about individuals to be shared routinely between the Legal Services Commission and the Department for Work and Pensions. Courts ...
-
News
Nuclear developments, energy sales and publishing buyouts
Going nuclear: City firm CMS Cameron McKenna advised energy companies RWE and E.ON on a joint venture to build nuclear power stations in the UK. The project aims to develop 6GW of capacity. ...
-
News
Personal injury
Limitation periods - Personal injury claims Stephen Cain v Bernice Francis: Shona Mckay v (1) Stephen Hamlani (2) Direct Line Insurance Plc: CA (Civ Div) (Sir Robert Andrew Morritt, Lady Justice Smith, Lord Justice Maurice Kay): 18 December 2008 ...
-
News
The issues raised by police officers conferring on their 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
New pre-action protocol for mortgage possession claims
A new civil procedure protocol for lawyers of much practical relevance came into effect on 19 November 2008. It applies to both money and possession claims by the lender on mortgages of residential property.
-
News
Bribery bill and corruption clampdown
This year will see a new Bribery Bill. It promises to reform the criminal law so that a new and comprehensive scheme of bribery offences will enable courts and prosecutors to provide a more effective response to bribery in the 21st century at home and abroad.