Last 3 months headlines – Page 1685
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'Conflicts' cost accident victims dear
Lax regulation and ‘systemic conflicts of interest’ have deprived motor accident victims of legal advice and encouraged them to accept reduced compensation from insurers, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) alleged this week. APIL’s chief executive Denise Kitchener described as ‘institutionalised’ the practice of third-party ...
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Solicitors fret over KBF
Solicitors have voiced concerns over the safety of money paid to a specialist lending arm of collapsed Icelandic bank Landsbanki as rescue talks failed to produce a new financial backer. As the Gazette went to press, Key Business Finance (KBF) – a subsidiary of Landsbanki’s ...
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Post-charge questioning plans 'unacceptable'
Government proposals to allow defendants to be questioned after charge amount to ‘serious oppression’ and need to be carefully controlled, according to a leading academic. Michael Zander, emeritus professor at the London School of Economics, told the Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA) conference last week that ...
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China defence lawyers still face hostility
China’s defence lawyers still suffer violence, threats and arbitrary detention despite the country’s progress in embracing the rule of law, a Human Rights Watch researcher has warned. Nicholas Bequelin, speaking at the Law Society last week, said there is no room for a legal system independent ...
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Firms make virtual lawyer hires
‘Virtual’ legal practices that allow employees to work from home are looking to mop up redundant City solicitors or those worried about losing jobs. A number of such practices – which employ freelance lawyers and pool their expertise – said this week that they are ...
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Magic circle target $1bn Indian market
A number of magic circle, ‘top 50’ and specialist boutique firms are on the brink of signing deals to outsource legal work to India, according to legal process outsourcing (LPO) company CPA Global. Chris Veator, executive vice president at CPA North America, told the Gazette that the company plans to ...
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Shipping investments and electrical developments
Dubai listing: National firm Pinsent Masons advised China Security & Surveillance Technology on the secondary listing of its shares on the Dubai International Financial Exchange – believed to be the first listing of a Chinese company in the Middle East. ...
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International arbitration: getting pricier, but still growing
When Eurotunnel sought £30m in compensation for losses incurred through illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel, damaging terminal buildings and causing disruption to services, it blamed both France and Britain: France for the Sangatte hostel fiasco, creating a so-called departure lounge for illegals and the UK for its apathy in ...
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Shipping: damages for breach of contract
Two recent decisions of the House of Lords have developed the law on the assessment of damages for breach of contract.
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Personal injury
Clinical negligence – Consent to treatment – Neurological disorders – Duty of care Janet Birch v University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: QBD (Mr Justice Cranston): 29 September 2008 ...
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Arbitration
Customer law – Appointments – Enforcement – Unfair contract terms Mylcrist Builders Ltd v G Buck: QBD (TCC) (Mr Justice Ramsey): 19 September 2008 The applicant building company (M) applied ...
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Family residence
A look at the changing status of the residence order pursuant to the Children Act 1989. A residence order (section 8 of the Children Act 1989) means ‘an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom a child is to live’. ...
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PI mediation: moving to alternate methods of resolution
Many lawyers still need convincing about the benefits of mediation, but its impact in personal injury cases can be hugely beneficial. ‘I felt like I was beating my head against the door for four years, just getting nowhere. The lawyers were ...
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How oil prices and the credit crunch affect aviation law
Airlines have gone to the wall as the price of oil rockets. How can lawyers help the industry weather the turbulence? Airlines are, metaphorically, falling out of the skies. A lethal combination of the credit crisis, the accompanying downturn in customer demand and recent high oil ...
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Your clients in their sites
Should we be shocked at the idea of a website auctioning off cases to the highest bidder? It will make many instinctively uncomfortable, but it is arguably just a logical next step in the journey of the past four and a half years, since the ban on paying referral fees ...
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A matter of principles
The aim of the Law Society’s regulation review is to protect the public while also supporting the profession. Regulation sets the standards by which all solicitors are judged. At its best it offers clients a sense of security by assuring them that a professional is looking ...
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Stalemate in Strasbourg
Why Russia holds the key to creating a streamlined European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights has become a victim of its own success. Applications are up by 23% compared with last year. There are some 95,000 cases pending. Last month, the ...
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Consultation, confusion and Clementi
I was surprised to read your item about the Law Society's review of regulation, and the reported comments of the Society's chief executive, Desmond Hudson (see [2008] Gazette, 9 October, 1). The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) had been unaware of the Society's plans until last week and did not know ...