Last 3 months headlines – Page 1689
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New Labour's legal aid folly
You ‘fat-cat’ solicitors are in reality doing more for less. Did you know that selling a grey squirrel is now against the law? There is gallows (sic) humour in the fact that New Labour has created 3,600 new criminal offences since it came to power ...
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Adding less insult to injury
The ‘blame game’ over fees must not detract from the critical issue of clinical safety within the NHS. The Gazette recently featured the headline ‘lawyers blamed for negligence fees rise’ (see [2008] Gazette, 18 September, 2). I have serious concerns that the blame game over fees ...
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As time goes by
Maurice Fooks and Victor Gersten have, between them, been practising law for an extraordinary 120 years. Last week they were kind enough to share some of their memories with Obiter.
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Yorkshire mixture
Ee, by gum! After sleepless nights the wait is over. The shortlist for this year’s Deliciouslyorkshire annual food and drink awards has been announced. Patent and trademark attorneys Harrison Goddard Foote are one of the many sponsors associated with the event – which is organised ...
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Killer bill
For general counsel, the hours spent poring over legal bills is probably not the highlight of the job. But, every now and again, a rare gem may be uncovered – something that cracks a smile or even draws a snigger. At the C5 forum on reducing ...
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Typing blunders
Steamy goings-on in the Cotswolds. Richard Davies, of Kendall and Davies in Bourton-on-the-Water, continues our series on legal typing errors with the all-time classic ‘sex party application’. He recently received a letter on a matrimonial matter from solicitors acting for his client's husband – referring to his ‘Stella contribution’. ...
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Employment: no regrets
Sometimes it appears that life is all about regrets. That ill-advised ‘Law Society’ tattoo on qualification, the scurrilous suggestion that the little girl singing at the Olympic opening ceremony was miming, and indeed the rude comments many of us may have made about the likely spectacle Britain will present to ...
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Immigration
Human rights – Contractual rights – Closed material – Visas Murungaru v Secretary of State for the Home Department & ors: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Sedley, Jacob, Mr Justice Lewison): 12 September 2008. ...
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Employment
Banking and finance – Civil procedure – Contracts – Springboard relief (1) UBS Wealth Management (UK) Ltd (2) UBS AG London branch v Vestra Wealth LLP & 5 ors: QBD (Mr Justice Openshaw): 4 August 2008. ...
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Intellectual property
Shopping centres – Trade marks – Service provision – Registration In the matter of trade mark application no. 2417145B sub nom Land Securities Plc: in the matter of trade mark application no. 24200205B sub nom Capital Shopping Centres ...
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Swings and roundabouts?
Vulnerable defendants are in danger of missing out in representation because of funding regime for Crown Court work. I feel the need to share my concerns about an anomaly with the new funding regime for Crown Court work.
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Trivial prosecutions
I refer to the front-page article on 18 September, ‘Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal left with backlog of cases’ (see [2008] Gazette, 18 September, 1). I take issue with [SDT president] Anthony Isaac’s view that ‘perhaps in days gone by solicitors were more inclined to hold their hands ...
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Bitter will to swallow
Readers may be aware of a new business model being launched where the legal profession is encouraged to ‘sign up’ to check online computer-generated wills for free. For more complex wills, the lawyer is able to charge for the service – but at no point would the lawyer meet the ...
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Rights slight
I write in response to Roger Smith’s article stating that readers of the Daily Mail ‘are hysterically opposed to human rights’ (see [2008] Gazette, 18 September, 12). This is an insult to any Mail reader. I read the Mail and anyone who knows me will tell you that it is ...
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Firms shut as cover crisis deepens
High street firms are being forced to close because they cannot afford to pay vastly increased professional indemnity insurance (PII) premiums, while hundreds more are destined to end up in the assigned risks pool (ARP), the Gazette has learned.
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LSB chief pledges separation of powers with the Society
Ensuring robust separation between the Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority will be a priority of the Legal Services Board, its chairman has promised. In a speech at the Law Society last week, David Edmonds highlighted the weight he places on the proper independence both of ...
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Tory HIPs rethink
The Conservative Party may abandon its pledge to scrap home information packs (HIPs) if elected, their housing special adviser hinted last week. Owen Inskip, adviser to shadow housing minister Grant Shapps, told the National Conveyancing Congress in London that the party’s plan to abolish the controversial ...
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Anger at ‘propaganda’ of MoJ family courts report
Activists have dismissed a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) commissioned survey into family courts’ handling of contact orders as ‘propaganda’. The survey of 11 courts, by Oxford University’s Centre for Family Law and Policy, found that the perception that courts awarded non-resident parents little or no contact ...
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Battle won
Five retired Gurkhas and a serviceman’s widow have successfully challenged an immigration policy preventing Gurkhas who retired before 1997 from settling in the UK. Tuesday’s judgment by Mr Justice Blake at the High Court alluded to the Military Covenant, an agreement between servicemen and the nation to honour debts of ...