Last 3 months headlines – Page 1696
-
News
Six-week wait
I have been following the Gazette’s coverage of court delays. You may be interested to hear of a letter sent to solicitors on 14 August by Northampton County Court concerning arrears, which are now said to be 31 working days in some areas of work.
-
News
Frontline cuts
I am sure every litigator has experienced horrors similar to those outlined in the recent series of letters describing inefficiencies in the court system. Do we have any reason to believe they are caused by anything other than budget cuts? My ‘favourite’ recent experience was ...
-
News
Lasting benefit
I am writing in respect of new public guardian Martin John’s announcement of a review of the lasting power of attorney form (see [2008] Gazette, 7 August, 3). Key stakeholder organisations are already working together in preparation for this review and the wider review of the Mental Capacity Act. ...
-
News
Battle of the sexes
Staff at Merseyside personal injury specialists Halsalls revealed comic alter egos for a local It’s a Knockout competition. The ‘boys’ went as Dennis the Menace the ‘girls’ as his Beano co-star Minnie the Minx. And rather well they did, too – no doubt inspired by the goal of raising £3,000 ...
-
News
Broken bones
Obiter admires stiff-upper-lip stoicism, particularly when exhibited by members of the profession. Serena Brotherton, for instance, shrugged off the fractured pelvis she suffered when her horse fell and rolled on her. ‘It was the first time I’d broken anything in 16 years of ...
-
News
Uneasy riders
Spandex-sporting solicitor Paul Mulderrig described it as ‘no mean feat for a borderline-fit guy who won’t be getting back on the saddle any time soon.’ The managing director of north-west firm Mulderrigs was referring to the 140 miles he had just cycled to help raise ...
-
News
Married to the job
Love is most definitely all around at Lancashire firm Scott Rees & Co, where two solicitor couples are about to tie the knot. Lawyers Karla Kingston, 29, and Chris Connor, 25 (left) even got engaged on the same day – Saturday 19 July – as colleagues Lucie Illingworth, 26, and ...
-
News
Dead man walking
Harry Devlin, criminal solicitor and tireless sleuth, returns in a tale of his own death. In Martin Edwards’ latest Harry Devlin mystery, Waterloo Sunset, we see a fresh foray into a well-worn genre – the lawyer involved in a murder mystery.
-
News
Short & sweet ruminations on the law
The Oxford University Press Very Short Introduction series is nearing its 200th volume and Raymond Wacks, emeritus professor of law and legal theory at the University of Hong Kong, has been given the challenging task of adding law to a collection which already includes Kafka, De Sade, feminism and the ...
-
News
Price comparison site targets legal sector
Moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison website, is to start selling legal business sales leads to law firms involved in conveyancing, probate and employment later this month, the Gazette can reveal. Consumers visiting the website will be asked if they want advice from participating firms if they have ...
-
News
Child welfare fears add to justice burden
Applications for children to be separately represented in private law family cases have soared by almost 25% in two years, as courts battle to ensure the children’s voices are heard in complex disputes, the Gazette has learned. The number of rule 9.5 applications to appoint a ...
-
News
MoJ widens judicial pool
The government has decided that legal executives will not be entitled to sit as judges on the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT), but can apply for other judicial appointments following a consultation earlier this year. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) accepted representations from CAT, the Lord Chief ...
-
News
Eversheds in diversity drive
Top 10 firm Eversheds has piloted a groundbreaking scheme encouraging teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a career in the legal profession, the Gazette has learned. The national firm has been working with government-appointed Widening Participation Officers (WPOs) based at UK universities tasked with increasing the ...
-
News
Pll providers shun small firms
Small firms renewing their professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover will be further squeezed in an already hardening market after insurers Norwich Union and Liberty cut policies for these practices. Norwich Union, which controls 8.3% of the legal PII market, has stopped offering new cover to firms ...
-
News
'Firms favour UK trainees'
City University’s law school is telling international students on its law masters programmes to apply for jobs with US firms or go in-house because recruitment practices at English firms favour UK candidates, the Gazette can reveal. Professor Alan Riley, director of the LLM programme at City ...
-
News
Registry fraud payouts soar
The Land Registry is facing a compensation bill up by £5 million on last year because of an increase in fraudulent title registrations. Figures in its annual report, published in August, show the value of claims pending for losses resulting from errors on the register caused ...
-
News
Rhys Jones fee row threatens trial delay
The solicitor representing the defendant charged with murdering Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones has launched judicial review proceedings against the Legal Services Commission (LSC), claiming that the trial has been wrongly classified as a very high cost case (VHCC). Seven defendants are due to go on trial ...
-
News
Thumbs-up for mediation pilot
Employment lawyers have given the thumbs-up to a judicial mediation pilot and called for it to be available in tribunals across England and Wales. Results of a survey carried out by the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) revealed that the majority (78%) of the 123 respondents who ...
-
News
SRA advocacy plans slammed
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) proposals to introduce a scheme of voluntary accreditation for solicitor higher court advocates could lead to ‘incompetent solicitors’ appearing in court, the College of Law’s Legal Services Policy Institute has claimed. The institute called instead for mandatory assessment and compulsory accreditation in ...
-
News
Herbert Smith targets lawyers on career break
City firm Herbert Smith is planning to tempt lawyers on a career break to join the firm as part of a recruitment drive. In conjunction with executive search consultancy Sapphire Partners, the firm will host a ‘back to practice’ workshop at its London offices in September, ...