Last 3 months headlines – Page 1715

  • News

    Putting yourself first

    2008-06-19T00:00:00Z

    The duty criminal defence lawyers owe to their clients is being overridden in the cause of better court administration, says Matthew Hickling

  • News

    Salary survey reveals

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    By Anita Rice Black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors earn 17% less than white solicitors, while women solicitors earn 7.6% ...

  • News

    Regulator: solicitors flouting referral rules

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    By Jonathan Rayner Fresh evidence has emerged suggesting that solicitors, rather than claims management companies, are largely responsible for breaches ...

  • News

    Applicants

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    The number of applicants for Queen's Counsel (QC) plummeted by more than a third this year to 247, down from 333 in the 2006 competition and 443 in 2005, according to figures released last week by the independent selection panel. ...

  • News

    Turn cold calls into cash, solicitors told

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Solicitors should make 'converting enquiries into business' their top priority, a leading marketing consultant advised this week. Speaking at the Law Society ?property section's spring conference, Ian Cooper, managing director of Cooper Communications, said there was no point spending money on marketing if firms failed to turn calls ...

  • News

    Crime doesn't pay

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    The litigator graduated fee scheme was introduced solely to cut costs and defence firms are struggling to cope, alleges John Storer ...

  • News

    Luxury lifestyles

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    I have just read last week's front page article, 'City litigators dismiss "liability crisis" claim'. It brought to mind the recent case of Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National PLC and others. In that one case, where the various financial institutions effectively sang from the ...

  • News

    Advance warning

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    I wholeheartedly agree with the comments made by Sue Nelson in response to my article on tips for remaining competitive (see [2008] Gazette, 15 May, 11), regarding a happy, well-motivated workforce which takes pride in a job well done and a challenge met.

  • News

    Get down to business

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Sue Nelson's response to the article by Viv Williams was disappointing. We face enormous challenges in the next few years when the Clementi reforms come in. Add the housing market downturn, the credit crunch and continuing legal aid pay cuts, and I believe we have reached a tipping ...

  • News

    Complaints delay

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    As a practising barrister not infrequently asked to advise solicitors regarding complaints to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), I endorse much of what Gregory Treverton-Jones QC had to say as reported in the news item 'Barrister puts SRA in the dock' (see [2008] Gazette, 8 May, 3).

  • News

    Local government law

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    By Nicholas Dobson, Pinsent Masons, Leeds Pleasing the people: legitimate expectation ...

  • News

    Law reports

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT Human rights - celebrities - children - photographs David Murray (by his litigation friends (1) Neil Murray (2) Joanne Murray) v Big Pictures ...

  • News

    The ins and outs of earning power

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    David Marshall assesses the impact of the Ogden Tables on deciding loss-of-earnings claims in personal injury cases A year ago, ...

  • News

    Abusing the system

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Ex parte applications should only be used in exceptional situations, say Suzanne Stephenson and Stephen Gerlis

  • News

    Legal Complaints Service hits improvement targets

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    GOAL: 67% of files closed within three months of receipt The Legal Complaints Service (LCS) achieved year-on-year improvements in all of ...

  • News

    Web advice to help lawyers with change

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    The Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) is launching a new online toolkit to help members cope with changes in the legal sector, including the introduction of alternative business structures (ABSs). The toolkit, sponsored by Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBoS), will give support and guidance on setting up and running ...

  • News

    'Solicitors must plan ahead or risk losing everything'

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Sole practitioners risk intervention and 'losing everything they have worked for' if they neglect planning for the day they stop practising - delegates at last weekend's annual conference of the Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) in Brighton were warned. Guildford-based probate solicitor Jennifer Margrave said the Code of Conduct ...

  • News

    City firm report increased mid-market competition as pool of M&A deals shrinks

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    HARD MARKETING: magic circle chasing smaller transactions as credit crunch bites Magic circle firms have begun pitching for middle-market business as the pool of blockbusting merger and acquisition deals shrinks, according to competitors outside the circle. At the same ...

  • News

    Deals of the week

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Liquid deal: City firms CMS Cameron McKenna and Field Fisher Waterhouse advised Luminar Group Holdings, the UK’s largest operator of licensed late-night venues, on a corporate reorganisation and the subsequent sale of 26 bars to Cavendish Bars, advised by City firm Berwin Leighton ...

  • News

    Hounding out bad law

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Dangerous dogs legislation must be improved to be fit for purpose, argues Chris Laurence