Latest news – Page 717
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News
Society welcomes amendment to solicitors’ insurance rules
The Law Society has welcomed the decision of the Solicitors Regulation Authority to amend its proposals on reform of the solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance (PII) market.
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Law firm develops divorce app
A North London family solicitor has launched an app designed to help divorcing or separating couples in England and Wales to save money on their legal fees. Peter Martin, head of family law at Finchley firm OGR Stock Denton, has devised the ‘Divorce?’ app to provide ...
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Criminal service
I read with interest District Judge Mildred’s not unreasonable request that those who appear before the courts should show due respect to the judge and, presumably, the court as a whole. His comment was in relation to the family and civil courts, but the issues apply ...
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ILEX assurance
Your headline ‘Legal Services Board rebuffs Djanogly on ILEX rights’ does not reflect accurately the LSB’s position on this issue. It is correct that the LSB is currently considering ILEX’s application to extend the rights of legal executives to conduct litigation and appear in court. In ...
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A distinguished life
I write in connection with Jonathan Goldsmith’s article about the worsening persecution of lawyers around the world. Mr Goldsmith referred to ‘a striking photo’ on the cover of ‘Lawyers without rights’ of a Jewish lawyer ‘being publicly humiliated in the streets as early as April 1933’. ...
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US lawyers consult on ABS reforms
The American Bar Association (ABA) has taken a first step towards introducing alternative business structures in response to rule changes on this side of the Atlantic. A New York law firm’s decision to bring English barristers into its partnership via its City office has prompted the ...
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Gazette survey: work-based discrimination still rife, say women solicitors
A Gazette survey has highlighted the extent to which women solicitors feel unable to progress within the profession. The research also shows that a significant percentage of women believe they have personally been discriminated against during their legal career. The survey, completed ...
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Legal Services Commission cuts 100 jobs
The Legal Services Commission has made around 100 of its 1,500 staff, including some senior figures, redundant in a bid to cut costs, the ...
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Firms ignoring ABS impact are 'sticking their heads in sand'
Most solicitors will ‘survive and prosper’ in the revolutionised legal services market, but those who ignore the likely impact of alternative business structures (ABSs) are ‘sticking their heads in the sand’. That was the stark warning from David Taylor, chair of the Law Society’s membership ...
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High Court challenge to court closures
The High Court is set to hear the first of four legal challenges to magistrates’ courts closures, the Gazette has learned. A challenge to the closure of Sittingbourne Magistrates’ Court has been listed in May, and the High Court in Wales will list a hearing for ...
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Future uncertain for Community Legal Advice Centres
The closure of Portsmouth Community Legal Advice Centre (CLAC) could signal the end of the one-stop-shop model once hailed as the ‘key’ to civil legal aid, solicitors have suggested. Portsmouth CLAC closed on 31 March, at the end of its three-year contract. The Legal Services Commission ...
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MPs oppose legal aid cuts
Members of parliament have voiced opposition to the government’s proposed legal aid cuts, and warned that the cuts could lead to the closure of many legal advice centres. Fifty-one MPs responded to a survey conducted by consultancy DG Legal for campaign group Justice for All, including ...
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Growth remains 'anaemic' in top 50 law firms
The UK’s biggest law firms did not snap into sustained recovery over the past 12 months, experts told the Gazette, as the 2010/11 financial year drew to a close last week. On average, top-50 firms will report flat revenues and profits when they publish their 2010/11 ...
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Eversheds and DLA Piper lose employment tribunal cases
Two national firms have separately lost appeals in the employment tribunal over their redundancy selection procedures. Eversheds and DLA Piper lost cases at the Employment Appeals Tribunal this month. The EAT upheld an earlier ruling that Eversheds had sexually discriminated against ...
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Clifford Chance advises on Arsenal deal, General Electric aquisition and more
Chance on goal: Magic circle firm Clifford Chance advised US businessman Stan Kroenke on acquiring Arsenal Football Club, valued at £730m, advised by magic circle firm Slaughter and May. Kroenke’s financial adviser, Deutsche Bank, was advised by City ...
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APIL warns of ‘dumbed down’ lawyers post-ABS
The new president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) today warned of the emergence of a new breed of 'dumbed-down, legal-lite' lawyer following the introduction of alternative business structures. Addressing APIL's annual conference, David Bott (pictured) predicted that 'potentially massive' new entrants to ...
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New round of district judge appointments
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is to recruit 56 district judges over the next two to three years. This is the first time in more than two years that any district judge (civil) positions have been available. It is unlikely there will be another opportunity to ...
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Law Commission proposes new ‘Consumer Act’
Consumers are finding it too hard to win compensation for misleading and aggressive trading practices and the law must be reviewed, the Law Commission said today. Opening a consultation on the matter, the commission said that routes to redress for ripped-off consumers are 'difficult’ and ‘far ...
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Society announces election of deputy vice-president
Solicitor Nick Fluck will become Law Society deputy vice-president in July, and will become president in 2013, Chancery Lane announced today. Fluck, partner at Lincolnshire firm Stapleton & Son and a council member since 2005, will serve one year as deputy vice-president from July, followed by ...
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Big-hitters join Society’s Human Rights Committee
Seven new members have joined the Law Society's Human Rights Committee to help highlight, challenge and condemn human rights abuses across the world. They are: Immigration solicitor Shanti Faiia of City firm Laura Devine. Faiia was previously with the United Nations development programme and the Sri ...