Latest news – Page 741
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India will liberalise ‘in time’
The Law Society remains optimistic that sustained trade negotiations with the Indian government will eventually open the country’s legal market to English law firms, its vice-president John Wotton said this week. Wotton’s comments came after Veerappa Moily, Indian government minister for law and justice, told the ...
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Immigration cap unveiled
The Home Office has announced a 21,700 annual cap on the number of skilled immigrants from outside the EU allowed into the UK, in a move that will disappoint those in the legal profession concerned that the limit will prevent them from employing the foreign lawyers needed to service clients. ...
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Djanogly in mediation push
Individuals should play a greater role in solving their problems rather than turning to the courts, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said last week as he outlined government plans to support mediation in the wake of proposals to slash legal aid. Speaking at the Centre for Effective ...
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BME firms told to embrace alternative business structures
BME firms should embrace alternative business structures to stay in business, the new chair of the Black Solicitors Network told the Gazette this week. Nwabueze Nwokolo, who is also the Law Society council member for ethnic minorities, said: ‘Most black lawyers work in small firms, but ...
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Unite and fight legal aid cuts – Kennedy
Baroness Helena Kennedy has called on the legal profession to pull together to fight against proposed legal aid cuts that will ‘leave a real lacuna for those most in need’ and increase the risk of miscarriages of justice. Her plea came as the Law Society launched ...
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Real estate litigation to rise
Next year will see a ‘significant’ rise in litigation within the real estate market, providing more work for some lawyers but putting others at risk of legal action, according to research by City firm Hogan Lovells seen by the Gazette. A survey of 160 senior executives ...
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Stolen data used for email scams
Employees at foreign call centres that were engaged by claims management companies have stolen customer data that was later used to launch email scams in the UK, the Gazette has learned. The Ministry of Justice claims management regulator said this week that, after some claims management ...
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Internet ‘threat’ to jury system
Misuse of the internet by jurors is posing a threat to the integrity of the jury system, the lord chief justice warned last week. In a lecture to the Judicial Studies Board in Belfast, Lord Judge suggested jurors could be found in contempt of court ...
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Law Society to fund panel action
The Law Society has agreed to fund an opinion from counsel on whether a Hertfordshire firm can sue Santander and Lloyds Banking Group after being removed from their conveyancing panels. Paul Judkins, a partner at Judkins, said more than 50 firms had contacted him to express ...
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Calls for major reform to law training
Pressure mounted for sweeping reform of the education and training of lawyers this week, as regulators announced a root-and-branch review of the current framework. The review was unveiled as research seen by the Gazette suggested that there are currently three times more final-year law students who ...
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Online law degree launched in Scotland
A Scottish university will next year launch what is believed to be the first online law undergraduate degree. The online LLB from the department of law at Robert Gordon University’s Aberdeen Business School will run from September 2011. The university already runs online law masters courses. ...
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Herbert Smith to open document centre in Belfast
City firm Herbert Smith has announced it is to open an office in Belfast next year. The new branch will focus on reviewing and analysing the large volumes of documents found in major contentious work, notably in litigation, arbitration and regulatory investigations. ...
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Trial judges should put questions to jurors, says Lord Justice Moses
Judges should present a list of questions to jurors in criminal trials to guide them in reaching a verdict, a senior judge suggested yesterday. Lord Justice Moses said the move, which was recommended in Lord Justice Auld’s 2001 review of the criminal courts, would reduce the ...
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Rapid population growth will fuel demand for legal services
Emerging global economies will fuel a massive demand for legal services by 2030 and provide opportunities for UK law firms, according the Law Society. The Society said firms must respond to that increased demand, or miss out on vital opportunities. It said ...
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Forensic expert witnesses should be accredited, warns judge
A lack of accreditation of expert witnesses means that anyone with a scientific background and sufficient ‘brass neck’ could set themselves up as a forensic science expert and mislead the court, a Court of Appeal judge has warned. Lord Justice Leveson told the Forensic Science Society ...
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Justice minister calls for greater steer towards mediation
Individuals should play a greater role in solving their problems rather than turning to the courts, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said last week as he set out the government’s plan to support mediation in the wake of its proposals to slash legal aid. Speaking at CEDR’s ...
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Scrap training contract, says thinktank
A legal thinktank has today called for the abolition of the training contract as part of proposed radical changes to legal education and training. A 53-page discussion paper from the College of Law’s Legal Services Institute (LSI) urges scrapping training contracts and making the Legal Practice ...
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Society launches campaign to fight legal aid cuts
The Law Society has called on law firms to lobby MPs over the impact of the government’s proposed legal aid overhaul, in the first stage in its campaign to fight the cuts. Chancery Lane has warned that the plans outlined in last week’s consultation to reduce ...
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‘Compensation culture’ peer quits over gaffe
Lord Young of Graffham will not now assist the government with the implementation of his report on the ‘compensation culture’ after quitting his advisory role this afternoon, Downing Street has confirmed to the Gazette. The government backed the Tory peer’s report, Common Sense, Common Safety, and ...
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Specialisms not easily acquired
As an experienced practitioner in the field of private client law, I am always pleased to see solicitors, old and new, wishing to practise in this complex and rewarding area of law. However, I do think we need to address the assumption that a ...