Latest news – Page 743
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News
SJ Berwin drops merger plans with US firm
City firm SJ Berwin and US firm Proskauer Rose have decided against a merger, the firms announced today in a statement. ‘At this stage in our discussions, we recognised that the timetable necessary to reach the agreements that would ensure the successful integration of our firms ...
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Solicitors ‘not doing enough’ to market themselves as ABSs approach
Nine out of ten solicitors think they are not doing enough to promote their businesses in the face of forthcoming competition from alternative business structures, research seen exclusively by the Gazette has suggested. A survey of 330 solicitors by law firm referral service Contact Law found ...
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Court security is ‘over the top’
I would like to highlight a new danger associated with my job that I had not previously considered. While airport security measures are likely to be relaxed, magistrates’ courts seem to be adding extra layers to their security procedures. While attending our local court last week, I emptied my pockets, ...
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Another route to qualification
I write in response to Robin Dunne’s letter . I agree that it is truly unfortunate when a law student has accrued considerable debt in completing their degree and LPC, then cannot secure a training contract. But it is not correct to say that, unless the LPC providers restrict the ...
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Downgrading of child protection
I was alarmed to learn of the government’s recent decision not to abolish the court fees payable by local authorities when commencing care proceedings. In his report following the Baby P case, Lord Laming called for these fees to be reviewed. A review followed which ...
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The legal needs of vulnerable clients
Lindsay Taylor’s experience of financial institutions’ ignorance of the difference between a lasting power of attorney and court order will be a familiar story to most solicitors specialising in elder and capacity law.
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Rail acquisition, energy listing, bank sale and telecoms loan
Rail thing: Magic circle firm Allen & Overy advised a private equity consortium comprising 3i Group, Star Capital Partners and Morgan Stanley on the consortium’s £2.1bn acquisition of HSBC’s train-leasing business Eversholt Rail Group. Magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised HSBC. ...
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Surprise fall in solicitors' PII bill
Solicitors paid 11% less to insurers for professional indemnity insurance (PII) this year, official figures have revealed. The cost of insuring the profession on the open market in 2010 was £214m, down from £241m in 2009 and £226m in 2008. The fall occurred despite some solicitors ...
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'Solicitors from Hell' owner vows to persevere after another libel loss
The owner of solicitorsfromhell has vowed to keep the site going, despite losing the latest in a string of libel cases. In the High Court last week, London firm Brett Wilson forced site owner Rick Kordowski to make an undertaking to the court: not to publish ...
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Big majority backs free legal advice
More than eight out of 10 people believe civil legal advice should be free for people on average earnings or below. This conviction is consistent across all social classes, a nationwide opinion poll has found, raising fresh questions over the government’s mandate for swingeing legal aid cuts.
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Miners’ compensation claims website under investigation by MoJ
A no win, no fee website set up to farm former coal miners’ undersettlement claims is being investigated by the government claims regulator, the Gazette has learned. The Ministry of Justice is investigating justiceforminers.org.uk after Kevan Jones, Labour MP for North Durham, complained to the claims ...
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Neuberger endorses accreditation scheme
The master of the rolls has given judicial backing to the proposed quality assurance for advocates (QAA) scheme, saying judges are the ‘ultimate consumers’ of advocacy services and are well placed to assess quality. Speaking at the Bar Council’s annual conference, Lord Neuberger defended the proposal ...
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ProcureCos could earn bar ‘millions’ in new work
The bar is in ‘rapid change mode’ and could secure ‘hundreds of millions of pounds’ of work through its new ProcureCos, Nick Green QC told the bar’s annual conference. But the bar’s chairman said that despite a ‘jockeying for position’ with solicitors, the two professions would ...
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Virtual court pilot in ‘chaos’
Efforts by the Ministry of Justice to increase use of the virtual court at Camberwell Green magistrates’ court in London have led to ‘chaos’ because the court list is overloaded, criminal solicitors allege. For the last fortnight all overnight remands from the 20 London police ...
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GC100 rejects government's disclosure proposals
General counsel at Britain’s biggest companies have rejected government plans to force companies to disclose more information about corporate social responsibility and risk. The GC100, the association for general counsel and company secretaries in FTSE 100 companies, said the requirement might leave companies vulnerable to legal ...
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Judicial Appointments Commission survives quangos cull
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) and the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman will not fall victim to the government’s ‘bonfire of the quangos’. Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke (pictured) told parliament today that the two bodies will remain ...
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Consumer panel wants lawyers to undergo ‘regular MOT’
Lawyers would have to demonstrate at regular intervals that they are competent to practise under radical proposals from consumer watchdogs for beefing up quality. The Legal Services Consumer Panel has today called for the introduction of ‘periodic validation’ – a review of permission to practise after a fixed time – ...
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QualitySolicitors opens first ‘legal store’
National legal services brand QualitySolicitors today launched its first ‘legal store’ in a shopping centre in London, offering ‘instant wills while you shop’, and late evening and weekend opening. QualitySolicitors Freeman Harris, based in the Lewisham Shopping Centre, is one of 54 new franchises opened by ...
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Top-50 firms see revenues grow
Top-50 law firms have successfully grown their revenues in the first half of the financial year, figures released by firms this week suggest. Among City firms, Norton Rose posted a 9% rise in fee income for the six months ending 31 October, indicating fee income of ...
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New legal aid court challenge set to proceed
A High Court judge has refused an injunction that could have further delayed the start of the new mental health and public law legal aid contracts – but awarded a protective costs order to enable a legal challenge to the two Legal Services Commission tender processes.