Latest news – Page 769
-
News
Lawyer wins tribunal appeal over withdrawal of job offer
A woman lawyer has won her appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that disability discrimination did not lie behind a major law firm’s decision to withdraw a job offer.
-
News
Courts report rise in personal injury claims
The number of personal injury claims filed in the High Court jumped 32% between 2006 and 2008, research has found. Claims relating to personal injury jumped 31.8% from 914 in 2006 to 1,205 in 2008, according to a study of the latest available figures by ...
-
News
Bar must step up competition with solicitors, chairman warns
The bar must embrace direct access to the public to compete in a system that has been ‘calibrated and designed to hand the entire legal aid pot to solicitors’, the Bar Council chairman said last week. Speaking at a symposium last week to discuss the paper ...
-
News
Lord Phillips defends Human Rights Act
The Human Rights Act 1998 is ‘a vital part of the foundation of our fight against terrorism’, the president of the Supreme Court asserted this week in an outspoken defence of the act. Setting out a series of recent cases in which government anti-terrorism measures ...
-
News
Joint pro bono clearing house to launch
A National Pro Bono Centre is to open this summer to act as a ‘hub’ for pro bono charities. The NPBC, which has been registered as a new legal charity, will bring together in one building LawWorks, the Bar Pro Bono Unit and the ILEX Pro ...
-
News
Asylum advice centre closes
Immigration advice charity Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) went into administration yesterday following cashflow problems which it said were due to late payments by the Legal Services Commission. Despite a high-profile campaign, with letters sent to the justice secretary and home secretary on RMJ’s behalf by ...
-
News
Mayer Brown picks up pro bono gong
US firm Mayer Brown International was recognised for its work with pro bono group LawWorks at the charity’s annual awards ceremony last night. The firm won the award for the best contribution by a law firm, for supporting numerous projects including providing pro bono assistance through ...
-
News
Law Society launches advertising campaign
The Law Society is to repeat its nationwide drive to promote solicitors in an advertising campaign that will begin on Monday. Adverts will run in more than 450 railway stations and on more than 40 buses, as well as in the national press. ...
-
News
HIPs: a mixed blessing?
While we should applaud the decision to scrap HIPs, they did at least introduce the concept of preparing in advance. The public and estate agents just do not understand that, to effect a smooth sale, the selling solicitor needs to plan ahead.
-
News
Legal skills and careers
I am writing to respond to the author of the letter 'Hurt in the pocket' (see letters, 27 May). Accepting a pay cut of 49% is something you agreed to do, it was not an obligation. The firm is not obliged to increase your pay even if you have ...
-
News
Law Society and Bar Council examine new funding options
The Law Society and Bar Council have set up a joint working party to look at new ways of funding cases as an alternative to legal aid. With the government poised to announce the details of public spending cuts, the two bodies said they had come ...
-
News
‘Root-and-branch’ review of client financial protection
Solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance (PII) will be the subject of a ‘wide-ranging’ review by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, chair of the SRA board Charles Plant reveals in his Gazette column today. The PII review forms part of a ‘root-and-branch review of client financial protection’ also covering ...
-
News
Jackson reforms ‘would benefit negligent corporations’
Negligent corporations and local authorities will have the scales of justice tipped in their favour if Lord Justice Jackson’s proposals on civil litigation costs are implemented in full, according to the firm involved in the case dubbed the ‘British Erin Brockovich’. Des Collins, senior partner at ...
-
News
Sentencing Council begins national judicial survey
A new body with a remit to ‘demystify’ court processes and sentencing has begun the first national survey of how individual judges decide on the punishments they mete out to offenders. The Sentencing Council is to require judges to complete a questionnaire after each hearing ...
-
News
Personal injury firms hit face new VAT threat
Changes by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to the treatment of medical reports for VAT purposes could cause personal injury firms ‘significant’ extra expense, tax lawyers have warned. The changes have prompted the Law Society to make written submissions in a forthcoming VAT tribunal case, Barratt ...
-
News
Surge in Antipodean recruitment at UK law firms
Recruitment of lawyers from Australia and New Zealand has surged at UK law firms following the government’s relaxation of immigration rules for highly skilled workers. Associate solicitors from both countries are flocking to London to plug gaps in mid-tier City firms’ corporate practices, recruiters Badenoch & ...
-
News
City firms look to spread financial risk
City firms are asking banks to devise special financial instruments to protect their income from unforeseen economic fluctuations, the Gazette has learned. The top 20 law firms have begun asking for bespoke exchange rate and interest rate products to manage financial risk, bankers said.
-
News
National grid rights issue and rail freight deal
Power play: Magic circle firm Linklaters advised National Grid on a £3.2bn rights issue, with City firm Herbert Smith advising a consortium of banks. On track: Birmingham firm Wragge & Co advised ...
-
News
Lawyers condemn arrest of US lawyer in Rwanda
Lawyers have condemned the arrest of a US colleague who is representing a defendant before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and called for his immediate release.
-
News
Solicitors call for an end to court recording ban
Criminal defence solicitors have called on the Courts Service to allow them to take dictation devices into court buildings. The Courts Service currently bans the devices from court premises, and they are often removed from solicitors when they enter the buildings, although the rule is not ...