Latest news – Page 843
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Law Society unveils client care helpline package
The Law Society and Legal Services Complaints Commissioner yesterday unveiled a package of client care measures to help solicitors, including a £100,000 ‘best practice’ consultancy service and a dedicated helpline. Society chief executive Des Hudson described the initiative as an important step toward helping practitioners deal ...
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SRA considers asking for rethink on voluntary accreditation
The Solicitors Regulation Authority may ask the Law Society Council to reconsider its decision to transfer voluntary accreditation schemes back to Chancery Lane. The Law Society representative body expects to take control of voluntary programmes no later than June after council voted in favour of ...
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Employment tribunal ruling challenges ageism
The first tribunal hearing to deal ‘head on’ with bars to employment based on date of birth has ruled that the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) acted unlawfully in rejecting candidates over 35.
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Deaf student launches discrimination action against law school
A deaf would-be law student has begun proceedings against a London law school, alleging disability discrimination on the grounds of ‘unfavourable treatment’ and failure to make ‘reasonable adjustments’.
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Firms increase their provisions for bad debt
Some top London corporate firms are expecting to double the percentage of outstanding legal fees they classify as unrecoverable, the Gazette has learned. Data gathered from top firms’ latest accounts and industry sources suggested that firms are upping their write-off estimates to as much ...
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Over-regulation may thwart LSA reforms, Law Society warns
Over-regulation by the Bar Standards Board may make partnerships between barristers and solicitors unattractive and threaten the intentions of the Legal Services Act, the Law Society has warned. Responding to the BSB’s second consultation on the regulatory implications of the Legal Services Act 2007, Chancery ...
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CPS urged to change its culture on complaints
The Crown Prosecution Service needs to become less defensive about complaints from the public, according to the chief inspector of HM CPS Inspectorate (HMCPSI) in his first review of the process.
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Firm urges US to follow regulatory reforms
US-based international law firms face a future as subsidiaries to English firms unless the US adopts English-style regulatory reforms, according to the chief executive of a firm operating in 46 US states. Michael Skoler, of The Law Offices of James Sokolove Law, said that the US’s ...
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Free legal web project seeks funding
A scheme to create a comprehensive online guide to English law is looking for £50,000 to fund its first phase. The Free Legal Web, the brainchild of legal publishing consultant Nick Holmes, has already won a government-sponsored prize for innovative uses of official information.
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Pro bono services ask City firms to keep up support
Some of the UK’s biggest pro bono advice services have called on recession-hit City firms to continue supplying their lawyers for voluntary work amid escalating demand. Citizens Advice, the Law Centres Federation and LawWorks told the Gazette this week that they are concerned about City job ...
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In-house lawyers urged to contribute to litigation study
The judge conducting a review of the costs of litigation has called on in-house lawyers to respond, to rectify a ‘dearth’ of evidence from those who pay for the costs of litigation. Lord Justice Jackson, who will present his preliminary report on the costs of ...
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Sports partnerships, footwear deals and pro bono cases
Sporting partners: City firm Taylor Wessing advised Kentaro, a sports rights agency, on partnering with Jerome Anderson’s Sport, Entertainment and Media (SEM) Group, whose clients include Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand (pictured) and Barcelona forward and former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry. ...
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Six bid to become Society’s deputy vice-president
Six Law Society Council members have put themselves forward to be deputy vice-president at Chancery Lane in 2009/10, a post which leads to the presidency two years later. Nominations have now closed and the successful candidate will be announced on 16 April.
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Four solicitors among six honorary QCs
Four solicitors are among the six honorary Queen’s Counsel appointed today (5 March). David McIntosh (pictured), a past President of the Law Society and chairman of the City of London Law Society, was appointed in recognition of his contribution to the legal profession, ...
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New recruits who defer start dates urged to work pro bono
Law firm recruits who choose to defer their start date are being urged to sign up to pro-bono work to avoid gaps in their CVs. As City firms such as Norton Rose and Penningtons offer graduates £10,000 to take a year out, the Law Society is ...
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Legal aid cuts ‘drive barristers away from family work’
The family bar is ‘close to breaking point’ as repeated legal aid cuts are driving experienced barristers away from their work, leaving vulnerable women and children at risk, according to a study, commissioned by the Bar Council and the Family Law Bar Association (FLBA). The Legal ...
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UK solicitors bear extra money-laundering burden, Hudson tells Parliament
The Law Society’s chief executive, Des Hudson, has told a parliamentary committee that solicitors in the UK bear a heavier burden of compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations than their counterparts elsewhere in Europe. In the first oral session before a House of Lords European ...
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Litigation funder seeks new cash injection
The only UK-listed third-party litigation funder is raising a further £35m which it said it needs as the market ‘heats up’. Juridica Investments, based in Guernsey, raised £80m when it launched on the Alternative Investment Market in December 2007, but said it now requires more capital, ...
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White & Case to cut up to 95 in London
US firm White & Case will cut between 80 and 95 fee-earners and support staff in London as part of plans to make 200 associates and 200 support staff redundant worldwide. The firm said today (10 March) that it is also undertaking an ‘evaluation of its ...
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Society to host emergency summit on family court media access
The Law Society is to host an emergency summit later this month to air concerns about opening family courts to the media. Under new rules proposed by justice secretary Jack Straw, the media will be able to attend all levels of family courts. Chancery Lane believes admission should only be ...