Latest news – Page 863
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Met safety deposit box raid slammed
A solicitor representing owners of safety deposit boxes raided by police has spoken out against what he says is excessive use of powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). Lawrence Kelly, of London solicitors Lawrence Stephens, claimed the authorities are using warrants to trawl ...
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Disability on firms' radar
A national charity has launched an action plan to help law students with disabilities overcome barriers to pursuing a legal career such as going to the ‘wrong sort of university’. Some 21,350 first-year undergraduates declared a disability in 2007, with law students making up 12% ...
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Death row execution 'inhuman'
The execution of the US’s longest-serving death row prisoner, Jack Alderman, has been condemned as cruel and inhumane by those who fought to overturn the sentence. As the Gazette went to press last week, a court granted a last-minute stay of execution for Alderman, who had ...
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Training must top the agenda
Newly qualified solicitors should not use clients as guinea pigs to gain advocacy experience. I was pleased to read that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has backtracked over plans for automatic rights of audience for solicitors (see [2008] Gazette, 11 September, 2). ...
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When grammar 'gifts' us a lesson
Having read the latest letter about poor grammar, I could not resist raising my pet hate (see [2008] Gazette, 11 September, 9). When did ‘gift’ become a verb? Do non-lawyers talk about ‘gifting’ a house, as almost all private client practitioners now do? ...
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CDS Direct advice was appropriate
I do not agree with Matthew Coxall’s view of the advice provided by CDS Direct (see [2008] Gazette, 4 September, 9). In his letter, Mr Coxall questioned the advice provided by CDS Direct to his client. I have investigated the case concerned and I am ...
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High praise for a past president
What a refreshing, forthright article from Martin Mears (see [2008] Gazette, 11 September, 8). It reminds me why he is one of the few Law Society presidents who was actually elected by his fellow solicitors and why I voted for him. ...
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Racism: courage in the line of fire
I refer to Martin Mears’s trenchant dismissal of allegations of racism at the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Mr Mears treats the peddlers of these allegations and the powerful organisations at their back with more respect than they deserve. But it would be ...
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Firms face assigned risk pool threat
A far greater number of solicitors could end up in the assigned risks pool (ARP) and face paying up to half their fee income in solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance (PII) premiums as the crisis in the market deepens. Industry sources have predicted that more small firms ...
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DLA Piper in the Middle East push
National firm DLA Piper has tripled its headcount in the Middle East as part of a huge push into the region and has plans for further expansion over the next two months, the Gazette can reveal. The firm, which had around 50 lawyers working in the ...
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Costs-capping power for courts
Courts will have formal powers to make costs-capping orders under changes proposed by the civil procedure rule committee. The courts have been developing their costs-capping jurisdiction, most notably in personal injury and defamation cases, and the consultation issued last week is largely an attempt to codify ...
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Lawyers blamed for negligence fees rise
Clinical negligence practitioners have hit back at claims they are fuelling a‘compensation culture’ by charging too much, after it emerged that the NHS’s bill for patients’ lawyers has more than doubled in the last four years. The NHS paid out £90.7m in costs to claimant solicitors ...
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JAC 'can change history'
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) ‘has the potential to alter the historical pattern of under-representation of certain groups among the judiciary’, but a broader range of people need to apply, the Employment Tribunals president said last week. Speaking at an event hosted by the Society of ...
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'Offer of amends' could lead to fewer libel cases at trial
The settlement of a high-profile libel case between supermarket giant Tesco and The Guardian newspaper will encourage the use of ‘offers of amends’ as an alternative to trials, libel lawyers said this week. Tesco Stores Ltd had sued Guardian News & Media Ltd ...
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Society stand on striking-off
The Law Society has reiterated its opposition to plans for Crown Court judges to be given powers to strike off solicitors charged with fraud, even when they have been acquitted of any offence. The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, outlined the proposal in a consultation paper published ...
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Crisis set to spur consolidation
The collapse of Lehman Brothers amid turmoil on Wall Street will provide rich pickings for top firms but spell tough times for the rest, analysts have warned.
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Inquest cash gap fears
Inadequate levels of legal aid funding for inquests mean too many grieving families have to attend coroner’s court without representation, lawyers have warned. Amanda Stevens, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), criticised government proposals contained in a consultation, which closed last week, ...
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Poland: rule of law concerns
Continuing concerns about the Polish government’s interference in the rule of law have emerged in a new study by the International Bar Association. In a follow-up to its 2007 report Justice under Siege, the association commended efforts by the new government since last year’s election, ...
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Corporate counsel hit by crunch
The credit crunch has increased pressure on in-house counsel worldwide to prove their worth and thereby survive the economic downturn, according to a poll carried out by the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA). The results of the 2008 Global Challenge Survey, which will be presented ...
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Lawyers to advise professions group
An official body set up to advise the chancellor of the exchequer on future challenges facing the professional services sector is looking for input from lawyers. Michael Snyder, chairman of the professional services global competitiveness group, said last week that he would ‘welcome ideas from any of the legal professions’ ...