Latest news – Page 895
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News
Linklaters announces London job cuts
Magic circle firm Linklaters will cut between 100 and 120 lawyers and 130 to 150 business services employees as it enters into a redundancy consultation with all UK staff. In a statement today (29 January), Simon Davies, Linklaters managing partner, said: ‘There have been significant changes ...
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Accountancy/legal mega-firms will expose conflicts of interest
I read your opinion ‘A Level Playing Field’ (see [2008] Gazette, 15 January, 10) about proposed reforms of the Scottish legal profession with great concern. I recognise that the implementation ...
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Give it away free
As you correctly reported, the internet is about to overtake traditional channels for people to find a solicitor for simple legal work, such as conveyancing and writing a will. However, I would suggest that law firms need to look beyond this to ensure that they maintain, or increase, their market ...
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Complex world
The reference to ‘a simple transaction, such as conveyancing or making a will’ in your article, together with the absence of any quotation marks, is yet another insulting nail in the coffin of our professionalism. If the article’s authors really have the necessary expertise to use such dismissive words in ...
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Firm to pay price of trainee sacking
Firms that sack a trainee without the agreement of the Solicitors Regulation Authority could find themselves liable for hefty damages, a landmark employment tribunal decision suggests. Sheffield Employment Tribunal last week ruled that a Manchester firm, Express Solicitors, was in breach of the terms of ...
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Courts system sleepwalking into crisis
A five-year strategy must be agreed between the judiciary, government and HM Courts Service to revive a civil justice system that has been ‘sleep-walking into a crisis’, a heavy-hitting report has warned. Sir Henry Brooke, former vice-president of the Court of ...
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Firms 'lose out' in fighting crime
The burden of complying with new anti-money laundering (AML) regulations is not proportionate to the funds recovered from launderers, according to new research. For every suspicious activity report submitted, an estimated £618 is recovered from criminals, according to the Home Office and Serious Organised Crime Agency. ...
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Legislation mooted on client bank accounts
The British Bankers’ Association and the Law Society may seek legislation to clear up confusion over compensation payable when solicitors’ client accounts are held in collapsed banks. The two bodies are considering asking the government to amend the Banking Bill, currently passing ...
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Sir John Mortimer: 1923-2009
Tributes have been paid to one of the legal profession’s best-known figures, the barrister and writer Sir John Mortimer, who died last week. Desmond Browne QC, chairman of the Bar Council, said: ‘Like his father, the blind advocate whom he immortalised in Voyage Round My Father, John Mortimer brought both ...
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Dock instructions: say no, says Society
Solicitors must firmly resist requests from magistrates and district judges to take instructions from defendants while they are in the dock, the Law Society’s criminal law committee has urged. The warning follows reports of district judges and magistrates refusing to give adjournments for meetings, ...
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Indian 'best friends' criticised
An Indian ‘magic circle’ firm has criticised the formation of ‘best friend’ relationships in the country, saying they do not follow the spirit of rules on foreign lawyers. Rajiv Luthra, managing partner at Luthra & Luthra, told the Gazette that his firm has turned down ...
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Firms looking abroad
Expansion into foreign markets has been pushed to the top of the agenda for commercial law firms looking to grow their business, according to new research. More firms (38% of the total polled) would rather expand into a foreign jurisdiction over the next one to three ...
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Straw defends secret inquest plans
Justice secretary Jack Straw has defended plans to hold secret inquests, citing the need to protect those who provide intelligence for national security. Major change to the coroners system, which Straw described as the least-reformed part of the justice mechanism, is the headline proposal of the Coroners and Justice Bill, ...
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Bill 'could damage public confidence'
Criminal practitioners have warned that several measures in the Coroners and Justice Bill could damage confidence in the justice system and accused the government of pandering to pressure groups. Ian Kelcey, chairman of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, described the bill as a complete ...
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Clampdown on legal aid fraudsters
The Coroners and Justice Bill creates new powers to clampdown on people who make fraudulent claims for legal aid or fail to pay their share of costs. Changes will allow data about individuals to be shared routinely between the Legal Services Commission and the Department for Work and Pensions. Courts ...
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Nuclear developments, energy sales and publishing buyouts
Going nuclear: City firm CMS Cameron McKenna advised energy companies RWE and E.ON on a joint venture to build nuclear power stations in the UK. The project aims to develop 6GW of capacity. ...
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Salaried partners need more support
I write to announce the formation of The Association of Salaried Partners. The purpose of this organisation will be to support the interests of both former and current salaried partners within the legal profession.
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Seeking equality with barristers
As you correctly reported, solicitors welcome any system that will allow them to demonstrate that they can compete on equal terms with barristers (see [2008] Gazette,18 December, 1). The quality assurance scheme ‘should’ do that. But will it?
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Fees 'frisson'
You reported last week that the Solicitors Regulation Authority ‘voted 13 to two, with one abstention, not to reimpose a ban on referral payments’ (see [2009] Gazette, 8 January, 3). This is correct, save that the vote you refer to was the second vote. This took place immediately after the ...