Latest news – Page 915
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Court calamities
I feel compelled to respond to Majid Shafiq’s ‘challenge’ to find ‘a bigger failure by a court to conduct business in an acceptable way’ (see [2008] Gazette, 26 June, 11). My recent experiences of various courts include: A telephone ...
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Silver lining?
In the light of recent turmoil on the stockmarket, there would appear to be scope for charities to gain substantially from estates which include shares in companies that have declined dramatically in value (such as banks, builders and property companies). Where there is a taxable estate ...
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Immigration issues
As an immigration consultancy based in Sheffield we recently read with great interest an article published in March concerning the quality of advice for Turkish workers (see [2008] Gazette, 6 March, 4). While we agree that the quality of immigration services is high, we do not ...
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Correction
Dr Ann Barker, the Bar Standards Board’s new complaints commissioner, was wrongly named Parker in last week’s issue. Apologies.
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Councils launch court fee challenge
Four local authorities have joined forces to launch a judicial review against the government, claiming that new powers forcing councils to bear the full cost of child-care cases are unlawful, the Gazette can reveal. Hillingdon Borough Council in London, Leeds City Council, Liverpool City Council and ...
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Shape up to survive, conveyancers told
The Law Society has warned conveyancers not to panic as the property market stagnates, but to take action to ‘trim’ themselves down.
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Titan prison plans under attack
The government’s plans to build its way out of prison overcrowding came under attack last week from the authors of a seven-year investigation into the criminal justice system.
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India pact 'years away'
A free-trade agreement between India and the EU – which should help open up the legal market to foreign firms – is still at least three years away, according to one of the EU negotiators. Sajjad Karim, a Conservative MEP on the international trade committee, also ...
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Defence deal
Defence deal: Birmingham firm Wragge & Co advised the Ministry of Defence, as part of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, on a £3bn contract to build aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales – which will be the largest warships ever ...
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SRA eyes visits to big firms
Clifford Chance has undergone a trial Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) inspection as the regulator works out how best to inspect larger law firms. The City giant volunteered to be the SRA’s ‘guinea pig’ and five inspectors spent a week at the firm, learning how a practice ...
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Sir Igor is new chief justice
Sir Igor Judge, the current President of the Queen’s Bench Division, has been named as the next Lord Chief Justice.
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Call for more 'users of justice' on CJC
The Civil Justice Council should have more ‘users’ of justice and fewer lawyers among its members, an independent review has recommended. Jonathan Spencer’s review, published this week by the Ministry of Justice, says the concept of the council is sound, and commends its ‘essential mediating ...
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Anonymity fears
Criminal practitioners have urged the government to consult properly before ploughing ahead with emergency legislation to allow witness anonymity, which they fear could jeopardise fair trials. Ian Kelcey, chairman of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, said: ‘The home secretary should stop and think about the ...
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Human traffic warning
Immigration lawyers must become more ‘victim-focused’ if they are to stop giving unwitting help to human traffickers, a top European lawyer has told the Gazette. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, a lawyer and deputy secretary-general of the Council of Europe, said trafficking could go undetected when practitioners endorsed ...
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Society wary over Charter Mark idea
The Law Society has reacted cautiously to the Legal Services Ombudsman’s idea of introducing a Charter Mark scheme for solicitors. Ombudsman Zahida Manzoor also warned that the Legal Complaints Service’s (LCS) current proposals to publish complaints records ‘could potentially lead to some solicitors paying compensation irrespective ...
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Bond Pearce in Grand Prix win
South-west firm Bond Pearce advised Donington Park race track on the deal that will make it home to the British Grand Prix for ten years from 2010. The deal was struck between Donington’s owners and Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Management, which was advised in-house. Formula One’s ...
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Put diversity on the agenda, urge counsel
Leading black minority ethnic (BME) in-house counsel have called on aspiring company lawyers to use their positions to promote the diversity agenda. Sandie Okoro, group general counsel at Baring Asset Management, said: ‘You have an enormous amount of influence as an in-house counsel, so get diversity ...
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Property search 'lottery'
The London Borough of Hillingdon has been dubbed the worst performing local authority for delivering property search services, according to a joint survey by search company One Search Direct and home information pack (HIP) provider Simply HIP. The research said the council took an average of ...
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Law reform programme unveiled
The Lord Chancellor will be forced to update Parliament annually on plans to implement Law Commission recommendations, the commission’s chair said this week. Sir Terence Etherton told journalists the proposal was a sign of a closer working relationship between the commission and government. ...
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Judicial candidates selection concern
The Society of Asian Lawyers (SAL) has voiced concern over reports that candidates have been put forward for judicial appointment in competitions they had not entered. SAL chairman Sailesh Mehta said he had been informed that a position was to be given to a candidate who ...