Latest news – Page 723
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News
Fresh plea for asbestos victims 'fund of last resort'
Lawyers acting for people suffering from asbestos-related diseases have renewed their appeal for a ‘fund of last resort’ when insurance details cannot be found. Claimant lawyers said they had waited more than a year for the results of a consultation on setting up an Employers’ Liability ...
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City law firms urged to rethink strategy
City firms must reinvent themselves to keep pace with the changing corporate sector over the next decade, according to a report published last week. Legal consultancy Jomati, run by Tony Williams, former managing partner of magic circle firm Clifford Chance, said firms will need a new ...
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Essex legal aid firms to merge
Two established Essex firms will on 1 July become the latest legal aid firms to merge. Fisher Jones Greenwood, which has offices in Colchester, Chelmsford and Clacton-on-Sea, will join forces with Chelmsford firm Budd Martin Burrett in the fourth major legal aid firm tie-up this year. ...
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News focus: counsel for Europe
Proposals for an EU-wide approach to collective redress exposed deep divisions among delegates gathered in Luxembourg for last week’s plenary session of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE). Collective redress, sometimes called group litigation or class action, was the subject of one ...
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‘No win, no fee’ unjustly blamed for rise in negligence claims
Your recent article reporting on the increased number of medical negligence claims in 2010 is interesting, but the Medical Defence Union reaches a highly speculative conclusion. The MDU offers no firm evidence for its suggestion that ‘no win, no fee’ arrangements are behind the increase ...
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Working in the law for less
As a practising barrister with no party-political affiliation, I have, like all lawyers, had to think long and hard recently about what our reaction should be to the savage cuts to legal aid imposed by ministers who have very adequate incomes, and in some cases substantial private wealth. ...
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Good legal service matters
With regard to ‘Join a brand, warns Holt’ there is a fundamental difference between providing a service and selling a product. Tesco and WHSmith sell products. The legal profession provides legal services. Some may wish ...
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Respect atheism
I am an atheist who is married to a Christian and who is the father of another Christian. While I do not share their faith, I respect it. With respect to Ian Newman (letters, 19 May), I do not recognise ...
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Christianity is not totalitarianism
I cannot believe that Darren White equates Christianity with totalitarianism. The latter imposes its will on the population. The former tells people what the situation is and leaves them free to decide for themselves. Likewise David Rhodes, with respect, misunderstands what ...
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Different ethics
Atheism and Christianity produce different law and ethics. Militant scientific atheism tells us that, biologically, a human is more intelligent but no more special than a chimpanzee or a slug. Our noblest thoughts are just chemical ...
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Faith is rational
Lord Justice Laws’ statement (quoted by Ian Newman in his letter) that 'religious faith is necessarily subjective, being incommunicable by any kind of proof or evidence', is of course itself 'necessarily' subjective being the reasoning or opinion of an individual, no matter how eminent or important.
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Religious privilege exists
In his letter of 19 May (Christianity needs more than just ceremonial support) in response to my letter of 6 May, Ian Newman makes some interesting points. He seems upset that the Queen has done nothing to ‘Defend the Faith’. ...
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Land proof needed
Edwin Lee refers in his letter to an increase in property fraud. The cause of it is not so much the open register, but HM Land Registry’s decision to do away with documentary proof of land ownership. A person who rents ...
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High Court delays judgment over Sittingbourne court closure
The High Court has reserved judgment in its judicial review of the Ministry of Justice’s decision to close Sittingbourne Magistrates Court. The court will close for business tomorrow, but the legal challenge to that closure, brought by Kent firm Robin Murray & Co, was heard yesterday ...
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Cost judges voiced fears over Jackson reforms, report reveals
Three costs judges from the Senior Court Costs Office broke ranks to object to radical reform of civil litigation, it has emerged. Masters Campbell, Haworth and Leonard said they were ‘unhappily’ unable to agree with the majority view of the costs judges who supported recommendations made ...
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LSB to further probe value of quality schemes
The Legal Services Board is to seek further evidence to assess the usefulness of quality schemes for indicating whether law firms provide a good service to consumers, it revealed today. The LSB has asked its Legal Services Consumer Panel, the body that advises it on the ...
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US firms show strong rebound from economic woes
Uncertainty may still reign in the UK, but across the pond the legal sector is feeling rather more optimistic, research has suggested. A survey published today indicated that most law firms in the US are seeing revenues rise, partner numbers increase and an end to salary capping. Leaders of the ...
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Law firms ‘must improve practice management’
Business advisors have told law firms to improve their practice management if they want to emerge from the challenges of 2011. Members of the Institute for Turnaround (IFT) warned there are too many firms that are failing to recognise or deal with financial problems early enough. ...
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European Court opens up access to notary profession
The European Court of Justice has paved the way for UK solicitors to practise as notaries across the European Union. It ruled yesterday that six member states - Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Greece - had breached the law by restricting access to the notary ...
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Firms freeze trainee recruitment, survey suggests
More than three-quarters of medium-sized firms have frozen graduate recruitment for the next year – despite an increase in applications. A survey of 82 firms with between 20 and 30 employees found that most firms planned to cut costs over the next 12 months. ...