Latest news – Page 749
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News
Control orders ‘infringe fundamental principles’
Control orders infringe the most fundamental principles of due process, and should be replaced with surveillance and criminal trial, the Law Society has urged. Control orders are an anti-terrorism power that allows curfews of up to 16 hours a day, electronic tagging, regular home searches and ...
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MoJ to extend Freedom of Information Act
More public bodies are to be opened up to public scrutiny under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), the Ministry of Justice announced today. The MoJ said it will extend the scope of the FOI to make it easier for people to find and use information ...
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Profession under stress, helpline reveals
A charity that provides support to solicitors has identified high levels of stress among the profession. Telephone helpline LawCare recorded the second busiest year in its 13-year history. The advice line opened 517 new case files in 2010, down from the ...
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Remembering Lord Goddard
I have always enjoyed articles in the Gazette by James Morton, including a recent item about judges. I first saw Lord Goddard in the late 50s, while an articled clerk in London. I often dropped in to the Royal Courts of Justice for a bit ...
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Providing right for acccess to justice for all - 1970s solution
During the early 1970s, conveyancing work was the lifeblood of most high street firms. The litigation solicitor was the ‘poor relation’ of the practice. It was commonplace to hear the comment that the litigators were heavily subsidised by the conveyancers. This situation even survived for many years after the abolition ...
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Deciding who gets a training contract
In her letter of 18 November, Judy Solomon suggested that there should be a restriction on those entering the LPC, relating to A-level grades, to ensure that ‘only the best are allowed to practise as solicitors’.
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Supporting the Law Society to fight for access to justice
Your lead letter of 16 December was misleading to those who are unaware of current discussions in the Law Society Council, of which the writer is a member, to develop policy on the government green paper affecting access to justice.
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Older partners - deciding when it's time to go
James Davies makes a number of good points in his discussion of retirement ages for partners. Certainly firms should consider the implications carefully before either retaining or abolishing a retirement age, not least because of the messages it sends out about the firm. As we have seen in other areas ...
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Corporate governance proposals ‘will dilute UK rules’, warns GC100 chair
A torrent of EU initiatives aimed at tightening up corporate governance risks ‘diluting’ robust UK rules and will be a major concern for senior in-house lawyers in 2011, the head of an influential group of general counsel has told the Gazette. John Davidson (pictured), chair of ...
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‘Big fall’ in number of conveyancing practices expected
Property specialists are predicting a ‘significant’ fall in the number of conveyancing firms in 2011, as regulatory pressures on the profession rise and transaction volumes drop. Eddie Goldsmith, chair of the Conveyancing Association and a partner at London firm Goldsmith Williams, predicted that two-thirds of firms ...
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Managing partners predict merger-packed 2011
Managing partners expect a bout of consolidation in the legal market in the coming year, according to an authoritative benchmarking survey seen exclusively by the Gazette. However, the research shows that most law firm leaders believe their firm to be on a solid enough financial footing ...
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New Year honour for LSC chief
The chief executive of the Legal Services Commission and the pro bono leader at City firm Hogan Lovells were among those recognised by the Queen in the New Year’s honours list. Hogan Lovells pro bono manager Yasmin Waljee received an OBE for services to the Muslim ...
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RSPCA victory in disputed will
The RSPCA has won an appeal in a dispute over a testator’s intentions where he left assets ‘up to the inheritance tax threshold’. George Mason, who died in June 2007, had written a will leaving ‘the maximum’ that could be free of IHT to his ...
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Chancery Lane warns against publication of complaints
Reporting the names of lawyers and law firms who have been the subject of complaints by the public will disproportionately affect sole practitioners and black and minority ethnic (BME) lawyers, according to the Law Society. Responding to the Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO) consultation on whether its decisions ...
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Students lured by City-style work
Prospective lawyers are most interested in pursuing careers in City-style law, figures from legal careers website All About Law seen exclusively by the Gazette have suggested. An analysis of the advice pages viewed by the 10,000 students registered on the site indicates a preference for corporate ...
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Expert fees for independent social workers ‘irrational’
The Ministry of Justice is putting the welfare of children caught up in complex family court proceedings at risk, organisations representing independent social work (ISW) expert witnesses have claimed. The British Association of Social Workers and others have written to justice secretary Kenneth Clarke to ...
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Bar Council calls for prohibition of referral fees
The Bar Council and the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) have today called for referral fees to be prohibited. In a joint statement sent to the Legal Services Board, which is in the process of deciding whether or not to ban referral fees, the two bodies say ...
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Ministry of Justice backs virtual courts scheme
Video technology will still play an important part in the courts system despite a report criticising the costs of the virtual courts pilot, the government has said. Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said in a statement that the report on a year-long pilot showed that virtual courts ...
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Forced mediation will encourage ‘excessive demands’ in family disputes
Pushing parties into mediation in family disputes will encourage badly behaved partners to make ‘excessive demands’, an MP warned in a parliamentary debate on legal aid reform last week. Labour MP Karen Buck, who tabled an adjournment debate on legal aid that took place last week, ...
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‘Irresponsible’ to roll out virtual courts after critical report, says Law Society
Virtual courts should not be rolled out nationally following a critical Ministry of Justice evaluation of a year-long pilot, the Law Society has said. The MoJ said yesterday that the pilot was successful in reducing the average time from charge to first hearing, failure to appear ...