Latest news – Page 858
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Barristers to form ‘procurement companies’ for block contracts
A Bar Council taskforce has put forward proposals for barristers or groups of chambers to form procurement companies to contract as a block for publicly funded advocacy work. The structure would give barristers greater power in negotiating contracts and allow the bar to take advantage of the practice changes permitted ...
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Probate services company ITC signs deal with Barclays
A probate services company which has signed a deal to handle Barclays customers was the subject of criticism this week. ITC Legal Services (ITC), which according to its website has a transparent fixed-fee policy which makes it competitive on price with solicitors, has agreed a third-party ...
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Europe to gain new justice commissioner
Europe’s legal profession made a significant breakthrough last week when European Commission president José Manuel Barroso agreed to establish a special post of EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Civil Liberties. Barroso made the concession to help secure the backing of liberal MEPs for his reappointment, which was confirmed ...
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Halifax seeks firms for nationwide panel
The Halifax is looking to build a nationwide law firm panel to support its new Legal Express service, the Gazette can reveal, enabling solicitors to ‘ride on the coat tails’ of the bank’s brand power. The move is seen as countering those who warn that the ...
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'Scrap training contract for unreserved work', thinktank urges
An influential thinktank has proposed scrapping the training contract for non-reserved work as part of a radical overhaul of the qualification process. The College of Law’s Legal Services Policy Institute advances far-reaching proposals for change in a strategy document to be published this week. ...
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Law firms 'over the worst' of recession, PwC report reveals
Large law firms have ‘weathered the storm’ of the recession, with profits up sharply since the start of the year, research by PricewaterhouseCoopers seen exclusively by the Gazette has revealed. PwC’s quarterly benchmarking survey showed an 18% rise in profits per equity partner (PEP) since January ...
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Government moves to cut ‘no win, no fee’ libel costs
The Ministry of Justice will bring in new rules from 1 October to cut ‘no win, no fee’ libel costs, as revealed by the Gazette in August (see [2009] Gazette, 20 August). The ‘first raft’ of measures constitutes the government response to its February consultation ‘Controlling ...
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Lawyers to stand trial on insider-dealing charges
Two former City lawyers charged with eight counts of insider dealing by the Financial Services Authority have been committed to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court. Andrew Rimmington, former partner at US firm Dorsey & Whitney, and Michael McFall, former partner at US firm McDermott Will ...
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SRA launches tender for new legal panel
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has invited law firms to tender for the provision of regulatory work. The regulator is seeking to appoint a panel for three years that will coordinate: dealing with court ...
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New guidance issued on assisted suicide law
New guidance intended to clarify the law on assisted suicide does not provide any guarantee against prosecution, director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer QC warned today. The guidance sets out the legal boundaries for people who help somebody commit suicide. It follows a ruling in the ...
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Law Society publishes Excellence Awards shortlist
The Law Society published the shortlist for its legal Excellence Awards this week. Entrants range from David Wilde, the senior partner of a two-partner Devonshire firm who has been shortlisted for private practice solicitor of the year, through to the microfinance working group at magic circle ...
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Surge in online professional networking
Nearly a third of professionals have set up an online professional profile, research showed this week. A study of more than 2,000 professionals commissioned by business network LinkedIn showed that 29% now have an online business profile. More than one-fifth of those ...
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Sick and frustrated
Our property departments are decimated by the effects of a global recession created by causes totally beyond our control and yet for which we still suffer. Our sole practitioner colleagues are being threatened with expulsion from conveyancing panels, as a result of which many could lose their livelihoods.
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The cost of HIPs
Mr Ockenden, director general of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers, was rather disingenuous in his letter about estate agents ‘overcharging’ for HIPs (see [2009] Gazette, 3 September, 11).
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Supreme confidence
Joshua Rozenberg’s article reports Lord Neuberger’s warnings about the ‘peril’ of ‘mucking around’ with the British constitution by creating a UK Supreme Court (see [2009] Gazette, 3 September, 6).
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Jewellery stores, chocolate bids and phone deals
Sparkling opening: City firm Field Fisher Waterhouse advised jeweller David Morris International on opening four stores in the United Arab Emirates. Life is sweet: Slaughter and May and US firm Shearman & ...
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General counsel opt for quality over cost, says thinktank
Corporate general counsel are not particularly concerned about the size of legal bills when considering the value of work done by their external law firms, new research has suggested. In-house thinktank Global Leaders in Law, which examined how general counsel measure value in legal services, found ...
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Legal market guru Hodgart predicts 'global elite' of firms
Four of the five magic circle law firms will step into an emerging international elite, advising on only the biggest deals and paying the most lucrative partner salaries, according to legal market guru Alan Hodgart. In an interview with the Gazette, Hodgart, a consultant at business ...
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APIL walks out of fixed-fee talks
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has walked out of talks on extending fixed costs in personal injury cases, in an unprecedented move for the organisation. The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has begun a mediation process to produce industry-agreed fixed costs for all ‘fast-track’ road ...
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Legal sitcom Lunch Monkeys hits the TV screen
A sitcom set in the postroom of a personal injury law firm and starring Nigel Havers made its debut last week. Lunch Monkeys, which debuted on BBC3 on Thursday and was watched by 403,000 viewers, is a six-part series written by former solicitor David Isaac. ...