Latest news – Page 867
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US eyes Bahrain project, shampoo maker listing, and Plymouth Argyle Football Club stake
Powerful project: US firm Shearman & Sterling advised more than 20 lenders, including the US Government, on arranging $2.1bn (£1.3bn) of financing for Bahrain’s Al Dur water and power production project, which is expected to yield 1,230 megawatts of energy. A mix of ...
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Whitehall fee regulation ‘political’
Government plans to crack down on the use of contingency fees in employment and other tribunals are politically motivated, it has been alleged. The Ministry of Justice last week published a consultation paper on regulating contingency fees, having inserted a provision in the Coroners and Justice ...
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Commercial attorney threat
Lawyers in England and Wales could soon face competition from commercial attorneys, a group of legal representatives operating mainly in the field of construction law whose origins lie in Scotland. The Association of Commercial Attorneys recently won a near 20-year battle for rights of audience ...
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Head of family division calls for ‘urgent action’ over guardians
Hundreds of children are currently at risk of being taken into care without a guardian to represent them, a leading children’s lawyer said this week. The warning came as the president of the family division, Sir Mark Potter (pictured), announced an interim ‘stop-gap’ scheme to deal ...
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PC fee increase ‘looks likely’
Solicitors could face an increase in the practising certificate (PC) fee, which is to be discussed later this month, the Gazette understands. Following inquiries from the Gazette, the Law Society confirmed that an increase ‘looks likely’. However, chief executive Des Hudson stressed that any increase ...
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LCS frustrated by Raleys delay
The Legal Complaints Service has offered to continue investigating complaints against Yorkshire law firm Raleys concerning compensation payments to miners, after previously rejecting the advice of its watchdog and refusing to do so. However, the LCS, which suspended investigations in March, stressed that it ...
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International property blow
A firm with 30 years’ experience of international property law is to shut it doors this week as the recession takes its toll on the sector. The International Law Partnership, which provides specialist advice through offices in London and Leeds, has seen its income plummet ...
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Doctors ‘put police station detainees at risk’, says BMA
Inadequately trained doctors are putting the safety of police station detainees at risk and could undermine criminal trials, the British Medical Association has warned. At its annual conference last week, the BMA said the Metropolitan Police lacked the competence to deliver the clinical governance required for ...
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Bar at ‘rock bottom’, declares Browne
The morale of the publicly funded bar is at ‘rock bottom’ and careers advisers are telling would-be barristers to steer clear of legal aid, according to the bar’s chief. Speaking at a debate on legal aid, Desmond Browne QC said barristers around the country are ‘totally ...
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Pay gap points to discrimination
Women solicitors earn 29% less than their male colleagues, the Gazette can reveal this week. The Law Society’s latest salary survey showed only a slight narrowing of the pay gap between the sexes compared with the previous year’s figure of 32%. ...
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Join the Gazette on Twitter
This week the Gazette launches two new online services on the professional social networking site LinkedIn and news-snippet service Twitter. All the Gazette’s latest news, blogs and In Business content can now be followed on Twitter under the handle @lawsocgazette. Twitter is ...
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LSC to abandon peer review
The Legal Services Commission has announced it is to drop peer review as a method of quality assurance for firms seeking to bid for most publicly funded work. From April 2010 peer review will only be used on a risk-based and random-sampling basis, rather than being ...
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Cold calling leaves solicitors at risk of conduct breach
A growing number of claims management companies are putting solicitors at risk of breaching conduct rules by hiring call centres to cold call potential claimants, the Gazette has learned. The Ministry of Justice has identified a ‘shift’ towards the use of call centres in India and ...
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Allen & Overy reports fall in profitability
Allen & Overy today reported a slight fall in profitability on top of a rise in turnover, as it became the last magic circle firm to release its financial results. Revenues at the firm rose 7% from £1.02bn in 2007/08 to £1.09bn for the year ending ...
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More denied access to civil legal aid
More people are being denied access to civil legal aid despite a huge increase in demand fuelled by the recession, Citizens Advice has warned. A report published today, No time to retire – legal aid at 60, shows fewer people are qualifying for civil legal aid, ...
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Whistleblowing plans to safeguard public interest issues
Government proposals on whistleblowing will ensure that public interest issues are not lost in drawn-out employment tribunal cases, a leading charity said today. Under plans set out by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, information about claims made under whistleblowing legislation which comes to light ...
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Gazette goes on Facebook
Following our recent extension into the professional social network, LinkedIn and the news snippet service Twitter, the Gazette has now also set up a Facebook page to better connect with the younger profession.
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Registry rule puts conveyancing solicitors ‘at risk’
Conveyancing solicitors could be at risk of being in breach of their obligations, due to a policy change being introduced by the Land Registry. From 3 August, the Registry will introduce a new ‘early completion’ policy that is intended to make the registration process more efficient ...
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Bird & Bird revenues up 30%
City firm Bird & Bird today reported a 30% jump in revenues, buoyed by the firm's recent expansion and the strength of the euro. The firm's revenues grew from £144m in 2007/08 to £186m for the year ended 30 April 2009. However, profit per partner fell ...
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Justice committee warns of family lawyer ‘exodus’
The Legal Services Commission’s reform of family legal aid is causing ‘an exodus of senior practitioners from publicly-funded family law’, the House of Commons’ Justice Committee concluded today. A report on family legal aid said the LSC’s proposals for reform were based on a ‘flawed consultation’ ...