Latest news – Page 889
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News
Six bid to become Society’s deputy vice-president
Six Law Society Council members have put themselves forward to be deputy vice-president at Chancery Lane in 2009/10, a post which leads to the presidency two years later. Nominations have now closed and the successful candidate will be announced on 16 April.
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Four solicitors among six honorary QCs
Four solicitors are among the six honorary Queen’s Counsel appointed today (5 March). David McIntosh (pictured), a past President of the Law Society and chairman of the City of London Law Society, was appointed in recognition of his contribution to the legal profession, ...
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New recruits who defer start dates urged to work pro bono
Law firm recruits who choose to defer their start date are being urged to sign up to pro-bono work to avoid gaps in their CVs. As City firms such as Norton Rose and Penningtons offer graduates £10,000 to take a year out, the Law Society is ...
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Legal aid cuts ‘drive barristers away from family work’
The family bar is ‘close to breaking point’ as repeated legal aid cuts are driving experienced barristers away from their work, leaving vulnerable women and children at risk, according to a study, commissioned by the Bar Council and the Family Law Bar Association (FLBA). The Legal ...
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UK solicitors bear extra money-laundering burden, Hudson tells Parliament
The Law Society’s chief executive, Des Hudson, has told a parliamentary committee that solicitors in the UK bear a heavier burden of compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations than their counterparts elsewhere in Europe. In the first oral session before a House of Lords European ...
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Litigation funder seeks new cash injection
The only UK-listed third-party litigation funder is raising a further £35m which it said it needs as the market ‘heats up’. Juridica Investments, based in Guernsey, raised £80m when it launched on the Alternative Investment Market in December 2007, but said it now requires more capital, ...
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White & Case to cut up to 95 in London
US firm White & Case will cut between 80 and 95 fee-earners and support staff in London as part of plans to make 200 associates and 200 support staff redundant worldwide. The firm said today (10 March) that it is also undertaking an ‘evaluation of its ...
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Society to host emergency summit on family court media access
The Law Society is to host an emergency summit later this month to air concerns about opening family courts to the media. Under new rules proposed by justice secretary Jack Straw, the media will be able to attend all levels of family courts. Chancery Lane believes admission should only be ...
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Government move to slash costs in defamation cases
New proposals to limit costs in defamation proceedings were published today by the Ministry of Justice. Mandatory cost-capping and limiting recoverable hourly rates are both being considered. The development comes amid mounting concern about the high cost of legal fees in defamation cases.
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'No evidence' for the decline in the quality of justice
Your news item headlined ‘Pushing novice advocates into court "harming justice"’ reported a number of comments made by the chairman of the criminal bar, Peter Lodder QC, in evidence to the Justice Committee (see [2009] Gazette, 12 February, 3).
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Covering our backs
Your correspondent Ian McLachlan believes that conveyancing is a ‘disorganised mess’ and he is probably correct (see [2009] Gazette, 19 February, 11). However, it is not a mess made by conveyancers. Clients and solicitors no longer trust each other, so everything has to be documented – even the ownership of ...
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Otiose requirements
I am utterly astonished by the content of Ian McLachlan’s letter. Yes, the public do want their homes to be transferred as quickly and cheaply as possible. For that to be achieved they are mainly dependent on money supply, and the needs and wishes of the ...
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OFT estate agent study will assess new business models
The Office of Fair Trading today (25 February) launched a market study into home buying and selling, following two months of consultation on the scope of the project. It will examine the level of competition between estate agents, and look at the relationship between estate agents ...
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Not asked to ‘lobby’
Your news item ‘Firms face lobbying scrutiny’ (see [2009] Gazette, 12 February, 6) fails to distinguish between the lobbying that some parliamentarians are involved in and consultancy arrangements that some firms make with lawyer MPs.
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European ruling deals blow to in-house confidentiality
The group representing general counsel at FTSE-100 companies has been refused permission to intervene in a case on the extent of privilege enjoyed by in-house lawyers – on the ground that neither it nor its members have a ‘direct interest in the result’. Issuing preliminary rulings ...
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LSB cautious on bank-led ABSs
Legal Services Board chairman David Edmonds has hinted to MPs that the oversight regulator will be extremely cautious about letting banks enter the legal services market in the aftermath of the current financial crisis.
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Fury over SRA’s plan for a non-voting BME board member
Groups representing black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors have condemned a proposal to co-opt a BME member on to the Solicitors Regulation Authority board without giving them voting rights. The proposal is a response to Lord Ouseley’s controversial report on the disproportionate number of BME ...
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Solicitors network joins forces with Which?
The new high street network QualitySolicitors.com has allied with consumer body Which? in a commercial venture. People logging on to the QualitySolicitors.com website, to go live in April, will see details of the Which? Legal Service telephone advice line. Meanwhile, clients of Which? needing to ...
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New solicitor QC says that more will take silk
Solicitors will increasingly aspire to become Queen’s Counsel, one of three new solicitor silks has predicted. Judith Gill, international arbitration partner at City firm Allen & Overy, who last week became the second female solicitor silk, said: ‘The more solicitors who are successful the more likely it’ll be that others ...
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Office of Public Guardian launches lasting power of attorney guidance
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has issued new guidance about drafting lasting powers of attorney following criticism of delays, high prices and ‘daft’ bureaucracy (see [2009] Gazette, 29 January, 4).