Latest news – Page 890
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UK firms join worldwide Madoff case alliance
Four London law firms were among 34 practices from around the world that met last week in Madrid to launch an international network of lawyers acting for the alleged victims of the Madoff scandal. Bristows, Edwin Coe, Rawlings Giles and Speechlys have joined the group, which ...
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Firm closures: new figures
Nearly 120 more law firms closed in 2008 than in 2007, while four fewer firms opened, Solicitors Regulation Authority statistics show. Despite more firms closing down, 889 new practices were opened in 2008, while 442 closed that year. An SRA spokesman said: ‘The number of firms ...
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Warning over employment dispute resolution code
A senior employment lawyer warned that ‘common sense is not that common’ as the government revealed a new code for resolving workplace disputes. The new Acas code, which takes effect from 6 April, replaces the three-step grievance and disciplinary system of written statement, meeting and ...
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Estate agents merger call
Merging solicitor and estate agent practices could be a viable business model for the future of conveyancing, the E-Homebuying Forum lobby group said this week. The group published a report containing 13 proposals to modernise the homebuying process. Greater use of technology and the introduction of ...
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Legal aid call for collaborative law
State aid should be available for divorcing couples to use collaborative law, family lawyers group Resolution says in the first study of take-up of the non-court process in the UK. The report, to be published today, says that poorer couples are being denied the opportunity ...
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Diverting mentally ill from criminal justice pays dividends
Diverting the mentally ill away from the criminal justice system and towards health services could save £20,000 per case, a report has claimed. The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health report, Diversion: A better way for criminal justice and mental health, compared the costs of criminal ...
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EC intervenes in Bulgarian opening
The European Commission has intervened on behalf of a coalition of law firms attempting to set up practices in Bulgaria. DLA Piper and CMS Cameron McKenna, along with Austrian practices Wolf Theiss, CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz and Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati complained to the commission in November, accusing the Bulgarian government ...
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Allen & Overy to cut 282 lawyers worldwide
Magic circle firm Allen & Overy will cut up to 282 lawyers worldwide as part of the largest recession-triggered redundancy consultation to date. The firm’s announcement last week means that around 630 lawyers are in line to be axed by the top 10 UK law firms – around 3% of ...
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IT systems, fundraising, acquisitions and refinancing
Resourceful integrator: south-west firm Osborne Clarke advised two AIM-quoted natural resources clients, iodine producer Iofina and hydrocarbon producer Nighthawk Energy, on fundraisings worth £5m and £7m respectively. The firm also advised Marks & Spencer on an IT systems integration contract with IBM. IT ...
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Hammonds to cut up to 20 partners
National firm Hammonds is the latest big name to announce a round of recession-linked redundancies, with up to 20 partners across the country set to go. The firm’s new redundancy consultation, covering almost 10% of its partnership, has already led to the departure of a handful ...
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Commissioner sets new complaints targets
The Legal Services Complaints Commissioner has urged Chancery Lane to make complaints-handling a priority during the transition to the new structure introduced by the Legal Services Act. The new independent Office for Legal Complaints becomes fully operational in 2011.
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Shelter chief appointed legal complaints ombudsman
The embryonic Office for Legal Complaints has announced that its first chief ombudsman will be Adam Sampson (pictured), currently chief executive of housing and homelessness charity Shelter. Elizabeth France, OLC chair, said: ‘The chief ombudsman will play a critical role in building the new disputeresolution system ...
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Chancery Lane unveils client care package
The Law Society and the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner have announced a range of measures costing £275,000 aimed at improving client care by solicitors. Last June the commissioner, Zahida Manzoor, announced she would be imposing a £275,000 fine on the Society following her decision ...
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Conveyancing solicitors need to control their own destiny
So, there we have it. Not only do we have to endure the president of the Law Society telling we conveyancers ‘don’t panic’ in the teeth of the worst recession for two generations (see [2009] Gazette, 29 January, 1), we now have the unedifying spectacle of the Gazette as a ...
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We are out of touch and self-serving
Your anonymous correspondent who bemoans the present state of conveyancing hankers for an age that is fast disappearing and rightly so (see [2009] Gazette, 5 February, 9).
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Give us the tools
I refer to Peter Williamson’s comments on the Solicitors Regulation Authority board’s decision not to ban referral fees (see [2009] Gazette, 12 February, 9).
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Women’s work
Grania Langdon-Down’s interview with the first female president of the Association of District Judges, Edwina Millward, made interesting reading (see [2009] Gazette, 12 February, 14).
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Age-old problem
In revisiting its equality and diversity strategy, the Solicitors Regulation Authority ought to take a look at the question of age discrimination in the provision of training contracts. There has been publicity about partners in their 50s being forced out, but the implications of a retirement ...
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Claims companies warned on misleading advertising
Claims management firms that mislead consumers by claiming they can arrange for debts to be written off have been warned that they face enforcement action by the Ministry of Justice. Justice minister Bridget Prentice delivered the warning as the MoJ issued new guidance on misleading advertising which sets out ...
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Medium sized firms join forces to take on competition
Two legal heavyweights are to head a national network of law firms formed in the latest response to competition challenges resulting from the Legal Services Act. The Legal Alliance (TLA) is a group of mainly medium-sized firms which will market business and consumer services under ...