Latest news – Page 904
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QC: judiciary 'scandal'
Leading discrimination and equality QC Karon Monaghan has labelled the make-up of the judiciary a ‘national scandal’. Speaking at the Royal Courts of Justice during the annual Inside Justice Week, Monaghan spoke of advances and improvements made in equality thanks to the Human Rights Act and wider legislation. But she ...
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Tories probe client rules
The government will be put under political pressure to clarify what would happen if a bank’s collapse wiped out client money held in law firms’ accounts, the Gazette has learned. Jonathan Djanogly, the Conservative shadow Solicitor General, told the Gazette he would press the Treasury for ...
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Cash hitch for KBF suitors
The search by Key Business Finance (KBF) for a new backer could be hampered because potential buyers will struggle to find cash in the current climate, accountants have warned. However, solicitors who have taken out KBF loans are unlikely to be forced to repay them if ...
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Market regulation overhaul call
Stricter regulation, broader regulatory powers and effective global cooperation are needed to ensure financial regulators can manage markets better in the future, markets watchdog the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned lawyers in London last week. Companies and individuals responsible for the recent fall-out should ...
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Lawyer guidance on money laundering
Special guidance to help lawyers avoid money launderers was agreed by international organisations last week. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the inter-governmental body charged with combating money laundering and terrorist financing, agreed to publish new guidance in conjunction with the International Bar Association (IBA), American ...
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Purchases, developments and leasing
Energy boost: City firm Norton Rose acted for Vattenfall, the Swedish energy company, on its £52m purchase of Eclipse Energy UK, which was advised by City firm Watson Farley & Williams. West ...
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The bigger they are - the harder they fall?
A Law Society review of solicitor regulation is both timely and welcome.
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Toxic waste
I write with reference to Peter Williamson’s article ‘Rehearsing for the Big Bang’ on the advent of alternative business structures (see [2008] Gazette, 9 October, 10). I remember the government’s decision some years ago to have ‘light-touch’ regulation of the financial sector. We are all now ...
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Litigation slur
I write as chair of the Law Society Civil Litigation Committee, and on behalf of litigation solicitors, to correct a very inaccurate slur upon solicitors in the feature headlined ‘Have your say’ (see [2008] Gazette, 16 October, 16). The author says that ‘the profession has so ...
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Small wonders
I refer to Brian Craig’s comments alluding to the creation of a ‘cottage industry’ in respect of criminal legal aid firms (see [2008] Gazette, 9 October, 3). Such a view is unqualified and is also patronising towards smaller criminal practices. Mr Craig apparently believes that larger firms should be entitled ...
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Concern mounts over justice budget cuts
The Law Society has entered the row over revelations that the government may be planning swingeing budget cuts to the justice system. President Paul Marsh voiced fears over the future of the Courts Service and warned justice secretary Jack Straw that legal aid is ‘already ...
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Regulation: 'There are no "no-go" areas' - Lord Hunt
Lord Hunt of Wirral has stressed that he has a ‘completely open mind’ on the likely outcome of his profession-wide review of regulation. The former cabinet minister, solicitor David Hunt, said he had agreed his own terms of reference for the exercise, which was commissioned by the Law Society. ...
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Judge intervenes as VHCC barristers' row rocks trial
A judge has stepped in to try to prevent a trial being derailed by the row over barristers’ refusal to do very high cost criminal cases (VHCC). Several defendants in a case listed for trial at Oxford Crown Court early next year have been unable to ...
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SRA eyes simplified higher rights plan
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has proposed a streamlined route for solicitors who wish to gain higher rights of audience. After last month dropping a plan to introduce voluntary accreditation, the SRA board has applied to the Ministry of Justice to close off the accreditation and ...
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Turnout looks to be low for Law Society's 'afiliate' ballot
Turnout for a Law Society ballot to create a new ‘affiliate’ category has been low, anecdotal evidence suggests. The postal ballot closes tomorrow. Affiliate status would be open to certain categories of non-solicitors working in the legal services market. Past President ...
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'Conflicts' cost accident victims dear
Lax regulation and ‘systemic conflicts of interest’ have deprived motor accident victims of legal advice and encouraged them to accept reduced compensation from insurers, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) alleged this week. APIL’s chief executive Denise Kitchener described as ‘institutionalised’ the practice of third-party ...
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Solicitors fret over KBF
Solicitors have voiced concerns over the safety of money paid to a specialist lending arm of collapsed Icelandic bank Landsbanki as rescue talks failed to produce a new financial backer. As the Gazette went to press, Key Business Finance (KBF) – a subsidiary of Landsbanki’s ...
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Post-charge questioning plans 'unacceptable'
Government proposals to allow defendants to be questioned after charge amount to ‘serious oppression’ and need to be carefully controlled, according to a leading academic. Michael Zander, emeritus professor at the London School of Economics, told the Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA) conference last week that ...
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China defence lawyers still face hostility
China’s defence lawyers still suffer violence, threats and arbitrary detention despite the country’s progress in embracing the rule of law, a Human Rights Watch researcher has warned. Nicholas Bequelin, speaking at the Law Society last week, said there is no room for a legal system independent ...
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Firms make virtual lawyer hires
‘Virtual’ legal practices that allow employees to work from home are looking to mop up redundant City solicitors or those worried about losing jobs. A number of such practices – which employ freelance lawyers and pool their expertise – said this week that they are ...