All articles by Michael Cross – Page 112
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NewsLCJ concern over solicitor bench applications
Lord Judge says ‘it is a matter of concern’ that there has been a decrease in the proportion of successful solicitor candidates.
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NewsForty-six jobs lost as Challinors finally goes under
Troubled Midlands firm Challinors has gone in to administration.
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OpinionDecent exposure
Some lawyers do not emerge well from whistleblower Michael Woodford’s account of the Olympus scandal, says Michael Cross.
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Britons taking to online legal services, says startup
Online pioneer Rocket Lawyer claims a successful ‘beta’ phase in the UK.
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NewsFormer judge wins pension battle
A former part-time judge who fought his pension claim to the Supreme Court is entitled to compensation, an employment tribunal has ruled.
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NewsScots divided on separate representation
An impending vote on whether separate legal representation should be mandatory for buyers and lenders in conveyancing deals in Scotland is likely to be very close, consultation responses suggest.
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OpinionJacques Vergès: avocat de la rupture
Michael Cross chronicles the unusual life of controversial French lawyer Jacques Vergès, who died yesterday. You probably know him as the ‘devil’s advocate’.
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NewsFiji activist sentenced for Law Society Charity ‘contempt’
Akuila Yabaki has been sentenced to a suspended prison term for reprinting part of a Law Society Charity report which criticised Fiji’s judiciary.
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NewsPicture looks rosiest for India’s lawyers
India’s senior lawyers enjoy the highest earnings relative to their country’s wealth coupled with the highest confidence in their job security, according to a new survey.
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Culture change call for Chancery Division
The Chancery Division of the High Court must undergo cultural change according to the first comprehensive review of the division in 30 years.
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Call for more clarification in IP bill
Specialist lawyers have cautiously welcomed a softening of legislation to make a criminal offence of design infringement.
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Legislation to alter tax rules for LLPs
Draft legislation to enforce the government’s clampdown on ‘disguised employment’ has been published.
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Lawyers wary over company owners rule
Company law specialists have cautiously welcomed the government’s approach to requiring all companies to declare their beneficial owners. A discussion paper published last week by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills proposes creating a register of beneficial owners to meet a commitment set out at last month’s G8 summit. ...
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Opinion
Open justice? Open court listings would be a start
A century ago, in Scott v Scott (1913), the House of Lords affirmed the common law rule that courts must administer justice in public. Just last week, Lord Justice Kay cited the ruling when rejecting a request by a Saudi prince for litigation to be heard in private. He ruled: ...
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Pre-pack deals under scrutiny in company law shake-up
A central register of beneficial owners and a review of ‘pre-pack’ takeovers of failed businesses are among measures proposed in a shake-up of company law today. A discussion paper published by the department for Business, Innovation & Skills sets out how the UK proposes to carry out its commitment at ...
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News
UK will bid to rejoin watered-down European arrest warrant
The government is to exercise its opt-out of 135 European crime and justice measures pre-dating the 2007 Lisbon Treaty – but hopes to rejoin some 30, including the European arrest warrant and the law enforcement agency Europol, the home secretary said today. In a well-trailed statement to the House of ...
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Free trade legal impact ‘will be small’
Free trade talks opening today between the EU and US are likely to end with agreements to open legal services – but lawyers in England and Wales will notice little difference in practice. Ambitions for a free trade agreement were announced at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland last month. ...
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Lawyers shocked by money laundering claim
Lawyers have reacted with concern to an inter-governmental report apparently suggesting that complicity in money laundering and terrorist financing is rife in the legal sector. Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Vulnerabilities of Legal Professionals, published by the Financial Action Task Force, a body set up by seven leading economies, presents ...
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News
I have seen the future and it didn't work
In autumn 2005, on a visit to the Home Office’s shiny new headquarters near Millbank, I enjoyed a demonstration of an all-singing, all-dancing joined-up criminal justice IT system. The ‘walk through’ was to show off a £2bn programme to join up police forces, prosecutors, the courts and prison and probation ...