All News articles – Page 1382
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News
IBA 2012: former president of American bar dismisses 'risky' ABS model
The immediate past-president of the American Bar Association has strongly denounced alternative business structures, arguing that non-lawyer investment in law firms compromises the client's best interests and undermines professional independence. William T (Bill) Robinson III gave the strongest indication yet that the US will ...
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IBA 2012: 'banker to the poor' calls for company law rethink
Nobel Peace laureate and anti-poverty campaigner Professor Muhammad Yunus today called for a fundamental rethink of company law in order to help the world's poor. The Bangladeshi banker and former economics professor wants to see a relaxation of the obligation on public company directors to ...
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Politicians who are willing to talk about justice are vanishingly rare
The theme of ‘fairness’ is running like a thread through political speeches this autumn. Variants on ‘fair’ and ‘unfair’ featured large in deputy prime minister Nick Clegg’s speech to his party’s conference. Ever the competitive type, shadow chancellor Ed Balls, addressing Labour this week, used the words twice as often ...
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Legal aid delays
I have read the comments of Gareth Roberts about delays in payments of fees by the Legal Services Commission and the letter to the Gazette by Helen Riley calling his comments into question.
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UN call for ‘gender approach’ to bench
Countries worldwide should adopt a ‘gender-oriented approach’ to ensure women have the same rights and opportunities as men to hold high judicial office, the UN’s human rights council special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers told the Gazette this week.
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Novel approach
The irresistible combination of culture, charity and immigration law was enough to send Obiter hotfooting it across London last week to hear novelist Marina Lewycka (pictured) reading excerpts from her latest book, Various Pets Alive and Dead. Author of the improbably named bestseller A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, ...
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‘Phenomenal growth’ in power of attorney registrations
Lasting powers of attorney (LPA) registrations have more than trebled over the past three years to reach 210,000 a year – a £42m market for solicitors, the Public Guardian revealed this week.
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Public authorities and datasets
The past few months have seen a number of developments in Freedom of Information law. In May, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced changes that will be made to the information public authorities will need to release proactively as part of their Publication Scheme (under ...
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South Korea opens billion-pound legal market
A new multi-billion pound legal market has opened for firms following the Republic of Korea’s decision to liberalise the rules around who can practise law in the country. Korean Bar Association vice-president Lee Byung-Joo (pictured) told the Gazette this week that Korea’s situation between Tokyo and ...
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Diversity checks
I was disappointed at the approach taken in your article of 21 September entitled ‘SRA planning surprise diversity swoops’ on our latest thematic supervision pilot on equality and diversity compliance.
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Defining violence needs government commitment
by Baroness Scotland QC, former attorney general for England and Wales Domestic violence does not have a statutory definition in England and Wales. Since 2004, government departments, the Crown Prosecution Service and the police have instead adopted a working definition of domestic violence.
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Labour conference: Khan he deliver the goods?
The centrepiece of Labour’s conference, as with any party conference, was the leader’s speech. In Manchester Ed Miliband’s hour-long noteless oration went down well with the press on performance, but it was noticeably lacking on the minor detail of policy. I seemed to spend my ...
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Fewer firms without PII cover set to enter pool
Almost 30 firms had applied to enter the assigned risks pool (ARP) within two days of the professional indemnity insurance deadline passing, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said on Tuesday. The regulator’s figures show 28 firms had failed to secure cover on the open market as ...
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Criminal reaccreditation scheme on hold
The Law Society has postponed plans to reaccredit criminal solicitors every five years, following consultation with the profession. The Society consulted in April on a proposal that members of the Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme (CLAS) should undergo a regulatory check every five years, confirming that they ...
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Society demands insurance reform
Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson has called for immediate reform of the insurance industry after a damning report by the Office of Fair Trading. The consumer watchdog last week reported the industry to the Competition Commission after finding that motorists are being charged too much after an accident. ...
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Middle Eastern promise
Fancy somewhere different for a holiday this year? With sunshine, mountains and a fascinating local culture and history? Obiter suggests Iraqi Kurdistan. The semi-autonomous province is accessible, friendly and the prospect of oil wealth has encouraged a spate of luxury hotel building. Though you’ll want to avoid the seven-star end ...
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Easy Ryder
Nice to see the national press playing to stereotype at the lord chief justice’s annual press conference at the Royal Courts of Justice last week. The Daily Mail asked if capital punishment should return, the Evening Standard wanted to know if the Abu Hamza case had ...
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Rules of engagement
Normally, solicitors get the luxury of attending the opening of the legal year at Westminster Abbey, digesting all that flows from that and then heading off a few weeks later to the International Bar Association (IBA). Not this year. Having attended the opening of the legal year, lots of solicitors ...
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Kurds fight ‘flood’ of English solicitors
Lawyers in the oil-rich Kurdistan region of Iraq are threatening court action against English solicitors who they accuse of practising in the country without a licence. ‘Our members, 9,000 lawyers, have asked us to stop the flood of foreign lawyers,’ Wrya Saadi Ahmed (pictured), president of the Kurdish Bar Association, ...