All News articles – Page 1414
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News
Unintended outcomes
‘First, do no harm’ is an injunction generally attributed to the medical profession, and it is a useful one. The phrase sprang to mind in examining the SRA’s plan to scrap the requirement for solicitors to refer clients only to wholly independent financial advisers. As SIFA ...
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Partisan position
It was disappointing to read the statement by Law Society president John Wotton expressing, in thoroughly ‘right-on’ terms, the official Society line that it is supporting gay marriage.
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Plain speaking
Here is a test for your readers. Read aloud, without pause, the full names of the following (all taken from a single edition of the Gazette): LDP, ABS, SDT, RTA, ABI, APIL, CLS, ADR, CBA, CFA, COLP, COFA, ALS, MoJ, LSB, CQS and SRA. Of course, as a profession we ...
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Time to rebuild the small print
Speaking in the House of Lords on 25 July 1988 in the debate on what was to become the Housing Act 1988, the Earl of Caithness, on behalf of the then government, said: ‘One of the points frequently made about the old-style shorthold tenancy procedure [i.e. the protected shorthold under ...
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Spreading the word
Devon & Somerset Law Society welcomes the president’s call for local law societies to reassess their role. DASLS has just launched its business plan for the next three years. Part of our strategy is to put junior and in-house lawyers at the centre of the plan. We are also committed ...
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NHS reveals £1bn litigation bill
Spending by the NHS Litigation Authority on negligence claims has passed the £1bn mark for the first time. Annual accounts for the 2011/12 financial year show that £1.095bn was spent on clinical claims by NHS trusts, foundation trusts and primary care trusts in England. A further ...
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Merger mania continues as 22% of firms report tie-ups
Merger activity has remained strong among small and medium-sized firms, with nearly a quarter completing a merger in the past six months, research has revealed. The fifth in a series of six-monthly surveys of 50 law firms has shown that 22% had completed a merger in ...
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Simmons and Ashurst report higher profits
Simmons & Simmons and Ashurst have today become the latest top-100 firms to post robust trading results.
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Solicitor shooting: man charged
A man appeared in court today charged with attempting to kill a Wiltshire solicitor. Michael Chudley, 62, from Rowde, Wiltshire, was also charged with threats to kill, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and carrying a firearm with criminal intent. At ...
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A&O profits steady
More than 400 partners at Allen & Overy will earn at least £640,000 this year, the firm revealed as it kicked off the magic circle reporting season today. Allen & Overy’s results for the year ending 30 April show profits up by 7% to £486m on ...
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A lawyer should run Barclays
I think I have a solution to the crisis of confidence in our banks - starting with the current vacancy at Barclays, let us put lawyers at the helm of all the important ones. As what has gone awry in recent decades catches up with banks’ chief executives, do not ...
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Challenging the speed of change
A challenge has been laid down for solicitors firms. Ajaz Ahmed, co-founder of the award-winning Legal365, outlined what he believes firms need to do to compete in the changing legal services market. Speaking at the recent LawTech Camp London he urged: 'Reduce complexity; don’t sell law - sell solutions to ...
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Profits leap at Clifford Chance
Magic circle firm Clifford Chance says it has defied market uncertainty to post a ‘strong performance’ for the last financial year. The firm today said that its 2011/12 profits leaped by 13% to £431m while revenues rose by 7% to £1.3bn. Profit per equity partner was ...
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High court slams means-test delays
The High Court has condemned the current system of means testing in magistrates’ court and called on the Ministry of Justice to take urgent action to cut ‘unacceptable’ delays. In a strongly worded judgment in relation to two European Arrest Warrant (EAW) cases, the president of ...
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Employment
Compensation - Unfair dismissal Konczak v BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd: Employment Appeal Tribunal: 3 May 2012 The Employment Appeal Tribunal allowed the employee's appeal against the employment tribunal's decision that ...
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Man shot in solicitors’ office
A man is in a life-threatening condition after a shooting at a solicitors’ office in Wiltshire. The victim suffered serious head injuries after a single shot was fired at Morris, Goddard and Ward in Devizes on Monday afternoon, a police statement said. He was airlifted to ...
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In-house growing in appeal, says survey
Nearly two-thirds of private practice lawyers would consider moving in-house, according to research published today. The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Law Department Study, responded to by 114 legal departments at companies in 17 countries, found that 53% had recruited lawyers during the first quarter ...
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Three-way split for European patent court
A long battle over the jurisdiction and location of Europe’s new patent court appears to have been settled with a decision to split the court’s operations in three and separate it from the European Court of Justice. Ministers at last week’s Brussels summit agreed that the seat of the Unified ...