All News articles – Page 1514

  • News

    Co-op offers legal services through bank branches

    2011-06-07T00:00:00Z

    The Co-operative has this week become the first high street bank to offer legal advice to its customers. The Co-operative Group, the UK's largest mutual business, has begun a pilot scheme to deliver legal advice through three Bristol-based branches of Britannia. The ...

  • News

    Clifford Chance announces pay increases

    2011-06-07T00:00:00Z

    Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance has announced salary increases for its senior lawyers, but a pay freeze for trainees and newly-qualified solicitors. The Canary Wharf-based firm will pay lawyers with three years’ experience a salary of £85,500, up by £1,000 on last year. Those with two years’ PQE will receive ...

  • News

    Clients remain reluctant to pre-empt problems using simple legal advice

    2011-06-07T00:00:00Z

    My Saturday paper had a feature recently on how to avoid problems with your builder. One suggestion was if you have a contract worth over £8,000 then get a solicitor to look over it first before you sign anything. It ...

  • News

    Lawyers are members of ‘rich minority’, say unions

    2011-06-06T00:00:00Z

    Unions have held up the wages paid to members of the legal sector as proof of Britain’s growing earnings chasm. The TUC has today published a report that states that judges, barristers and solicitors have seen their salaries more than double since 1978 in real terms. ...

  • News

    Legal expenses insurers win a point

    2011-06-06T00:00:00Z

    It is one up to the legal expenses insurers this week in the ongoing ding-dong over the extent of the insured person’s right to choose a lawyer.

  • News

    Pension contributions and pension input periods

    2011-06-06T00:00:00Z

    Late last year new rules were announced relating to tax relief on pension contributions from 6 April 2011. The 2011 Finance Bill, which includes these rules, is due to be enacted by late June/early July 2011, so partners have just a few short weeks ...

  • News

    Lawyers seek deal with insurers over freedom to choose non-panel firms

    2011-06-06T00:00:00Z

    The Law Society’s civil justice committee is in negotiations with legal expenses insurers to agree rules that will ensure freedom of choice of solicitor in personal injury claims. The committee has held two meetings with insurers in a bid to agree terms enabling clients to choose ...

  • News

    College of Law offers voluntary redundancies

    2011-06-03T00:00:00Z

    The College of Law has begun a review of staffing levels and is to offer a voluntary redundancy package to staff across its eight centres. A spokesman for the College said: ‘We hope no compulsory redundancies will be necessary. 'This review ...

  • News

    Government seeks children’s views on justice system

    2011-06-03T00:00:00Z

    The Family Justice Review Panel has invited children to give their views on reforming the court service so that it better meets their needs. Roger Morgan, the Children’s Rights Director for England, has drawn up a young people’s guide to the family justice review, published today. ...

  • News

    Calls for change on drug policy are whistling in the wind

    2011-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Trying to extrapolate a liberal drug policy from David Cameron is like punching fog: a gargantuan effort for no reward whatsoever. There is more chance of the Prime Minister running naked through Downing Street with ‘big society’ tattooed on his chest than there is of him ...

  • News

    It’s time to change barristers’ CPD

    2011-06-03T00:00:00Z

    The Bar Standards’ Board’s annual Clementi debate took place last week. With the recent publication of the bar’s consultation on continuing professional development (CPD) and the joint review of legal education by the three regulators currently underway, the topic for this year’s debate was the future of CPD for barristers ...

  • News

    Solicitors acquitted of mortgage fraud

    2011-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Three solicitors have been acquitted of involvement in an alleged £50m commercial mortgage fraud, while the jury was unable to reach a verdict in relation to three others. Hardeep Sodhi, who at the time of the alleged offences was a solicitor at Birmingham firm Patwa; Simon ...

  • News

    Parity proposal

    2011-06-02T00:00:00Z

    I would say to Ilex president Mr McGrady (‘Ilex chief in parity plea’) that if he wants parity, he and his members should try and qualify as solicitors. Barry Brooks, Brooks & Co, Fetcham, Surrey

  • News

    Norton Rose in overseas mergers

    2011-06-02T00:00:00Z

    City firm Norton Rose was this week expected to confirm mergers with firms in South Africa and ­Canada. The enlarged group will rank among the top-10 legal practices in the world by headcount when it completes a link-up with Canada’s Ogilvy Renault and Deneys Reitz in ...

  • News

    Loadsa law

    2011-06-02T00:00:00Z

    Judges often complain about the number of new laws being churned out these days, and figures compiled by legal publisher Sweet & Maxwell show why. In 2010, 14 new laws were passed for every working day, more than in any other year. ...

  • News

    Memory Lane

    2011-06-02T00:00:00Z

    Law Society’s Gazette, June 1971 ‘House Style’ for a Law Office by A. G. McBain and Jean Field Notes for those taking up ...

  • News

    Landlord and tenant

    2011-06-02T00:00:00Z

    Disrepair - Landlords’ duties - Repair covenants - Residential tenancies Tanya Grand v Param Gill: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Justices Thomas, Lloyd, Rimer): 19 May 2011 The appellant tenant (T) ...

  • News

    Landlord and tenant

    2011-06-02T00:00:00Z

    Assured shorthold tenancies - Notice - Possession - Prescribed forms Jasbir Kaur Kahlon v Andrew Isherwood: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Justices Rix, Stanley Burnton, Patten): 19 May 2011 The appellant ...

  • News

    Insolvency remuneration

    2011-06-02T00:00:00Z

    In recent years, there has been a good deal of concern as the result of a fairly general perception that costs in insolvency cases have reached an unacceptably high level.’ So said Mr Justice Ferris in Mirror Group plc v Maxwell and others (No 2) ...

  • News

    Human rights

    2011-06-02T00:00:00Z

    Police - Declarations of incompatibility - DNA samples - Fingerprints R (on the application of GC) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis: R (on the application of C) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis: SC (Justices of ...