All News articles – Page 1518
-
News
Is English lawyers' innate pragmatism a burden or blessing?
I remember once addressing a group of German lawyers. One asked me whether having two doctorates rather than one would be more helpful in obtaining a job in the City of London. In that question lurked a world of difference ...
-
News
‘No win, no fee’ unjustly blamed for rise in negligence claims
Your recent article reporting on the increased number of medical negligence claims in 2010 is interesting, but the Medical Defence Union reaches a highly speculative conclusion. The MDU offers no firm evidence for its suggestion that ‘no win, no fee’ arrangements are behind the increase ...
-
News
Solicitors Regulation Authority under attack from insurers
Insurers have criticised the Solicitors Regulation Authority for being too slow to act when law firms breach the rules. Speaking at the Law Society Property Section’s annual conference in London last week, Andrew Nickels, risk manager at Zurich Professional, claimed the SRA fails to take action ...
-
News
Respect atheism
I am an atheist who is married to a Christian and who is the father of another Christian. While I do not share their faith, I respect it. With respect to Ian Newman (letters, 19 May), I do not recognise ...
-
News
Video evidence; and assessing an unsafe system of work
Disclosure of video evidence – Douglas v O’Neill. This High Court decision helpfully summarises the existing law relating to CPR 31 and (late) disclosure of video footage. The claimant (C) was badly injured when knocked over by a car driven by the ...
-
News
Fresh plea for asbestos victims 'fund of last resort'
Lawyers acting for people suffering from asbestos-related diseases have renewed their appeal for a ‘fund of last resort’ when insurance details cannot be found. Claimant lawyers said they had waited more than a year for the results of a consultation on setting up an Employers’ Liability ...
-
News
Lord chief justice allowed himself to be labelled 'enemy of free speech'
Taking on the media is never a good idea if you happen to be a member of the judiciary. While judges are required to be fair, logical and impartial, reporters and commentators are often inaccurate, opinionated and driven more by commercial needs than by lofty ...
-
News
LSC big firm meetings 'unfair', small practices allege
Small legal aid firms accused the Legal Services Commission of breaching its duty of fairness this week, as it emerged that the LSC had scheduled two meetings in recent days exclusively for large firms, in the run-up to the government’s best value tendering (BVT) consultation. ...
-
News
Essex legal aid firms to merge
Two established Essex firms will on 1 July become the latest legal aid firms to merge. Fisher Jones Greenwood, which has offices in Colchester, Chelmsford and Clacton-on-Sea, will join forces with Chelmsford firm Budd Martin Burrett in the fourth major legal aid firm tie-up this year. ...
-
News
Administrative law
Legal advice and funding - Amendments - CLS funding - Funding code R (on the application of Evans) v Secretary of State for Justice: DC (Admin) (Lord Justice Laws, Mr Justice Stadlen): 12 May 2011 ...
-
News
Solicitors face 'challenge' from Council for Licensed Conveyancers over ABS
The solicitors’ profession faces an ‘interesting challenge’ following the Legal Services Board’s recent stamp of approval for the Council for Licensed Conveyancers to become a regulator of alternative business structures, a leading market commentator has suggested. Stephen Mayson of the Legal Services Institute said that ...
-
News
Government right to throw weight behind promoting commercial legal sector abroad
by Ted Greeno, senior litigation partner at Herbert Smith A fresh breeze is blowing through Whitehall.
-
News
A life less private
What do the former head of the IMF and an English footballer have in common? Well in the last fortnight, issues around what private information is in the public interest, and what is not, have swirled around both men. And ...
-
News
For the love of law?
In the last 12 months the BBC has played an unexpected role, featuring heavily in the development of discrimination law in the UK. Most notably in a recent case which could have wider implications for lawyers too. Devan Maistry was an ...
-
News
Law firms ‘must improve practice management’
Business advisors have told law firms to improve their practice management if they want to emerge from the challenges of 2011. Members of the Institute for Turnaround (IFT) warned there are too many firms that are failing to recognise or deal with financial problems early enough. ...
-
News
US firms show strong rebound from economic woes
Uncertainty may still reign in the UK, but across the pond the legal sector is feeling rather more optimistic, research has suggested. A survey published today indicated that most law firms in the US are seeing revenues rise, partner numbers increase and an end to salary capping. Leaders of the ...
-
News
A view from inside the highest court in the EU
From the outside, it could be a Premier League football ground on a day the team is playing away. There is the same sense of enclosed space behind featureless walls, with a vast paved area in the foreground for surging crowds chanting inanities. ...
-
News
European Court opens up access to notary profession
The European Court of Justice has paved the way for UK solicitors to practise as notaries across the European Union. It ruled yesterday that six member states - Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Greece - had breached the law by restricting access to the notary ...
-
News
Firms freeze trainee recruitment, survey suggests
More than three-quarters of medium-sized firms have frozen graduate recruitment for the next year – despite an increase in applications. A survey of 82 firms with between 20 and 30 employees found that most firms planned to cut costs over the next 12 months. ...
-
News
Conveyancing Quality Scheme makes progress
The Law Society’s chief executive gave an update on the progress of the Quality Conveyancing Scheme at the property section’s annual conference last week. Since registration for the scheme launched in January, Desmond Hudson said 913 firms have applied for the quality mark. ...