All News articles – Page 1576
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News
Thought in the act
Italians are well known for their passionate nature, so a recent judgment by the country’s Supreme Court of Cassation has come as something of a surprise to family lawyers. According to Anthony Gold, a London firm that acts in international divorce proceedings, the Italian court has annulled a woman’s marriage ...
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Specialisms not easily acquired
As an experienced practitioner in the field of private client law, I am always pleased to see solicitors, old and new, wishing to practise in this complex and rewarding area of law. However, I do think we need to address the assumption that a ...
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Limiting access to the LPC smacks of restrictive practice
Robin Dunne suggests restricting legal practice course (LPC) places to those who have secured a training contract. One could also fix the pass mark so that the number of students who do pass accords with the number of trainees needed. However, a return to the days of such restriction is ...
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More than 300 firms reform as LDPs
More than 300 firms have registered as legal disciplinary partnerships (LDPs), according to the latest figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, indicating an acceleration of takeup in advance of the rules permitting alternative business structures (ABSs) next year. There were 304 registered LDPs at the end ...
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Civil legal aid facing ‘devastation’ after £154m cut
Lawyers warned this week that civil legal aid services could be devastated by government plans that would see the total annual income of legal aid providers slashed by up to £154m. The proposed reforms would cut state help to all but the very poorest, the Law ...
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Indian legal services market to stay closed
The Indian government has no plans to allow foreign law firms to practise in the country, it said in a statement on Monday. Veerappa Moily, minister of law and justice, said in response to a question in the Indian parliament that ‘at present there is no ...
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Legal fees drive up motor premium costs, claim insurers
Insurance companies should and could do more to stop people driving without a licence, the Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) has told a House of Commons inquiry into escalating motor insurance costs. In its written submission to the Transport Committee inquiry, MASS said that uninsured drivers ...
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Client capture – learning from newer entrants
I can imagine the growing volume of conversations across the country as people meet and chat about families and life in general.
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Research reveals widening social divide in the profession
More than one in seven lawyers come from private schools, despite just one in 50 of the population receiving private education, new research has suggested. While 93% of the population are state educated, only 85% of lawyers went to non-public schools, according to an analysis of ...
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House of Lords’ unsung battles for EU democracy
One of the constant accusations made against the EU – it was made in a comment to my blog last week – is that there is a democratic deficit. I accept the claim; it is undeniable. But it is also an accusation from within a UK glasshouse, since many of ...
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Increase alcohol tax to fund legal aid, says Law Society
The government should increase tax on alcohol to fund legal aid, in recognition of the extent to which criminal behaviour results from alcohol abuse, the Law Society has suggested. In a report to be published today reflecting the findings of the Society’s Access to Justice Review, ...
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Government unveils overhaul of legal aid and civil litigation costs
Legal aid providers as a whole will see their income slashed by up to £154m annually, it emerged today, as the government unveiled its plans for reform of the system. A wide range of civil cases will no longer be eligible for legal aid, and fees ...
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SRA to launch ‘strategic review’ of training
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to undertake an ‘independent, strategic review’ of education and training, in collaboration with the Bar Standards Board and the Institute of Legal Executives. The three regulators will form a joint ‘review group’ to inform the research, which will be a wide ...
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LSC extends family contracts
The Legal Services Commission has today extended the present family and combined family/housing legal aid contracts until 30 November next year. The contracts had previously been extended until 14 December 2010. The LSC said the additional extension of almost a year ...
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SJ Berwin drops merger plans with US firm
City firm SJ Berwin and US firm Proskauer Rose have decided against a merger, the firms announced today in a statement. ‘At this stage in our discussions, we recognised that the timetable necessary to reach the agreements that would ensure the successful integration of our firms ...
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Chinese human rights and the one that got away
The Chinese authorities have begun deploying a ‘softer type of violence’ against dissidents. That’s the good news told to me by Professor Fu Hauling, head of the University of Hong Kong’s law faculty. ...
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New solutions should deliver access to justice
by Robert Bourns, senior partner at national law firm TLT Those charged with promoting regulatory change – the government, the Legal Services Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and other regulators - are clear that access to justice is not only a primary regulatory objective but also ...
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Solicitors ‘not doing enough’ to market themselves as ABSs approach
Nine out of ten solicitors think they are not doing enough to promote their businesses in the face of forthcoming competition from alternative business structures, research seen exclusively by the Gazette has suggested. A survey of 330 solicitors by law firm referral service Contact Law found ...
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Pre-nups – now worth the paper they're written on
The long-awaited decision of the Supreme Court in Radmacher (formerly Granatino) v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42 is a significant step in the recognition of pre- and post-nuptial agreements. The starting point is that parties should be held to properly drawn up agreements unless certain circumstances arise.
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Memory lane
Law Society’s Gazette, October 1990 Lightening up on ‘legaldeegook’How many words does it take to tell someone that a house is ready for occupancy? Seventy-eight if you’re ...