All News articles – Page 1578
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Big majority backs free legal advice
More than eight out of 10 people believe civil legal advice should be free for people on average earnings or below. This conviction is consistent across all social classes, a nationwide opinion poll has found, raising fresh questions over the government’s mandate for swingeing legal aid cuts.
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Concern over use of 'Henry Vlll' powers to overturn acts of parliament
The coalition’s approach to legislation is neither conservative nor liberal. That much is clear from the new Quangos (Bonfire) Bill, or the Public Bodies Bill as it is more properly called in parliament. It is through this legislation that the government intends to reform nearly 500 ...
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Hands across the water
It would only take a small improvement in the value of sterling against the US dollar and we’d be touching down at JFK, headed for courtroom 14B, 500 Pearl Street, Lower Manhattan in the hope of being put straight by judge Jed Rakoff. He is not a man shy of ...
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Rail acquisition, energy listing, bank sale and telecoms loan
Rail thing: Magic circle firm Allen & Overy advised a private equity consortium comprising 3i Group, Star Capital Partners and Morgan Stanley on the consortium’s £2.1bn acquisition of HSBC’s train-leasing business Eversholt Rail Group. Magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised HSBC. ...
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Neuberger endorses accreditation scheme
The master of the rolls has given judicial backing to the proposed quality assurance for advocates (QAA) scheme, saying judges are the ‘ultimate consumers’ of advocacy services and are well placed to assess quality. Speaking at the Bar Council’s annual conference, Lord Neuberger defended the proposal ...
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Protecting clients of ABSs and traditional law firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority remains on course, subject to Legal Services Board approval, to license and regulate alternative business structures (ABSs) from 6 October 2011. I am aware that this is not what all solicitors want to hear. Concern has been expressed, in particular about whether ...
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Do UK governments care about human rights in China?
If the government is serious about speaking up on human rights abuses in China, then it has left it too late. It was too late when David Cameron left for Beijing.
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Top-50 firms see revenues grow
Top-50 law firms have successfully grown their revenues in the first half of the financial year, figures released by firms this week suggest. Among City firms, Norton Rose posted a 9% rise in fee income for the six months ending 31 October, indicating fee income of ...
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GC100 rejects government's disclosure proposals
General counsel at Britain’s biggest companies have rejected government plans to force companies to disclose more information about corporate social responsibility and risk. The GC100, the association for general counsel and company secretaries in FTSE 100 companies, said the requirement might leave companies vulnerable to legal ...
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‘Sluggish’ justice must be faster and cheaper
The criminal justice system is ‘sluggish’, stifles innovation, and is both fragmented and bureaucratic. Agencies including the Crown Prosecution Service need to share resources and innovate to shorten the time between arrest and sentencing, and increase the number of early guilty pleas. These are among ...
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LSC facing court challenge over immigration contracts
The future of the Legal Service Commission’s new immigration and asylum contract could be in doubt after the High Court gave South Manchester Law Centre (SMLC) permission to challenge the outcome of the tender process. The law centre challenged the lawfulness of the tender process in ...
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Mid-tier firms appear set to fall further behind
The UK’s top 10 law firms have shaken off their hangover from the recession – but the chasing pack are still nursing sore heads, if recent numbers are anything to go by.
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New legal aid court challenge set to proceed
A High Court judge has refused an injunction that could have further delayed the start of the new mental health and public law legal aid contracts – but awarded a protective costs order to enable a legal challenge to the two Legal Services Commission tender processes.
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The future is (almost) here
Last week I wrote about the role that automation could play in delivering legal services to the public, using products that firms of all sizes could buy in.
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EU’s own Mama Grizzly
Forgive me for being a cultural slave of the US, but the US mid-term elections have coloured my thinking this week of developments here in Europe.
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National Pro Bono Week gets under way
National Pro Bono Week begins today with events marking the donation of hundreds of millions of pounds worth of free legal advice over the last 12 months. Sponsored by the Law Society, Bar Council and Institute of Legal Executives, the NPBW highlights the broad range of ...
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Indemnity insurance bill falls to three-year low
Solicitors paid less to insurers for professional indemnity insurance (PII) this year than they did in the previous two years, Solicitors Regulation Authority figures revealed today. The cost of insuring the profession on the open market this year was £214m, down from £241m in 2009/10 and ...
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Revenues rise at Allen & Overy
Half-year turnover at magic circle firm Allen & Overy have risen by 3% on last year, the firm reported today. For the six months ending 31 October, turnover at the firm rose to £526m, up from £511m over the same period in 2009. The firm said ...
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Hammonds agrees latest transatlantic merger
Partners at national firm Hammonds and US firm Squire Sanders & Dempsey have approved a merger of the firms, creating a 1,275-lawyer transatlantic practice with $625m (£387m) in combined revenues. The new firm, which will span 17 countries and 37 offices, will be named Squire Sanders ...
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EMI case: the judge and the jury
The attention of the business and legal worlds was drawn to Manhattan this week, where private equity baron Guy Hands lost his law suit against US bank Citigroup. This was a jury trial before Jed Rakoff, US district court judge for the Southern District of New ...