All News articles – Page 1603
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News
Present danger
Over the Christmas period, many readers will have faced the challenge of having to respond graciously after unwrapping a truly hideous present, such as a reindeer-emblazoned jumper from the in-laws. But how to respond when one cannot even tell what the item actually is? This dilemma was apparently faced by ...
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Dishonest dealings and tax
I read an article in a Sunday newspaper entitled ‘Self-employed? Make extra money from the VAT rise’. I am perplexed because, while I understand that in the current economic climate it is good to have incentives for smaller businesses, this incentive appears to be, prima facie, dishonest.
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Profession’s growth 'defies gravity’, SRA figures show
The number of practising solicitors in England and Wales has risen sharply to more than 120,000, with their ranks growing at an accelerated rate despite the economic pressures faced by the profession, the latest figures have shown. One leading industry commentator claimed that the rise ...
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Doing a disservice
Mr Digby-Bell is entitled to his opinions, which he is rarely slow to publicise. In doing so in his letter without a word in advance or participation in the council’s debates, he belittles the considerable efforts of the Law Society and its president in fighting for access to justice and ...
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Libel success fees – myth and reality
There is a myth that claimant libel lawyers win almost every libel case they bring and charge double their fees, which must be paid by the defendant, usually a media organisation. The reality is very different. Background ...
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The SRA gears up for what will be a pivotal year for legal services
This year will be pivotal for the delivery and regulation of legal services. We will see the culmination of a process which started in 2003 when the constitutional affairs secretary, Lord Falconer, asked Sir David Clementi to review the regulation of legal services and recommend the framework that ‘would best ...
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Good will hunting
As any wills and probate solicitor knows only too well, a shocking proportion of the population has never made a will (two-thirds of Britons do not have a valid will according to a recent survey by unbiased.co.uk). So law firms will be only too pleased that a new BBC documentary ...
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Speaking out on immigration policy
It emerged this week that the UK Border Agency has lost track of 60,000 asylum seekers. On past form, rather than address failings at UKBA directly, the Home Office will carry on trying to look tough on asylum seekers and illegal immigration by announcing stricter rules for immigrants who require ...
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News
'Virtual’ visitor interrupts police interview
The security of the virtual court system has been called into question once again, after a video technician appeared on a virtual court monitor during a confidential police station consultation between a solicitor and his client and began talking to the pair, the Gazette has learned.
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'Wild west' lawyers
The alleged futility of the SRA’s ‘consultation’ made the letters page . This futility extends to the Legal Ombudsman too. On that date I attended a meeting with a diverse group of people with an interest in whether or not solicitors should be named when a ...
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Real property
Easements – Right to drive cattle Dewan & Ors v Lewis: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justices Carnwath, Elias, Pitchford): 9 December 2010 The appellants (D) appealed against a decision that ...
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Social security
Common law rights – Overpayment of benefits R (on the application of Child Poverty Action Group) v Secretary of State for Work & Pensions: Sup Ct (Lords Phillips (president), Rodger, Brown, Kerr, Sir John Dyson): 8 December 2010 ...
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Sentencing
Deterrence – Undue leniency Attorney General’s Reference (nos 37, 38 and 65 of 2010) sub nom R v (1) Shahawaz Ali Khan (2) Raza Ali Khan (3) Perveen Khan: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Justice Pitchford, Mr Justice Henriques, Judge ...
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News
‘Not just peanuts’ campaign to support legal advice charities
The Access to Justice Foundation will today launch a national campaign encouraging law firms to release unclaimed money from their client accounts to help support free legal assistance in their local community. The charity’s ‘It's Not Just Peanuts’ campaign is targeting amounts of less than ...
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Jones day to open three Saudi offices in 2011
US firm Jones Day will open three associate offices in Saudi Arabia this year, it announced today. An office in Riyadh has already been established, and further outposts in Jeddah and Al-Khobar will be set up later this year in association with Saudi firm Al Sulaim ...
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Law Commission consults on pre-nuptial agreements
The Law Commission has today published a consultation on the future of pre-nuptial agreements, seeking views on whether couples should be able to make binding agreements governing financial arrangements if their relationships end. The paper puts forward a range of options for reforming the law of ...
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News
Expertise, experience and efficiency – the outsourcing dilemma
A strong feature of 2010 was the growing debate about legal process outsourcing (LPO), offshoring and commoditising. To some practitioners this is anathema: a deskilling and cheapening of the practice of law. Others see it, more positively, as a separation of the repetitive, low value ...
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Thompsons presses for greater focus on rehabilitation
National personal injury firm Thompsons has called on government ministers to put rehabilitation for injury victims at the heart of its review of civil justice, after research into client attitudes showed overwhelming support for the benefits of rehabilitation. According to the firm, in a survey of ...
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News
Forum shopping for a lawyer’s title is alive and well
In this New Year, there is a new name to be added to the roll call of names that have contributed to the development of the practice of law in Europe, by bringing a case to the European Court of Justice. Added to those on the list such as Gebhard ...
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Employment lawyers are under attack
It is open season on employment tribunals and the ‘parasitical creatures’ (aka employment lawyers) that argue their clients’ cases before them. Maybe it is time that the profession got its public relations act together and took on its detractors at their own game.