All News articles – Page 1616
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News
Research reveals diversity concerns
The Law Society this week published three research papers highlighting the difficulties faced by women, black and ethnic minority (BME), and lesbian and gay lawyers in the profession.
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When should in-house lawyers consult external counsel?
The in-house lawyer is the ultimate jack of all trades. Naturally required to know their company’s core business inside out, they are also expected to be instant experts on diverse legal fields depending on their company’s needs: employment law if an HR issue crops up; property law if the company ...
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Consumer shift in estate services
Consumers are increasingly shopping around for estate administration services, which has led to a fall in average administration costs despite a rise in the value of estates, a report has suggested. The survey of 1,514 consumers, commissioned by insurer Sun Life Direct, also found that ...
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The implications of a court ruling on vague IT contract terms
In my last column I described the syndrome of IT contract blindness – the ailment that causes parties to an IT contract not to notice that the words in the agreement bear little resemblance to what they are actually planning on doing. Since writing, it has fallen to the Court ...
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Deputy difficulty
I was very interested to read the letter Capacity issue by Lindsay Taylor. I have been appointed as deputy for a family friend who has all the symptoms of dementia but is living in his own house with a care package to assist him. I duly registered the deputyship order ...
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Shaggy dog stories
Given the British love of animals, the urbane barrister Patrick Back believed that if he could introduce a dog into his closing speech, he had one foot in the acquittal door, writes James Morton. His favourite was when the earl comes home and finds his child and the bed covered ...
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Follow that dream
Obiter has been mightily amused by the stunning ‘legal musical’ plotlines submitted in our competition to win two tickets to the West End show, Legally Blonde: The Musical. Plots included a secret love child conceived during a post-deal celebration; gangs of lawyers engaging ...
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Local government
Environment – Human rights – Public procurement Veolia ES Nottinghamshire Ltd (appellant) v Nottinghamshire County Council (respondent) and (1) Shlomo Dowen (2) Audit Commission for Local Authorities and the National Health Service For England (interested parties): CA (Civ Div) ...
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Government rethinks TUPE stance
The coalition government has scrapped plans to reform controversial employment regulations in an apparent U-turn by the Conservatives, it has emerged. Mark Hammerton, employment partner at national firm Eversheds, said Lord Hunt, now energy minister, had suggested before the election that a Conservative government would seek ...
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Making the grade
Restrictions on the legal practice course should be based not on whether a person has obtained a training contract, but on whether or not they are likely to do so. At university, I was among high achievers who obtained training contracts before commencing the LPC. Many ...
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Unions play a key role in improving safety in the workplace
Against a background of Lord Young’s review and the ongoing debate about Jackson, unions continue to campaign for fairness and decent health and safety standards at work. These are basic social needs necessary for stable industrial relations, growth and prosperity in any workplace. Employees have ...
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Neuberger: mediation is no substitute for justice
Mediation ‘cannot be a substitute for justice’, the master of the rolls warned this week, in a view that appears sharply at odds with government proposals to replace many legal aid-funded cases with alternative dispute resolution. Unveiling the government’s legal aid reforms this week, justice secretary ...
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Skilled worker visa quota massively oversubscribed
So many visa applications have been submitted by highly skilled workers from outside the EU this month that November’s quota of 600 applications was reached three weeks before the end of the month, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has revealed. In July, the government introduced a ...
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Quality street
It was with great fanfare that national law firm ‘superbrand’ Quality Solicitors launched its first ‘legal store’ in a south London shopping centre last week. Intrigued, Obiter decided to make a little trip down to Lewisham, incognito of course, to see where the legal profession is headed, from beneath a ...
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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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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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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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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 ...