All News articles – Page 1624
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News
Experimental chambers BarFutures set to close
Experimental virtual chambers BarFutures is to close its doors at the end of June after two years because of a ‘lack of appetite for change within the profession’, the Gazette has learned. The alternative set was designed to meet the challenges posed by the Legal Services ...
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A victory for lawyers
The bells are ringing, the trumpets are sounding, the medals are being awarded: a great victory has been achieved. This week, the European Commission finally agreed to establish the equivalent of a European justice ministry, a DG (Directorate General) Justice.
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OFT approves 'toothless' will-writing code
A new code of practice for non-lawyer will-writers which has been approved by the Office of Fair Trading is ‘without teeth’, probate solicitors have warned. The OFT approved a new code of practice drawn up by the Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) last week. ...
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Gary McKinnon case is acid test of coalition government’s integrity
by Azmina Gulamhuseinis a solicitor and editor of the Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents Gary McKinnon, a vulnerable 44-year old with Asperger syndrome, stands accused by the US of the ‘biggest military computer hack of all time’.
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An eminent jurist is under attack over Israel
Israel has faced international condemnation this week over the alleged killing of 10 or more peace activists who were trying to deliver aid to Gaza by way of a flotilla of ships.
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Solicitors support advocacy quality assurance scheme
The Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates (SAHCA) has given its support to the Legal Services Commission’s proposals for a quality assurance scheme for advocates (QAA), but warned it must be ‘demonstrably even-handed, objective and proportionate’. Following consultation with its 1,300 members, SAHCA responded to the ...
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No way through the RTA portal
The MoJ RTA web portal continues to suffer from bad planning, implementation and a failure to consult. One legal software company has sent this communication to its clients: ‘We are pleased to announce that we can now provide Phase 1* ...
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Shoe me the money
What’s going on here, you may ask? Has Hartley & Worstenholme just had a new carpet fitted and asked all clients and employees to leave their shoes at the door? Not quite. These eager ladies at the West Yorkshire law firm and estate agency are getting ready to put on ...
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Man of the moth
They nibble at your best winter coat, and make an annoying noise when they pop themselves dead on lightbulbs. But it turns out that moths can be good for something – at least civil litigation solicitor Bob Heckford, who recently retired from Plymouth law firm Bond Pearce, seems to think ...
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Listen and learn
I enjoyed reading Gordon Turner’s reflections on his experience of acting as a juror (see [2010] Gazette, 27 May, 10).
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Intellectual property
Brand names - Comparative advertising - Infringement - Perfumes (1) L’Oréal SA (2) Lancôme Parfums et Beauté and CIE (3) Laboratoire Garnier and CIE v (1) Bellure NV (2) Malaika Investments Ltd (T/A Honeypot Cosmetic and Perfumery Sales) (3) ...
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Fancy footwork
With just over a week until the World Cup kicks off, it seems football fever is already taking a vice-like hold over the legal profession. Fancying themselves as solicitor-versions of Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard et al (in football terms only, we stress), lawyers at Manchester firm Ralli have made ...
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Top firms suffer revenue fall – but profits rise
Revenues at top law firms have slipped over the last year, but some firms have seen a significant recovery in partner profits, early results suggest. Of the three major firms that had reported financial results for 2009/10 as the Gazette went to press, all saw falls ...
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Employment
Civil procedure – Ballots – Compliance – Industrial action British Airways Plc v Unite the Union: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, Lady Justice Smith): 20 May 2010 ...
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SRA drafts rulebook for new regulation regime
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued a first draft of the 10 new principles which will form the basis of a new ‘outcomes-focused regulation’ regime. The broad principles are contained in a simplified handbook published for consultation by the SRA last week. ...
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Spiralling costs
As a residential property specialist, I have become increasingly concerned at the charges made by management companies and freeholders when buying or selling leasehold properties.
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European Commission to split justice department in two
The European Commission (EC) is set to transform the way justice is administered across member states, it has emerged.
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City firm Denton Wilde Sapte set to decide on transatlantic merger
Partners at City firm Denton Wilde Sapte and US firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal are set to decide next Wednesday whether to give the green light to a merger of the firms. The merged firm, SNR Denton, would comprise 1,400 lawyers and boast combined revenues of ...
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Striking the right chord
As wise old Obiter always suspected, Manchester solicitor Andy Booth, who plays in ‘European electro goth’ band the Cassandra Complex, is not the only rock-tastic lawyer out there, and we have photographic evidence to prove it (right). Paul ‘The Rock’ Rosser, personal injury partner at Leo Abse & Cohen in ...