All News articles – Page 1631

  • News

    Immigration

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Administrative law – Torts – Deportation – Detention Abdillaahi Muuse (respondent) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (appellant): CA (Civ Div) (Sir Andrew Morritt (chancellor), Lord Justice Thomas, Sir Scott Baker): 27 April 2010 ...

  • News

    Flaming flamenco

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Now that’s enough about football. After April’s article about belly dancing, Obiter has received a ticking-off from clinical negligence solicitor Sarah Harman of London firm Harman & Harman for so far failing to include this picture of herself (right) and criminal solicitor colleague Sonia Antolin, who both dance flamenco with ...

  • News

    Lobbying firms under pressure to sign EU register of interests

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Law firms that lobby EU institutions will face pressure to sign a register of interests after senior EU officials vowed to forge ahead with plans to boost transparency, the Gazette has learned. At a meeting in Brussels last Thursday, a working group of European commissioners and ...

  • News

    Employment

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Age discrimination – Degrees – Indirect discrimination – Proportionality Homer v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Mummery, Maurice Kay, Richards): 27 ...

  • News

    Can the hundreds unable to vote at the general election sue?

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    People who were denied the right to vote at the general election can sue the Electoral Commission, according to Geoffrey Robertson QC. Interviewed last Friday, Robertson suggested that disenfranchised voters would receive compensation of at least £750. That just happens to be the figure that ...

  • News

    Mediations double in two years

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    The number of mediations has doubled in the last two years, and most mediators expect workloads to increase, according to research seen exclusively by the Gazette. The fourth biennial survey of civil and commercial mediators, carried out by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), showed ...

  • News

    Energy stocks, Poundland sells and housing developments

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Power play: Magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Indian energy company Essar Energy on its London Stock Exchange listing, which valued the company at around £5.5bn, potentially catapulting it into the FTSE-100 index. ...

  • News

    Insurance danger

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    It was reported in your news article on 12 April about Quinn Insurance that, of £5m of premiums due to the assigned risks pool underwriters, only £2m had been paid to date.

  • News

    Local government: council of war

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    ‘Phoney War’ was the term used to describe the early months of World War II. Between the formal start of ­hostilities in September 1939 and Spring 1940, things seemed ­relatively quiet – at least in Western Europe. After that, of course, the dogs of war were let slip, furious and ...

  • News

    Coroners

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Administration of justice – Pharmaceuticals – Inquests – Public interest Glennys Jones (applicant) v HM Coroner for the Southern District of Greater London (respondent) and Deshminder Virdi (interested party): DC (Lord Justice Toulson, Mr Justice Owen): 28 April 2010 ...

  • News

    Criminal law firm start-ups confound cull predictions

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Government proposals to reduce the number of criminal law firms have not deterred new firms from setting up, according to specialist legal aid consultants. Simon Pottinger, founder of JRS Consultants, predicted that the number of firms with a criminal legal aid contract is likely to have ...

  • News

    Nineteen new solicitor MPs enter House of Commons

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Last week’s general election saw 19 solicitors newly elected as MPs – 14 for the Conservative Party and five for Labour. The new solicitor MPs came from all sections of the profession, including high street firms, large commercial practices, in-house and the public sector.

  • News

    Training and development must support the provision of high-quality service to clients

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Throughout my legal career I have taken a keen interest in legal education and training. I was chairman of the governors of the College of Law until recently, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority has a pivotal position in the development of legal education and training.

  • News

    What will having Ken Clarke as justice secretary mean for solicitors?

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    So Kenneth Clarke is the new justice secretary. Not many people saw that one coming. Firstly, because everyone fully expected it to be Dominic Grieve, who had been shadow justice secretary, and secondly, because Clarke himself was presumed to be in line for the business role.

  • News

    Technical problems continue to dog RTA claims portal

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Technical problems are continuing to hamper the new road traffic accident (RTA) information exchange, set up to handle hundreds of thousands of low-value RTA claims. Solicitors told the Gazette this week that some have still not received access codes for the new RTA claims portal despite ...

  • News

    Mexican civil rights lawyer pleads for international support network

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    A Mexican civil rights lawyer who has received death threats in her own country visited the UK last week to persuade law firms and the Law Society to form an international support network for lawyers. Alba Cruz (pictured), from Oaxaca state, is representing 104 political dissidents, ...

  • News

    Chelsea and Yorkshire to review conveyancing panels

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Chelsea and Yorkshire building societies are to conduct a review of their conveyancing panels following the merger of the two lenders last month, the Gazette has learned. The merger, which created the second largest building society in the country, was completed on 1 April. ...

  • News

    Cup of cheer

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    Four weeks to go and the World Cup piggybacking has kicked off, with Leeds firm Godloves scoring the opening goal. The ‘football mad’ firm is offering free wills advice to clients until 9 June – if England win the World Cup they won’t be billed. Sceptical readers might think it ...

  • News

    Chancery Lane highlights the importance of legal professional privilege

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    The Court of Appeal’s decision to give the Law Society permission to intervene in Prudential PLC and Prudential (Gibraltar) Limited v Special Commissioner of Income Tax and Philip Pandolfo (HM Inspector of Taxes) is a crucial step in our efforts to defend the principles of legal professional privilege (LPP). LPP ...

  • News

    Loose cannon

    2010-05-13T00:00:00Z

    It’s not that uncommon for lawyers to have an exotic sideline. Readers of this column will know that solicitors can also be Elvis impersonators, belly dancers or, indeed, flamenco enthusiasts. But on (somewhat morbidly) perusing the Times’ obituaries section last week, Obiter was surprised to read of a solicitor who ...