All News articles – Page 1638
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News
Media: British Chiropractic Association v Dr Simon Singh
While the northern hemisphere is paralysed by the seismic shift that has caused the Icelandic volcano, Mt Eyjafjallajökull, to erupt, the case of the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) against Dr Simon Singh promises to have an equally seismic effect on the legal landscape of libel in the UK and the ...
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Co-op's commercial logic is being applied to the legal sector
The Co-op is determined to be in the first wave of alternative business structures. This does not necessarily mean that other supermarket groups will swiftly follow suit, however. It is instructive to look at their experiences in financial services.
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For legal aid not to suffer cuts the public needs to care
by Jon Robinsco-author of The Justice Gap and director of the legal research company Jures. You can download Closing the Justice Gap Legal aid is a tiny, albeit vital, backwater of our public services which has critical importance in our democratic society, yet fails to resonate ...
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New civil legal aid contracts ‘will cause closures’
The new civil legal aid contracts could result in large numbers of family firms exiting the market and leave a single social welfare law provider in some areas, consultants have predicted. David Gilmour, founder of consultancy DG Legal, which specialises in legal aid, said: ‘I ...
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CPS slows recruitment of in-house Crown advocates
Figures obtained by the Gazette have revealed a steep decline in the Crown Prosecution Service’s recruitment of in-house Crown advocates as an alternative to self-employed barristers. CPS figures show that the number of Crown advocates in the CPS increased by only nine in 2009/10, to 1,086.
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Regional administrative courts issue more cases than expected
The new regional administrative courts have issued more cases than expected in their first year of operation, according to figures seen by the Gazette. In April 2009, the Administrative Court began to sit in four regional venues in Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Manchester to increase access ...
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Plans to introduce consumer class actions set to be revived
Specialist litigators have expressed hope that government plans to introduce class actions will be revived after the election.Provisions to introduce consumer class actions against banks were dropped during the pre-election ‘wash-up’ procedure that ensured the Financial Services Bill became law, after the Conservatives raised a raft of concerns.
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Don’t fall foul of Bribery Act, law firms warned
Law firms need to put risk mitigation procedures in place to avoid potential prosecutions under the new Bribery Act arising from corrupt clients, experts have warned. Eoin O’Shea, a partner at City firm LG, said: ‘As with money laundering, firms and practitioners need to be careful ...
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Ending acrimony
Employment disputes must rank alongside family disputes as the most emotional proceedings a person can instigate. Both involve the potential breakdown of a relationship which may have lasted many years (or been expected to do so), and a situation where the loss of trust and confidence may leave a person ...
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Child’s view holds sway in international abduction case
A six-year-old girl has become the youngest child to have her views influence a court’s decision, in an international child abduction case. In Re W (Children), the Court of Appeal last week refused a father permission to appeal against a High Court ruling which found that ...
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Coming after Goldman Sachs – and lawyers perhaps?
It looks as though the US’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) are hunting down those they believe to be the architects of the financial crisis. This week, the SEC filed a fraud suit against Goldman Sachs, the recession-defying Wall Street investment bank.
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City partnership promotions unveiled
Major City firms announced a wave of partner promotions today, with 33 lawyers made up across the world. City firm Herbert Smith made up 18 lawyers, including 11 in London and three in Paris. The most promotions were in the firm’s energy practice (4). When the ...
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Tell your clients why they should choose your legal services
There is another big and complex problem that needs to be dealt with as the legal services market continues to change. Simply put, most clients, the general public and and small- and medium-sized enterprises, don’t know the difference between solicitors, lawyers, barristers and other qualified or non-qualified providers of legal ...
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The crucifix discrimination case was a victory for common sense
by Nikki Duncan, who is based in Bond Pearce’s Plymouth office. She advised the Exeter-based Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital on the claim, which was presented in the tribunal by Thomas Kibling from Matrix Chambers Employers will be drawing comfort this week from a landmark tribunal ...
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Call for opening up of search data
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has called on the government to consult on legislation requiring local authorities to provide open and free access to property information. In a ‘manifesto’ published last week, CoPSO said councils were arbitrarily restricting access to data and ‘urgent action’ ...
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In memory of Joanna Agacka-Indecka
Last weekend, I was on one of the beautiful country walks which abound around Brussels when I received a text message from my president, to say that the head of the Polish delegation to the CCBE and president of the Polish Bar Council, Joanna Agacka-Indecka, had been among the victims ...
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Co-op launches advertising campaign in legal services drive
The Co-operative Group is to launch a fresh campaign to promote its legal services to food shoppers in its 3,000 supermarkets nationwide. The news comes as the group, which aims to be one of the first alternative business structures, told the Gazette that it believes ‘the ...
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A conveyancing conundrum that shows the value of high street firms
It’s a long time since I studied land law at university (about 17 years actually), but working as I do in the legal press, sometimes family members expect me to know a bit more about the niceties of conveyancing procedure than I actually do.
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‘No action needed’ on Quinn Insurance
The Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Law Society have both issued statements reassuring Quinn Insurance policyholders that they do not need to take action after permanent administrators were appointed to the Irish insurer yesterday. The SRA said that the full administration of Quinn under Irish ...
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Power in a union
I was dismayed to read the remarks about trade unions attributed to the president of the Law Society when he wrote to the shadow justice secretary inviting a future Conservative government to repeal immediately the Damages-Based Agreements Regulations.