All News articles – Page 1662
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News
Split profession?
I read with interest that the Legal Services Board commissioned an ‘economic analysis’ which concluded there was no evidence that referral fees harm consumers.
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Regulation and will-writing
As long as there is an unregulated will-making sector, professional and ethical solicitors, and professional and ethical willwriters, should join forces with a common goal to provide professional and regulated will-writing services to consumers by whatever means the consumer chooses.
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Lord Phillips defends Human Rights Act
The Human Rights Act 1998 is ‘a vital part of the foundation of our fight against terrorism’, the president of the Supreme Court asserted this week in an outspoken defence of the act. Setting out a series of recent cases in which government anti-terrorism measures ...
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Asylum advice centre closes
Immigration advice charity Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) went into administration yesterday following cashflow problems which it said were due to late payments by the Legal Services Commission. Despite a high-profile campaign, with letters sent to the justice secretary and home secretary on RMJ’s behalf by ...
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Bar must step up competition with solicitors, chairman warns
The bar must embrace direct access to the public to compete in a system that has been ‘calibrated and designed to hand the entire legal aid pot to solicitors’, the Bar Council chairman said last week. Speaking at a symposium last week to discuss the paper ...
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Joint pro bono clearing house to launch
A National Pro Bono Centre is to open this summer to act as a ‘hub’ for pro bono charities. The NPBC, which has been registered as a new legal charity, will bring together in one building LawWorks, the Bar Pro Bono Unit and the ILEX Pro ...
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Mayer Brown picks up pro bono gong
US firm Mayer Brown International was recognised for its work with pro bono group LawWorks at the charity’s annual awards ceremony last night. The firm won the award for the best contribution by a law firm, for supporting numerous projects including providing pro bono assistance through ...
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Take the fight to the retailers
One element of the QualitySolicitors launch that struck me was the move into shopping centre retail space. Considered alongside the recent research Shopping Around, by Jon Robins at Jures, that move might appear obvious for general practice firms. Legal services are highly profitable, with complex people businesses needing face-to-face ...
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What will the Legal Services Board do about referral fees?
Is the referral fee debate over? Two reports submitted recently to the Legal Services Board (LSB) would make one think that it is, even though the board itself has still to reach a final decision. First came an economic impact analysis, commissioned from Charles River Associates ...
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The secret world of GATS
There is a small body of rootless cosmopolitans who meet in windowless hotel rooms a few times a year to discuss the ins and outs of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) as it affects lawyers: free trade agreements, most favoured nation status, mutual recognition, the whole shebang. ...
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It’s time to go public about privacy
The privacy genie is out of the bottle. The Facebook generation, brought up on sharing even the most intimate details online, has no concept of confidentiality or need-to-know.
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Law Society launches advertising campaign
The Law Society is to repeat its nationwide drive to promote solicitors in an advertising campaign that will begin on Monday. Adverts will run in more than 450 railway stations and on more than 40 buses, as well as in the national press. ...
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Making change happen
Legal firms face probably their toughest challenges for years in the current economic environment. Implementing change successfully to meet client needs is critical, but there is increasing evidence that purely rational decision-making is insufficient.
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Solicitor jailed for stealing £850,000 from clients
A sole practitioner from north-west London has been jailed for two years after he confessed to stealing more than £850,000 from clients. David May, 69, destroyed a 46-year unblemished reputation in the profession after dipping regularly into a £280,000 estate he was handling, and writing ...
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New rules address ‘appalling’ child care delays
New rules for appointing guardians in care proceedings were introduced in London this week, in a bid to reduce ‘appalling’ delays which family solicitors have warned are ‘worse than ever’. Christina Blacklaws, chairwoman of the Law Society’s family law committee, said solicitors were ‘hopeful’ that ...
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LSB stance on alternative business structures under scrutiny
The approval of a ‘toothless’ code of practice for non-lawyer will-writers can be viewed as both a step forward or a missed opportunity, depending on your outlook. We note that, in the very same week, the Scots have chosen to proceed with a system of ‘proper’ regulation that is set ...
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Surge in Antipodean recruitment at UK law firms
Recruitment of lawyers from Australia and New Zealand has surged at UK law firms following the government’s relaxation of immigration rules for highly skilled workers. Associate solicitors from both countries are flocking to London to plug gaps in mid-tier City firms’ corporate practices, recruiters Badenoch & ...
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Partners approve US merger for Denton Wilde Sapte
City firm Denton Wilde Sapte and US firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal will merge to form SNR Denton this autumn, after partners approved the tie-up in a vote today. The new transatlantic firm, which will launch on 30 September, will comprise more than 1,400 lawyers spanning ...