All News articles – Page 1681
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Stock Exchange activity, WHSmith expansion and new fire stations
Sovereign wealth: Magic circle firm Allen & Overy advised a number of underwriters on issuing the government of Dubai’s inaugural sukuk, worth around $2bn (£1.2bn) in total this year. It is believed to be the largest sovereign sukuk ever issued. City firm Taylor ...
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Fee abomination
The payment of referral fees is an abomination which is destroying our profession. I am so pleased the Law Society’s Council has decided to call for their abolition.
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ABI to introduce new voluntary code on third-party capture
The Association of British Insurers is to introduce a voluntary code of conduct on third-party capture early next year in an effort to appease critics of the controversial practice, it emerged last week. However, claimant lawyers have dismissed the initiative as a tactic to allow insurers ...
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Europe's notaries need to modernise and abandon their pompous ceremonies
by Gill Mather, a sole practitioner based in Colchester, Essex I heartily agree with Jonathan Goldsmith’s Euro blog ‘Notaries in revolt’ that much of what notaries do is ceremonial, unnecessary and ludicrously expensive.
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Professional indemnity costs rise by £15m
Solicitors paid £15m more to insurers for professional indemnity insurance this year, Solicitors Regulation Authority figures have revealed. The cost of insuring the profession rose from £226m in the 2008/09 indemnity year, to £241m in 2009/10, a rise of 7%. Between them, ...
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The DNA of a good rainmaker, and does gender count? (Part two)
In my last blog I looked at ‘amount of time spent’ – the first of several attributes of a good rainmaker as identified in The Women Attorneys and Business Development Study.
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Legal Services Board issues proposals on ABS regulation
The Legal Services Board has published a consultation paper outlining the core principles it expects all licensing authorities (LAs) to use in regulating alternative business structures, as it moves towards the next stage in liberalising the delivery of legal services. The paper proposes removing restrictions that ...
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Justice comes at a price, you know
The Ministry of Justice, legal aid minister Lord Bach in particular, have made much over recent months of the importance of ensuring that vulnerable people affected by the recession have access to the legal advice and assistance they require.
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Law firms face hefty fines for data losses
Law firms could face a £500,000 fine if they lose unencrypted laptops or data sticks containing personal information, under new proposals. A government consultation sets out new powers for the information commissioner to levy hefty fines on organisations that breach the Data Protection Act 1998. ...
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The EU and criminal law: less or more?
How far, and to what extent, should the EU involve itself in criminal law developments? The answer to this will depend on your attitude to the EU itself. We have heard the arguments raging in the media over the last week or two. For those who answer ‘less, less!’...
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Junior lawyers commended for pro bono work
Four young lawyers were honoured for their services to pro bono work at the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) Pro Bono Awards last week. The annual awards, presented by Lord Phillips of Sudbury in a ceremony at Chancery Lane last Thursday, celebrate outstanding pro bono work done ...
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Lovells results show static revenues
Half-year revenues at City firm Lovells remained roughly static for the first half of the financial year, the firm reported today. Revenues stood at £259m for the six months to 31 October this year, down slightly from £260m for the same period in 2008/09. ...
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Trainees lawyers should serve some time in IT, too
I was amused by one of the reader comments on my last blog – that there is nothing wrong with carrying a second phone, as a ‘belt and braces’ approach to IT is a good thing. I have since been busy adding a second PC to each of my users ...
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Rise in recruitment of junior lawyers
Recruitment of assistant solicitors has seen its first sustained increase since 2007, research has revealed, in a sign that the jobs market is improving. A study by legal recruiters Hughes-Castell showed that the number of vacancies for assistants rose over the second and third quarters of ...
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Coroners reforms receive royal assent
The Bar Council and the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) have today welcomed changes made to the Coroners and Justice Bill, which received royal assent yesterday. The Ministry of Justice said the act will provide better protection for victims and witnesses during criminal investigations, more consistency in ...
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Tickled pink
Obiter is somewhat lost for words on this one. Staff at Lichfield-based Keelys swapped their usual suits for a ‘wear it pink’ campaign in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. While the ladies pictured have made a bit of a half-hearted ...
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Linesman wanders offside
Obiter suspected that last week’s Heimlich manoeuvre expert Richard Taylor, who heroically stopped his client from choking during a posh dinner, would not be the only solicitor out there to have saved a client’s life. Paul Inns, partner at Powys firm Hanratty & ...
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Last in the Kew
George 'Gideon' Osborne will have caught it in the neck from his spin doctors for a maladroit attempt to come across as a man of the people (‘we're all in this together’, don’t forget). The shadow chancellor argued that his school, St Paul's, is ‘incredibly liberal’ because ‘your mother could ...
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Wish you were here?
What do celebrities Diana Rigg and Judith Chalmers have in common, aside from being two former glamour pusses of the small screen who are now, shall we say, advancing in years? Answer: they have both had the recent pleasure of being photographed with our favourite outspoken personal injury lawyer, Kerry ...