All News articles – Page 1702
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News
Touch of hypocrisy?
The Gazette carried a front-page article on 28 January under the headline ‘Blacklisted solicitors site plans growth’. The site facilitator says (with alarming frankness) ‘I don’t have the time or the resources to look at the argument from both sides’, so instead a flat fee is paid by solicitors to ...
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Jurassic lark
Believe it or not, parliamentary committee meetings are not always enthralling. But when dealing with the less riveting matters that must fall under parliamentary scrutiny, such as a recent Justice Committee session on the appointment of a new chief of HM CPS Inspectorate, at least MPs occasionally make an effort ...
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Memory lane
Entries Competitors were asked for ‘the head notes of a law report… based on the facts of any one nursery rhyme’. Law Society’s Gazette, February 1960 ...
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Five national firms to offer advice to 48 local authorities
Five national law firms have been selected to provide legal advice to 48 local authorities in the East Midlands under the EM LawShare consortium umbrella. Anthony Collins, Browne Jacobson, DLA Piper, Freeth Cartwright and Weightmans will offer legal advice on 13 areas of law including ...
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MPs attack ‘lax’ Legal Services Commission
The Public Accounts Committee has today lambasted the Legal Services Commission for its handling of legal aid funds. Committee chairman Edward Leigh MP said financial controls at the LSC were ‘lax’, noting that ‘it does not know enough about the costs and profitability of firms to ...
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Coping with bad publicity
The ongoing debate about complaints and dissatisfied clients raises the issue of bad publicity and how to deal with it. Given that there are a number of websites that collect complaints and achieve Google rankings, is there anything a firm can do?
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Shoosmiths launches Access Legal consumer brand
National firm Shoosmiths launched a new brand for its consumer legal services today in a bid to put its stamp on the ‘fragmented’ post-Clementi landscape. Access Legal will deliver legal services to the firm’s consumer clients in the areas of conveyancing, employment law, legal disputes, medical negligence, motoring, personal injury ...
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Why burnt-out lawyers are bad for business
Tough times call for tough measures, and there is no doubt that firms have had to bite the bullet last year, letting go of large numbers of staff in the hardest hit areas such as property and corporate. The fall-off in work made redundancy programmes inevitable.
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Lawyers and Iraq – living with the consequences
There has been no bigger topic during the last week than the consequences of the Iraq war on the image of the legal profession. We have witnessed a succession of lawyers giving evidence to the Chilcot inquiry, and we have been presented with different models, as follows:
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Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendations should be implemented speedily
‘Access to Justice entails that those with meritorious claims (whether or not ultimately successful) are able to bring those claims before the courts for judicial resolution or post-issue settlement, as the case may be. It also entails that those with meritorious defences (whether or not ultimately successful) are able to ...
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Most consumers think all will writers are solicitors
Some 67% of consumers wrongly believe that all will writers are solicitors, research has shown. A survey of more than 1,000 people revealed that 82% assumed that training and qualifications are required before someone can become a will writer. More than ...
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BRM Solicitors could repay up to £89,000 to former miners
Chesterfield firm BRM Solicitors could repay up to £89,000 to former miners after being taken to task by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for its handling of government compensation claims. BRM partner Peter James McGowan has appeared before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal after admitting a number of ...
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Data page for January 2010
The data page is financial rates and data compiled for the Law Society Gazette by Moneyfacts Group, the UK's largest supplier of savings and mortgage data. DownloadsDownload the data ...
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Defamation fees cap risks 'restricting access to justice’
Government proposals to limit lawyers’ fees in defamation cases risk ‘restricting access to justice’ according to claimant solicitors, while those representing defendants say they do not go far enough.
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Is media access to the family courts endangering children?
Ministry of Justice research published this week found that since access by the media to the family courts was widened last April, relatively few journalists had taken the opportunity to attend hearings.
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Legal world comes to aid of Haitian survivors
Law firms around the world have offered financial and pro bono support to help survivors of the Haitian earthquake, while the Law Society has launched an appeal to gather donations. Chancery Lane has set up an online appeal which will aggregate money raised by the legal ...
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Lawyers unite to oppose further criminal legal aid cutbacks
The government has united solicitors and barristers in their opposition to proposals to make further cuts to criminal legal aid work. But as both sides seek a solution that protects their members’ interests, there are differences over the best way forward. The Bar Council and Criminal ...
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West Ham United is sold and a flotation by Tiger Airways
Rights move: Magic circle firm Linklaters advised financial group UniCredit on a €4bn (£3.49bn) rights issue. US firm Shearman & Sterling advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UniCredit Bank as global coordinators and bookrunners, and a consortium of other banks as bookrunners ...
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Britain’s fault-based divorce is anachronistic and in need of reform
by Edward Heatona senior solicitor at Mills & Reeve LLP With divorce enquiries reportedly at a 10-year high, pressure is growing from family law professionals – led by family law solicitors’ association Resolution – for reform of the existing ‘fault-based’ system to enable spouses to divorce ...
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Unpalatable answer
If referral fees are such a smart idea, why don’t barristers, accountants or chartered tax advisers permit them? The answer is unpalatable. Collectively, they have integrity and intelligence. Solicitors do not.