All News articles – Page 1723

  • News

    Slash costs by not going anywhere (you will need video instead, though)

    2009-11-11T00:00:00Z

    I spent a fascinating afternoon at the Legal Video Network Summit in London recently...

  • News

    Legal Services Board launches consumer panel

    2009-11-11T00:00:00Z

    The Legal Services Board has unveiled its eight-strong consumer panel to represent the interests of individual and business consumers in England and Wales. The LSB said that the independent panel will help it develop a ‘sharper focus’ on consumers’ interests across the legal services sector, and enhance access to justice.

  • News

    Call for change to libel laws

    2009-11-10T00:00:00Z

    English libel law imposes unnecessary and disproportionate restrictions on free speech, sending a ‘chilling’ effect through the publishing and journalism sectors in the UK, according to an inquiry into libel law by two free speech charities. As a result of their findings, published today, Index on ...

  • News

    CPS rolls out national telephone charging service

    2009-11-10T00:00:00Z

    The Crown Prosecution Service and Association of Chief Police Officers today announced the nationwide roll-out of a telephone charging advice service for police. From January, the existing CPS Direct service, which provides advice to police when charging suspects out of hours, will be expanded across ...

  • News

    Diary of a redundancy – an epilogue

    2009-11-10T00:00:00Z

    One month into your new job at the legal advice centre and you’re still behaving too much like a lawyer. Or so, knuckles sharply rapped, you’ve been told.

  • News

    The European Courts – and a certain treaty

    2009-11-09T00:00:00Z

    Oh, and the Lisbon Treaty… I want to write about the European Courts, but I can’t let a week like the past one go by without comment. We rarely have so much excitement in Brussels. Tony Blair apparently out of the running for the role of new EU President!

  • News

    LSB consumer panel to examine referral fees

    2009-11-09T00:00:00Z

    The Legal Services Board’s new consumer panel will examine referral fees as the very first item on its agenda when it meets for the first time later this month, the Gazette has learned. The news comes after the Law Society’s council last week voted overwhelmingly in ...

  • News

    Rise in number of intellectual property disputes

    2009-11-09T00:00:00Z

    Intellectual property (IP) disputes in the High Court jumped by a third last year, according to recently released judicial statistics. At 562, the number of IP disputes in 2008 represents a significant increase over the 422 in 2007, and around two and a half times the ...

  • News

    Eversheds reports fall in turnover

    2009-11-09T00:00:00Z

    National firm Eversheds today reported a 6% fall in half-year turnover but said it is ‘cautiously optimistic’ that its performance will improve. Revenues for the six months to October 31 stood at £178m, down from £188m for the same period in 2007/08. ...

  • News

    Fee income falls at Simmons

    2009-11-09T00:00:00Z

    Fee income at City firm Simmons & Simmons fell by 16% in the first half of the financial year, the firm reported today. The drop, to £120.3m in the six months to 31 October, from £143.5m over the same period in 2008/09, was blamed on the ...

  • News

    Revenues down at Allen & Overy

    2009-11-06T00:00:00Z

    Half-year revenues at magic circle firm Allen & Overy fell by 7% as the City giant became the first to announce its financial performance results over the past six months. Revenues fell from £548m to £511m during the six months to 31 October. More than half ...

  • News

    Prosecutors should explain sentences to victims, says attorney general

    2009-11-06T00:00:00Z

    The attorney general has said prosecutors should explain sentences to victims and has issued revised guidelines on plea and sentencing. Speaking to a conference of Crown Prosecution Service Crown advocates – qualified CPS lawyers in the Crown court - as their superintending minister, Lady Scotland (pictured) ...

  • News

    City firm Denton Wilde Sapte increases turnover

    2009-11-06T00:00:00Z

    City firm Denton Wilde Sapte grew turnover 3.5% over the half-year, and said that it has met its revenue forecast. Revenue for the first half of the 2009/10 financial year was £87.7m, compared with £84.7m over the first half of the 2008/09 year. ...

  • News

    Make more time for your life: unsubscribe from spam

    2009-11-06T00:00:00Z

    At a very social day of learning about social media for law firms this week – we mostly sat around and talked about the issues, rather than listen to endless PowerPoint-led talks – I got a sage piece of advice: unsubscribe from any email newsletter you no longer read.

  • News

    LSC launches £2.1m CLAC tender

    2009-11-05T00:00:00Z

    The Legal Services Commission has launched a tender for the new £2.1m Community Legal Advice Centre (CLAC) in Barking & Dagenham. The new centre, which will provide a one-stop shop for social welfare problems, will be jointly funded by the LSC and Barking and Dagenham Council. ...

  • News

    Lawyers provide £400m of pro bono work a year

    2009-11-05T00:00:00Z

    The value of pro bono work done annually by lawyers has soared to more than £400m according to estimates published by the Law Society in advance of next week’s national pro bono week. The estimated value of the pro bono work performed by private practice solicitors ...

  • News

    Regional administrative courts attract only 8% of cases

    2009-11-05T00:00:00Z

    The new regional administrative courts have attracted only 8% of new cases since they opened six months ago, figures seen by the Gazette have revealed. In April 2009, the administrative courts began to sit in four regional venues – Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Manchester – to ...

  • News

    European Commission accuses law firms on lobbying disclosure

    2009-11-05T00:00:00Z

    The European Commission has accused law firms of ‘hiding behind the rules’ to avoid revealing the names of clients for whom they conduct lobbying activities. The commission has reopened the debate on disclosure of firms’ lobbying clients despite the UK government’s recent decision not to force ...

  • News

    Court in the act

    2009-11-05T00:00:00Z

    Has anybody heard of William Garrow? The chances are you will have soon, as a new BBC drama based on this unsung hero of the criminal justice system began on Sunday. Garrow was a pioneering barrister who stood up for the rights of the defendant ...

  • News

    Some advocates are more equal than others

    2009-11-05T00:00:00Z

    Re: Animal Farm (In the Court of Appeal)All animals are equal except that in the Court of Appeal some are more equal than others.