All News articles – Page 1744
-
News
The Smedley report – perception and reality
As you may have noticed, there was a summit of global leaders in London this week. Cue chants of ‘shame on you!’ (and worse) outside the Bank of England.
-
News
Sugar leaves sour taste
The curse of Obiter has struck. Last week, we praised qualified lawyer Anita Shah (pictured) as she set out to become Sir Alan Sugar’s next apprentice in the BBC reality TV show. Unfortunately, the ‘self-proclaimed perfectionist’ was not perfect enough for Sugar and was fired in the first episode. She ...
-
News
Paperless lawyering – part two
My father worked for IBM for more than three decades. We were fortunate to see him make use of both electronic calculators and solar panels in the 1970s.
-
News
Personal inquiry
Civil procedure – Damages – Periodical payments orders Cobham Hire Services Ltd v Benjamin Eeles (by his mother & litigation friend Julie Eeles): CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Dyson, Thomas, Lady Justice Smith): 13 March 2009 ...
-
News
Human rights
Criminal law – Discrimination – Peaceful enjoyment of possessions – Pubs and bars - Smoking R (on the application of Howitt) v Preston Magistrates’ Court: DC (Lord Justice Richards, Mr Justice Tugendhat): 19 March 2009 ...
-
News
Helping maintain the SRA’s freedom and independence
It has been a big week for the development of regulatory policy. Last Wednesday the Legal Services Board published a consultation document, asking how best to define and maintain adequate separation of the representative and regulatory arms of approved regulators.
-
News
Infrastructure investment provides opportunities for UK law firms
The UK’s legal sector remains pivotal to the broader financial services sector. Not only is English the language of international business, but English law provides the foundation for many legal systems around the world. In these uncertain times, people are questioning the extent to which ...
-
News
LPA registration fee slashed
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) can now be registered for just £120, the Ministry of Justice announced today. LPAs give people the power to plan ahead to when they are unable to make decisions for themselves, typically by appointing a relative or friend to take responsibility ...
-
News
What impact is the downturn having on Eastern Europe?
As Londoners struggled under a deluge of Siberian snow in February, the City played host to the Russian finance minister, Alexei Kudrin. Michael Pugh, a capital markets partner at Lovells who has been working in the Commonwealth of Independent States region since 1992, flew back from Moscow to the Guildhall ...
-
News
A roundup of several recent trademark decisions
Decisions on trademarks are handed down by a number of tribunals and come too thick and fast for the non-specialist practitioner to be alive to every one. What follows is a crash course in some of the most significant decisions of the past few months.
-
News
Solicitor jailed for insider dealing
A solicitor was jailed this week at the climax of the Financial Services Authority’s first criminal prosecution for insider dealing. Christopher McQuoid, 40, former general counsel at TTP Communications, and his father-in-law, James Melbourne, 74, were both found guilty of one count of insider dealing. At ...
-
News
Criminal procedure
Fraud – Disclosure orders – Jurisdiction – Realisable property King v Director of the Serious Fraud Office: HL (Lords Phillips of Worth Matravers, Scott of Foscote, Walker of Gestingthorpe, Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, Mance): 18 March 2009 ...
-
News
Family courts in ‘unseemly gallop’ to open to press
The opening of family courts to the press is ‘moving at an unseemly gallop’, a leading high court judge in the family division said last week. Mr Justice Hedley told an emergency meeting at the Law Society that the new policy – announced by justice secretary Jack Straw late last ...
-
News
Conveyancing solicitors warned on liability for incomplete searches in HIPs
Conveyancing solicitors could be liable for buyers’ losses if they accept defective searches, Law Society President Paul Marsh has warned, as new regulations on the contents of home information packs come into force. From next Monday, transitional measures that allowed packs to include incomplete personal local ...
-
News
Magic circle firms defer partner promotions
Magic circle firms Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance will defer announcing their partnership promotions for 2009 pending completion of their restructuring programmes. The two firms are the only magic circle firms still to announce partner promotions this year. Yesterday (6 April), Linklaters announced it will promote 18 to its ...
-
News
SRA chief warns of cost of Smedley proposals for City
The Solicitors Regulation Authority would need ‘considerable’ resources to implement the recommendations of Nick Smedley’s report on corporate firm regulation, its chief executive said last week. Antony Townsend told an SRA board meeting that ‘rising demands’ are being placed on his organisation. ‘We have the Smedley ...
-
News
Disappointing response to SRA diversity census
An attempt by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to gain an accurate picture of the profession’s ethnic breakdown is in peril because nine out of 10 solicitors have failed to respond to a diversity census. Only 14,000 of the 140,000 individuals emailed a questionnaire in December ...
-
News
Top role for top cat
Employment solicitor Andy Graham of Leeds firm Ison Harrison landed a role in newly released football flick The Damned United. The film charts footballing legend Brian Clough’s ill-fated 44 days as manager of then mighty Leeds United. Leeds fan Graham plays the role of Terry ‘Top Cat’ Cooper, England left ...