All News articles – Page 1745
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News
Diversity data
A letter in the last issue of the Gazette questioned why the SRA was sending out a diversity questionnaire to solicitors asking about ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and other key information (see [2009] Gazette, 6 August, 7).
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Dive talking
A lot of solicitors may feel like jumping out of an aeroplane from time to time, but how many of them actually do it? Well, associate solicitor Ruth Magee (pictured) from Simpson Millar is about to do exactly that – not, we hasten to add, because of despair over the ...
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Legal executives seek litigation and probate rights
A scheme allowing legal executives to set up their own law firms offering litigation and probate services has been put to the government. The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) has applied for the power to grant members civil and family litigation and advocacy rights, as well ...
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Feeling peaky
It seems Yorkshire’s Three Peaks have been overrun with lawyers recently, with around 70 of them taking part in LawNet’s Three Peaks challenge, which has raised £20,000 for the Alzheimer’s Society. The speediest solicitors were from Overburys in Norwich, with their team racing round in just 8hrs 45mins, though it ...
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Small firms suffer as PI premiums soar
Solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance (PII) premiums have shot up by 50% in a handful of cases as early reports suggest that the renewals season is already proving difficult for small law firms. PII brokers and experts said that some small firms seeking early renewals have already ...
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Law firms and Wikipedia, part two: learning the ways
It’s only fair and right, after castigating hordes of big law firms over their woeful Wikipedia entries back in May, to let the world know when law firms learn to get Wikipedia right. So step up, CMS Cameron McKenna.
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Nationwide signs up to probate protocol
The Law Society has this week published a new joint protocol with the Nationwide Building Society to assist in the winding up of estates. The protocol is the first such agreement to be reached with a building society, although similar arrangements are already in place with ...
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News
Nationwide signs up to probate protocol
The Law Society has this week published a new joint protocol with the Nationwide Building Society to assist in the winding up of estates. The protocol is the first such agreement to be reached with a building society, although similar arrangements are already in place with ...
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News
Peddling rumours
Tassells in Faversham, Kent, has informed us that it has an intrepid explorer in its midst. Partner Ann Matthews is about to cycle through Jordan from Amman to Aqaba, in aid of the Kent Multiple Sclerosis Society. Matthews’ cheeky colleagues have informed us that she has previously been ‘a little ...
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Real property
Civil procedure – Breach of undertaking – Conveyancing – Land charges (1) Adrian Paul Clark (2) Heather Jane Clark v Lucas Solicitors LLP: Ch D (Sarah Asplin QC): 31 July 2009 ...
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Virtual support
I read Nicola Laver’s article ‘Virtual firms thrive in the downturn’ (see [2009] Gazette, 23 July, 12) with interest. As a firm we have embraced a hybrid model, which combines physical locations with virtual working. This has helped us grow to be the largest specialist family firm in the country.
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Estate agencies charging 50% more for HIPs
Home information packs (HIPs) purchased from estate agents can cost 50% more than those bought directly from specialist HIP providers such as law firms and conveyancing practices, new research indicates. On average, HIPs from estate agents cost about £110 more than HIPs from specialist providers, according ...
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Land registry sees 75% drop in income
The Land Registry’s annual report has revealed the impact of the faltering housing market on the government body, with its core business down by 75%. The Land Registry’s annual report published today shows that its income from fees for the year 2008/09 fell to £308m, compared ...
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News
Stephen Fry’s portrayal of a solicitor is a good advert for the profession
Channel-hopping the other evening I happened upon a programme on ITV in which Stephen Fry plays an affable country solicitor in the picturesque Norfolk town of Market Shipborough.
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SRA announces new Board appointments
The Law Society has announced the members of the new Solicitors Regulation Authority board who will take up their posts on 1 January 2010. The 13 appointments – seven solicitors and six lay members – have been made by an independent panel, chaired by the former ...
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New code of conduct for third-party funders
Self-regulation of third-party litigation funders has moved a step closer after a draft code of conduct was submitted to Lord Justice Jackson (pictured), the Gazette has learned. However, in putting the code to the judge as part of his review of ...
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Money laundering: a review in Europe at last
The European Commission has finally announced its plans for a full review of the impact of the anti-money laundering legislation on the legal profession.
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News
In marketing once is never enough, as the Co-op model shows
News that the Co-operative has launched a high-profile campaign in its stores to promote its legal services is hardly surprising – given that they have a market of 17 million weekly shoppers. What caught my attention and got me thinking was the fact that the campaign will last nine weeks.
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Diary of a redundancy (part one)
‘You’re signed off for four weeks,’ the doctor said. He nodded down at the sick note, one professional to another. ‘May I use the words "anxiety" and "depression"?’
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Judicial Office reveals £4.45m budget
The Judicial Office budget for 2009/10 will be £4.45m, the office has revealed in its first ever business plan. The Judicial Office was set up in 2006 to provide administrative support to the Lord Chief Justice and senior judiciary. It also provides training to the 42,000 ...