All News articles – Page 1790
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News
PEP talks and hard lessons
Will the City learn from the recession of the early 1990s? These troubled economic times spell danger for big City firms in more ways than one. Clearly there are short-term difficulties in certain sectors – most notably property – and rarely a day goes by now ...
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Family law
Agreements – Ancillary relief – Reliance – Trust funds – Time limits – Notice to show cause S v S (2008): Fam Div (Mrs Justice Eleanor King): 20 August 2008. ...
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Gaining experience
I was articled in 1952 to a local advocate in Hastings. Where he went, I went, and I was lucky enough to hear on a regular basis high-quality advocacy from fine solicitors, some very good barristers and, on occasion at Assizes, high-quality leaders. One listened and learned. ...
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Law firms' private investigators examined
Grania Langdon-Down peers into the business of the private investigators and heir hunters used by law firms Lawyers who use private investigators to ...
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EU evidence exchange warning
The free exchange of forensic evidence across European Union (EU) member states could result in miscarriages of justice unless defence lawyers are properly trained to challenge expert evidence from different jurisdictions, a conference in London heard this week.
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Disability on firms' radar
A national charity has launched an action plan to help law students with disabilities overcome barriers to pursuing a legal career such as going to the ‘wrong sort of university’. Some 21,350 first-year undergraduates declared a disability in 2007, with law students making up 12% ...
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Death row execution 'inhuman'
The execution of the US’s longest-serving death row prisoner, Jack Alderman, has been condemned as cruel and inhumane by those who fought to overturn the sentence. As the Gazette went to press last week, a court granted a last-minute stay of execution for Alderman, who had ...
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Left for dead
Following last week’s letter bemoaning the use of the verb ‘to gift’, I wonder how many of your readers also use the verb ‘to dead’. We routinely ‘dead’ our files, and on a recent management training course a number of non-lawyers were highly amused at this concept, and wondered if ...
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Criminal procedure
Administration of justice offences – Concept of court – Failure to attend – Service by the court – Witness summaries R v Harish Popat: CA (Crim Div) (Lord Justice Hughes, Mrs Justice Dobbs, Judge Pert QC): 28 July 2008. ...
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Criminal law
Benefit from criminal conduct – Confiscation orders – Fraudulent evasion of duty R v Steven Waller: CA (Crim Div) (Lord Justice Gage, Mr Justice Silber, Judge Radford): 18 July 2008.
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IP/IT: English courts and patent injustice
The English courts have a reputation for being hostile to patents. There exists a perception that if the validity of a patent is challenged – for example, on the classic grounds that the patented invention is not novel, or that it is obvious, or that the patent does not sufficiently ...
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NHS negligence cover comes under scrutiny
Pressure is mounting on the government to explain the relationship between the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA), which pays compensation to victims of clinical negligence, and after-the-event (ATE) insurer FirstAssist. In a letter to health secretary Alan Johnson and justice secretary Jack Straw – seen by the ...
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Putting clients first
In her article about mediation, Kate Durcan writes: ‘One might think there is a conflict between being a lawyer, where the object is to generate fee income, and conducting mediation, where the goal is to seek early resolution and save costs. Not so, say lawyer-mediators.’ (see [2008] Gazette, 18 September, ...
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Market chaos sparks client money fears
The security of billions of pounds of client money held in UK banks was called into question this week following the apparent near-collapse of HBOS, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender. Law firms across the UK reported being inundated with calls from clients worried that cash pooled in ...
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Forty per cent of conveyancing firms lay off staff
Four out of ten conveyancing firms have cut staff numbers because of the fall in home sales, according to a survey by search provider Searchflow published this week. The poll, seen exclusively by the Gazette, revealed that 40% of firms have cut their headcount in response ...
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New career goal
Guarding a goalmouth in hockey requires lightning reactions, nerves of titanium, and a general indifference to physical pain. As these are also perfect qualities for a career in law, we can expect great things from 24-year-old Jessica Bowman, who has just completed her training contract at Preston firm MWR Solicitors.
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Met safety deposit box raid slammed
A solicitor representing owners of safety deposit boxes raided by police has spoken out against what he says is excessive use of powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). Lawrence Kelly, of London solicitors Lawrence Stephens, claimed the authorities are using warrants to trawl ...
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Banking and finance
Hospitality and leisure – Credit – Debts – Dishonour of cheques – Gambling Aspinall’s Club Ltd v Fouad Al-Zayat: QBD (Comm) (Mr Justice Teare): 3 September 2008. The claimant ...
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Will writers attack comparison site
Will writers have reacted with alarm to plans by a price-comparison website to enter the legal services market. The Society of Will Writers this week warned that an online match-making service offered by the Paaleads.com venture could be ‘devastating to the professionalism’ of the industry. In ...