All News articles – Page 1791
-
News
Straw’s pay warning to legal aid lawyers
Lawyers and law firms dependent on state funding would be ‘wise to reconsider’ their expectations of earnings, the Lord Chancellor has warned. In a stark vision of the future, underlining the government’s determination to press ahead with controversial legal aid reforms, Jack Straw said last ...
-
News
Government amends secret inquest plans
The government is revising plans for non-jury inquests included in the Coroners and Justice Bill, limiting the circumstances in which such inquests can be held. The revisions will allow for more judicial involvement and discretion, offering more balances and checks, the Ministry of Justice said. ...
-
News
Law firms must take a rigorous approach to IT security
Losing data is a business or government’s worst nightmare. From stolen laptops to files that go missing in the post, recent high-profile cases have made us all well aware of the damaging repercussions this can have. For a law firm, information is critical for everything it does – knowledge, advice ...
-
News
Sports law is now an established practice area
The ties between the solicitors’ profession and sport are long and deep, predating the influx of money that has finally made sport a practice area taken seriously by the largest law firms. It was a solicitor, Ebenezer Cobb Morley, who had the idea to form an ...
-
News
Law Society and bankers clash over money laundering rules
Professional bodies representing bankers and accountants have clashed with the Law Society over its views on the severity of the UK’s anti-money laundering regime. Giving evidence to the House of Lords Inquiry into Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism last week, the British Bankers’ Association ...
-
News
Family barristers protest at cuts
Family barristers are to lobby the government to halt proposed cuts in legal aid, which they say will force experienced practitioners out of publicly funded work. At a meeting last weekend, attended by more than 300 family barristers in London, with 250 joining via videolink, members ...
-
News
BSB consults on conduct rules for barristers
The Bar Standards Board has today (13 March) published a consultation paper on proposed new conduct rules for 14,000 barristers in England and Wales. The paper proposed conduct rules that are underpinned by seven core duties. The board believes that this approach creates a ‘more ...
-
News
LPAs to become cheaper following overhaul
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) forms are to be overhauled to make them simpler to complete and cheaper to register, Public Guardian Martin John said today (11 March). The overhaul follows a public consultation on key aspects of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Forms will now ...
-
News
Pro bono/human rights lawyer of the year
Parosha Chandran (pictured above with Antony Townsend, chief executive of the SRA, and Law Society President Paul Marsh) was named pro bono/human rights lawyer of the year at the 2009 Society of Asian Lawyers’ annual ball. Other winners were Kishan Chandarana, young lawyer of the year; Farmida Bi, commercial lawyer ...
-
News
London boroughs pool legal resources
A coalition of local government legal teams aims to unite legal resources across London councils and drive down spending on private practice lawyers, the Gazette has learned. The London Boroughs Legal Alliance (LBLA) will unite the London boroughs of Camden, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and ...
-
News
Britain’s electoral registration system faces overhaul
Great Britain is to become a democracy – but not quite yet. That’s the message that emerged from a ‘historic’ but little-reported late-night announcement by the justice minister last week.
-
News
Law centres off the danger list
Six law centres that had been at risk of closure have been taken off the Legal Services Commission’s critical list, the Law Centres Federation said this week. The six, which include Saltley and Nechells Law Centre in Birmingham, have ‘seen significant improvements in their ...
-
News
Stig changes gear
On first glance at this photograph, Obiter presumed that the tradition of burning solicitors at the stake might be still alive in the London borough of Harrow. However, on closer inspection, under the fireproof gear and helmet is Hugh Peart, the council’s director of legal and governance services, dubbed ‘the ...
-
News
Southern comfort
The City of London’s boundaries have remained inviolate through invasion, civil war, blitz and the 1972 Local Government Act. Now, says the Law Society, it’s time for change. Obiter hears that the Society is considering extending its City of London constituency to take in outlying firms, including some situated – ...
-
News
Compliance must not be ignored when tackling the recession
The severity of the recession poses challenges not only to solicitors’ firms but also the SRA. We expect many firms, in their efforts to remain viable, to adopt a much more aggressive outlook, particularly in relation to marketing and the containment of costs. If not managed carefully and ethically, this ...
-
News
Norman conquest
Following the news that conveyancing and probate solicitor Geoff Gafford plans to take 10 weeks off work to walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats, Elizabeth Norman of north London firm CLC, tells us she’s planning the same journey at a faster pace. Norman is an immigration practitioner who has ...
-
News
Consumer law
Bank charges – EC law – Fairness – Unfair contract terms Abbey National Plc & seven ors v Office of Fair Trading: CA (Civ Div) (Sir Anthony Clarke, Master of the Rolls, Lords Justice Waller (vice-president), Lloyd): 26 February ...
-
News
Spending watchdog raps Crown Court IT failures
Inadequate IT systems in Crown Courts mean staff are having to spend 12 hours a month on administrative work re-keying data, at a cost of £300,000 a year. The CREST system, which has been used to manage cases in the Crown Court for 20 years, has ...
-
News
Law Society disappointed at judicial selection round
Law Society President Paul Marsh is calling on the Judicial Appointments Commission to tackle the imbalance of solicitors being appointed to the bench after the ‘disappointing’ outcome of the latest selection round. Of 76 recorders chosen for the north, north-east and Wales circuits last year, only seven were solicitors. ...