All News articles – Page 1809
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News
Challenges for the SRA in 2009
There is no disguising the fact that the past year has been a challenging one for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). There have been a number of issues on our agenda, including embedding best equality and diversity practice in everything we do; preparing for new types of firms spawned by ...
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£75k payout in email claim
A Midlands law firm has paid a £75,000 out-of-court settlement to a Muslim former employee who claimed she had suffered harassment and religious discrimination from a partner and board member. Shakespeare Putsman has apologised to Saleca Faisal-Parkar for two emails describing the paralegal as a ‘tent ...
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Direct access only works for a few
As a practising barrister (and former solicitor), I strongly disagree with Tim Dutton QC (pictured), chairman of the bar, who supports direct access by lay people to counsel. It can work for a tiny minority who can marshal documents and evidence, write and speak coherently, and ...
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Group litigation: the coming of class actions?
The recession, with the government’s bail-out of the banks, could provide fertile territory for lawyers that specialise in group litigation.
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APIL slams Straw for attack on lawyers
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has criticised comments about ‘ambulance-chasing’ lawyers, reportedly made by Justice Secretary Jack Straw. Denise Kitchener, APIL chief executive, accused Straw of taking ‘easy potshots’ at personal injury lawyers in an interview published in the Daily Mail. ...
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Back to the future
I would like to press the Law Society to consider a return to the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (see ‘Insurance rethink’ [2008] Gazette, 27 November, 3). That may have been a little more expensive than competitive tendering in the open market, but at least we all knew where we stood - ...
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In-house counsel set to take work back from firms
In-house counsel are seriously looking at how they can take work back from external law firms and either do it themselves or send it abroad, according to a Gazette poll. In a survey of senior in-house counsel intentions to offshore legal work, respondents said overwhelmingly that, ...
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Banks urged to increase cashflow
Law firms of all sizes are asking banks to provide them with secure pipelines of cash as the economy continues to deteriorate. In the coming weeks, Law Society President Paul Marsh and chief executive Des Hudson are to meet top executives at retail banks as well as the chief executive ...
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Bar chief in plea for unity
The incoming chairman of the Bar Council has made a plea for unity between the two branches of the profession as they face a continued squeeze over legal aid fees. In an interview with the Gazette, Desmond Browne QC said: ‘There must not be internecine ...
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Let's behave as professionals
The suggestions of the two QCs in the Gazette are excellent, subject to one point . The ideal solution would be to reinstate the ban on referral fees, which are regarded by many within and outside the profession as reprehensible - let us behave as professional people and comply with ...
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Bias ruling paves way for more claims by carers
A law firm has become the first employer to face a claim for ‘discrimination by association’ after a tribunal ruled a former employee could bring a claim on the grounds of her child’s disability. Sharon Coleman alleges disability discrimination against her former employer, London law firm ...
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Cash desk
Never mind the frosty meteorological and economic climate - partners at a firm in Barnard Castle, County Durham, have good reason to be full of festive cheer. Clearing out some furniture, the family-run practice found it had what antique expert and TV presenter David Dickinson would call ‘a real bobby ...
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Clamping down on corruption
In the 16th century, Bishop Latimer said of judges: ‘They all love bribes. Bribery is a princely kind of thieving.’ Corruption and its effect is therefore nothing new, and yet the government’s attempt to reform the bribery laws to reflect modern business reality has been long and tortuous. ...
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Complaints and planning options
Your article ‘LCS to cut spend by 10% next year’ offers a number of assumptions about the future Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) and the role within it of Legal Complaints Service (LCS) staff (see [2008] Gazette, 4 December, 3).
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Contingency fee problems 'modest'
It is worth emphasising a few points regarding contingency fees (see [2008] Gazette, 4 December, 2). The evidence is not that contingency fees present no problems, but that those problems are more modest than many assume. They do not give rise to rampant, unmerited litigation, but they do give rise ...
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Council reforms not workable
While it may be perceived to be a little anomalous for Law Society Council members to extend the nature of the debate from the Council chamber to the columns of the Gazette, a rejoinder to the letter of Tim O’Sullivan might be of interest to the profession (see [2008], Gazette, ...
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Council lawyers 'in well-being denial'
Council lawyers have been told to change the way they work and become more entrepreneurial after research found many are not using a far-reaching legal power at their disposal. A four-year investigation carried out by the University of Birmingham, the Cities Research Centre and the University ...
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PII insurers face standards scrutiny
Insurers and brokers offering professional indemnity insurance (PII) could be given a set of service standards following complaints over this year’s renewals. Because some brokers provided ‘bad customer service’ to solicitors, the Law Society’s PII crisis group will discuss ‘appropriate service levels’ with insurers and brokers ...
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Flamenco fever
Forget Strictly Come Dancing, now promenading towards its sequined climax; flamenco fever is sweeping the legal profession. Bethany Burrow, a corporate associate in the London office of US firm Sidley Austin, together with some of her dance class, including Joan Vis of Tyrer Roxburgh & Co and Mac Macmillan of ...
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'Name and shame' threat for top firms
Some of the biggest names on the international law scene are likely to figure in an investigation aimed at naming and shaming firms doing business in Burma, the Gazette can reveal. Pressure group Burma Campaign UK (BCUK) said this week that it is already ‘actively investigating’ ...