All News articles – Page 1818
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News
Lawyers warned of individual fines
Solicitors responsible for their firms’ anti-money laundering systems will now risk being personally fined if they do not have adequate procedures in place, experts have warned. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) last week levied its first fine on a business money laundering reporting officer (MLRO). If ...
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Human rights
Immigration – Human rights – Asylum seekers – Children – Removal EM (Lebanon) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: HL (Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Baroness Hale of Richmond, Lord Carswell, Lord Brown ...
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Independence and the vote
Your editorial (30 October 2008) on the result of the recent postal ballot reads like an extension of the Law Society’s publicity machine. It is disappointing that you do not seem to have applied independent thought to the issue. Even worse, you have ignored the fact that a two-thirds majority ...
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Internet property plea
The Law Society should be the ‘pathfinder’ in developing systems to computerise the process of buying and selling properties, the chairman of the Society’s conveyancing and land law committee said last week. Richard Barnett, who is also senior partner at volume firm Barnetts, told the ...
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Newspapers plan legal referral services
The Daily Telegraph and another national newspaper are to launch their own legal referrals services. The newspapers have tied or are about to tie deals with legal referrals company Contact Law to offer the company's service under their branding. ...
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New years resolution
From April 2009, a new Acas code of practice on discipline and grievances – and a supplementary, non-statutory Acas guide – will replace the 2004 statutory dispute resolution procedures.
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Playing by the rules
At a time of growing financial hardship, solicitors need access to as many legitimate channels of income as possible. A fortnight ago this column observed that few subjects in the Gazette’s ambit generate such impassioned opinions as regulation. One that certainly does is referral fees. ...
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Whitehall retreat as VHCC fees up by 5%
The government has capitulated to fierce lobbying and increased fees in very high-cost criminal cases (VHCC) by 5% as an interim measure to avoid a potential crisis in the Crown Courts. Solicitors and barristers will see the same percentage increase, with a senior solicitor or QC ...
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Consultancy targets law firm acquisitions
A consultancy with an initial mandate to acquire 25 law firms on behalf of larger practices was formally launched this week. The new business is also offering other services to support smaller firms – including putting them together to bid for large work contracts. The ...
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Members reject Law Society affiliate plan
Members have rejected changes to the Law Society model that included creating an affiliate category for non-solicitors. In all, 17,568 eligible votes were cast, 12.7% of the voting papers sent out. Some 59.5% of solicitors voted against the plans, with 40.5% in favour. ...
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Arresting issue
I was interested to read the letter you received from District Judge Peter Glover concerning the abolition of powers of arrest in relation to non-molestation orders (see [2008] Gazette, 25 September, 7). I fully agree with the observations made by him that an issue of ...
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Law Society's excellence awards
Saimo Chahal, head of the civil liberties and social welfare team at London firm Bindmans, was last week named solicitor of the year at the Law Society’s second annual Excellence Awards. Chahal (pictured) was cited for her work on behalf of vulnerable and disadvantaged clients in ...
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An end and a beginning
Richard Susskind envisages a future in which bespoke legal services will be the exception. For many lawyers, says Richard Susskind, it looks as if the party may soon be over. Clients are demanding more for less. ‘The legal market looks set to be a buyer’s ...
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On a big bender
Driving at 140 miles per hour in a petrol-guzzling dinosaur of a car is personal injury solicitor Andrew Harrison’s idea of fun. It’s not without its risks, however – he once hurt his thumb spinning off at a bend, poor love. Harrison, an assistant ...
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Home information packs: happy birthday?
‘If ever a government needs a salutary lesson in what happens when you ignore what the stakeholders say, I introduce to you the home information pack,’ reflects Richard Barnett, chairman of the Law Society’s conveyancing and land law committee. There was never going to be much ...
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Discharge call
I am writing with regard to the article ‘Conveyancing warning’ (see [2008] Gazette, 16 October, 2). Perhaps the Law Society, particularly in view of the current financial climate, should consider approaching the main financial institutions to change what has become common conveyancing practice for undertakings.
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Market regulation overhaul call
Stricter regulation, broader regulatory powers and effective global cooperation are needed to ensure financial regulators can manage markets better in the future, markets watchdog the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned lawyers in London last week. Companies and individuals responsible for the recent fall-out should ...
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The case for sense and sensitivity
An increasing diverse legal profession demands a regulatory approach that reflects that diversity. There ought not to be controversy over the Law Society’s decision to set up an independent profession-wide review of whether the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) ‘one size fits all’ approach is appropriate to ...
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Cash hitch for KBF suitors
The search by Key Business Finance (KBF) for a new backer could be hampered because potential buyers will struggle to find cash in the current climate, accountants have warned. However, solicitors who have taken out KBF loans are unlikely to be forced to repay them if ...