All News articles – Page 1831
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News
States of play: how US firms are doing in London
‘New York firms are much more successful here than London law firms have been in New York.’ This was the controversial view espoused by Kenneth MacRitchie, managing partner of the London office of Shearman & Sterling (and a UK-qualified former Clifford Chance partner) earlier this year.
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Registry fraud: we told you so
I read with interest and some despair your item ‘Registry fraud payouts soar’ (see [2008] Gazette, 4 September, 3). Some years ago, when it was proposed that land/charge certificates were to be abandoned with the move to e-conveyancing, I attended a seminar at the York District Land Registry. All the ...
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Standards sliding on good grammar
I was interested to read the article by Martin Cutts concerning the increasing number of errors, both grammatical and semantic, appearing in letters and other legal documents (see [2008] Gazette, 4 September, 8).
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Local government
Torts – Trespass – Access – Bridleways – Damages Field Common Ltd v Elmbridge Borough Council: Ch D (Mr Justice Warren): 27 August 2008. The court was required to assess ...
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Human rights
Civil Procedure – Disclosure – Inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment – Interrogation – National security R (on the application of Binyan Mohamed) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: DC (Lord Justice, Mr Justice Lloyd Jones): ...
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Revisiting the issue of pay
The Public Guardian has failed to address a catastrophic decline in the income of Court of Protection visitors. All practitioners involved in Court of Protection work will warmly welcome new Public Guardian Martin John’s initiative in reviewing serious problems arising from the new lasting power of ...
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Jobsworths yes, but not racists
Professional regulators must learn the art of light-touch supervision, argues Martin Mears, but it is absurd to excuse them from racism. Apart from the usual axe-grinders and ‘stakeholders’, few are likely to have read Lord Ouseley’s report on why black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors feature ...
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LCS seeks miners pledge
The Legal Complaints Service (LCS) has written to 817 firms asking them to confirm in writing that they have not – and will not – take deductions from miners’ compensation payouts for unions, claims-handlers or themselves, the Gazette has learned. The letter, signed by LCS chief ...
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Peter Williamson on Lord Ouseley's report
Lord Ouseley's report on BME solicitors has two overriding messages for the regulator. You may have seen media coverage of Lord Ouseley’s recent review of the disproportionately high presence of black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors in the compliance procedures of the SRA. Some called the ...
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Mediation nod for PI
Mediation is just as suitable for settling personal injury (PI) cases as it is for other disputes, the former vice-president of the Court of Appeal’s civil division has said. Speaking at a conference for personal injury lawyers this week, Sir Henry Brooke, who chairs the Civil ...
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Victims wary of orders
A change in the law has put women ‘at risk’ as domestic violence victims do not want partners who breach non-molestation orders to be jailed, practitioners have warned. Family lawyers claim the number of applications for non-molestation orders has ‘fallen significantly’ since the law was changed ...
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Sentencing
Antisocial behaviour – Kidnapping – Mitigation – Sentence length R v Peter Graham Oswald: CA (Crim Div) (Lord Justice Gage, Mr Justice Treacy, Mr Justice Bean): 22 August 2008. The ...
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Sky Walkers
Dedication, as we all know, is what you need if you want to be a record-breaker. And so a team of lawyers from broadcaster Sky determined they would set the world record for the – wait for it – longest three-legged walk in 24 hours. Like you do. ...
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Sports
London firm Couchman Harrington Associates advised AIM-listed sports services group Essentially on its £325,000 acquisition of Arundel Promotions, set up by ex-England cricketer Alec Stewart and football manager Alan Smith. Arundel was advised by London firm Gregory Rowcliffe Milners. ...
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Child welfare fears add to justice burden
Applications for children to be separately represented in private law family cases have soared by almost 25% in two years, as courts battle to ensure the children’s voices are heard in complex disputes, the Gazette has learned. The number of rule 9.5 applications to appoint a ...
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SRA advocacy plans slammed
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) proposals to introduce a scheme of voluntary accreditation for solicitor higher court advocates could lead to ‘incompetent solicitors’ appearing in court, the College of Law’s Legal Services Policy Institute has claimed. The institute called instead for mandatory assessment and compulsory accreditation in ...
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Arbitration
Agreements – France – International Chamber of Commerce – Non-parties – Pakistan – Seat of arbitration Dallah Real Estate and Tourism Holding Co v Ministry of Religious Affairs, Government of Pakistan: QBD (Comm) (Mr Justice Aikens): 1 August 2008 ...
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Time to shop around?
The ‘cheapest’ products vary hugely between price comparison sites. News that Moneysupermarket.com plans to add legal business to its online offering is a further landmark on the road to widespread commoditisation of the sector. ‘This is what 21st century, internet-driven consumerism looks ...
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Battle of the sexes
Staff at Merseyside personal injury specialists Halsalls revealed comic alter egos for a local It’s a Knockout competition. The ‘boys’ went as Dennis the Menace the ‘girls’ as his Beano co-star Minnie the Minx. And rather well they did, too – no doubt inspired by the goal of raising £3,000 ...