All News articles – Page 1843
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News
New framework for plea negotiation in fraud cases
The management of long and complex fraud cases has, for some years, been a concern in our legal system. The Lord Chief Justice’s protocol already requires the prosecution and defence to resolve issues and agree evidence where possible prior to the trial. Formal Criminal Procedure Rules encourage this and build ...
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Law firm 'yet to feel credit crunch'
Half of law firms claim the credit crunch has not yet had an adverse impact on their businesses, according to a straw poll taken at Travelers’ On Risk conference. Just 12% of delegates – made up of more than 100 partners and risk managers from a ...
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Cry freedom
High Court win against the House of Commons Commission was a landmark victory for freedom of information campaigners Freedom of information (FoI) brings clarity to the rule of law, obliging governments to reveal how they operate and make decisions. Operations and decision-making become less arbitrary and ...
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Steep learning curve
It was with great interest that I read the article by Andrew Hopper QC and Gregory Treverton-Jones QC, authors of The Solicitor’s Handbook (see [2008] Gazette, 29 May, 14). I am a member of the Solicitors Assistance Scheme. I represent solicitors who are subject to an ...
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Deals of the week
Flying deal: City firm Berwin Leighton Paisner advised Ascent, a consortium comprising defence company Lockheed Martin and defence contractor VT Group, on a contract to provide UK military flight and weapons system training to RAF, Royal Navy and Army Air Corps pilots for ...
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Preaching diversity
As I read the letter headed ‘Cheap Labour’ (see [2008] Gazette, 29 May, 11), it struck me that it could have been written by any number of my women solicitor colleagues, many of whom suffer the double discrimination of being female and black or Asian.
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The drawbacks of drawdown
David Anderson and Graeme Perry look into personal pensions and tax charges on death during drawdown Many people with personal pension schemes who are about to retire will often be advised by their independent ...
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Employment
Race discrimination – burden of proof – reasons – unfair dismissal – reasons for dismissals Khan & anor v Home Office: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice May, ...
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First and last word
The UK’s new supreme court could answer the vexed question of how judges might legitimately help the government confront terrorism Finding ways of confronting terrorism should be a job for everybody but the judges, suggests Bill Jackson of Nottingham in a letter published in the ...
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News
Which? way forward
I refer to the article ‘Which? to ramp up legal services arm’ (see [2008] Gazette, 29 May, 1), which reported comments made at a debate about the Legal Services Act 2007, and the response published on this letters page (‘Which? way next?’, 5 June, 12).
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Freedom of information
Expenses – members of parliament – parliamentary privilege – additional costs allowance Corporate Officer of the House of Commons v (1) Information Commissioner (2) Heather Brooke (3) ...
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Own goal
Commiserating with legal aid minister Lord Hunt of Kings Heath over the relegation of his football team, Birmingham City, to the Championship, Carol Storer, director of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG), highlighted the struggle faced by hard-pressed Championship clubs when competing for the best talent with their wealthier Premier ...
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Magistrates guidelines
The Sentencing Guidelines Council has announced that the new edition of the Magistrates Court Guidelines will take effect on 4 August 2008. In the intervening period there is a substantial training exercise to be undertaken to explain to magistrates and their legal advisers the changes which ...
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History man
In a pioneering career which has spanned private practice and the high court bench, Lord Justice Lawrence Collins has proved that solicitors can take on any role in the judicial system. Lord Justice Lawrence Collins still cannot quite believe that, as a former solicitor, he ...
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Hours of need
Both Nicola Prior and Andrew Holroyd missed an important point when discussing inequality in the workplace in last week’s Gazette (see [2008] Gazette, 5 June, 11, 15). There is a lot of talk about ‘solicitors of similar PQE’, but firms are surely entitled to reward ...
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Indemnity rates on the up in 'increasingly volatile' market
Solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance (PII) rates will increase this year because insurance companies are not making ‘adequate’ returns, leading insurer Travelers has warned. Conveyancing firms – especially those with a bias towards residential property – will suffer the biggest hike, Jon Davies, assistant general manager ...
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Law reform programme unveiled
The Lord Chancellor will be forced to update Parliament annually on plans to implement Law Commission recommendations, the commission’s chair said this week. Sir Terence Etherton told journalists the proposal was a sign of a closer working relationship between the commission and government. ...
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News
We want the logo
I was very interested to read the letter ‘No logo’ from Dermot Burke in last week’s Gazette (see [2008] Gazette, 5 June, 11). I agree that it is time for there to be a solicitors logo.
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News
Property search 'lottery'
The London Borough of Hillingdon has been dubbed the worst performing local authority for delivering property search services, according to a joint survey by search company One Search Direct and home information pack (HIP) provider Simply HIP. The research said the council took an average of ...