All News articles – Page 1851
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Over the odds
A Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) case reported last week (see [2008] Gazette, 12 June, 29) sent a shiver down my spine. Forgive me, but no complaint was made and yet the SDT feels that the greater good is served by fining the partners of the firm in question £10,500 plus ...
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The world policeman
The long arm of United States law is longer than one might think, says Duncan Aldred 'The Americans are coming!' ...
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Setting the tone
She will be the next big thing in opera,' according to Kerry Underwood, senior partner at Hertfordshire firm Underwoods, which sponsors 26-year-old Dorset-born soprano Lucy Mervik.
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Shore thing
Who belongs to the offshore magic circle - assuming of course that such an elite exists? Grania Langdon-Down investigates Is there a magic circle of offshore law firms? Wikipedia certainly seems to have one, and helpfully lists the firms its anonymous contributors think inhabit it.
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Up to speed?
Back to the subject of fast women in the legal profession. Obiter readers will recall that marathon-running Deborah Gibbins, who runs her own firm in Basildon, wanted to know if she was the fastest lady in the law given her 3hrs 18 mins 8 secs performance in the Blackpool ...
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Turnover test
Sue Nelson says that a happy workforce can't be calibrated and it won't show up on a print-out (see [2008] Gazette, 15 May, 11).
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Abusing the system
Ex parte applications should only be used in exceptional situations, say Suzanne Stephenson and Stephen Gerlis
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Advance warning
I wholeheartedly agree with the comments made by Sue Nelson in response to my article on tips for remaining competitive (see [2008] Gazette, 15 May, 11), regarding a happy, well-motivated workforce which takes pride in a job well done and a challenge met.
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Web advice to help lawyers with change
The Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) is launching a new online toolkit to help members cope with changes in the legal sector, including the introduction of alternative business structures (ABSs). The toolkit, sponsored by Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBoS), will give support and guidance on setting up and running ...
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'Solicitors must plan ahead or risk losing everything'
Sole practitioners risk intervention and 'losing everything they have worked for' if they neglect planning for the day they stop practising - delegates at last weekend's annual conference of the Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) in Brighton were warned. Guildford-based probate solicitor Jennifer Margrave said the Code of Conduct ...
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Applicants
The number of applicants for Queen's Counsel (QC) plummeted by more than a third this year to 247, down from 333 in the 2006 competition and 443 in 2005, according to figures released last week by the independent selection panel. ...
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Hounding out bad law
Dangerous dogs legislation must be improved to be fit for purpose, argues Chris Laurence
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Get down to business
Sue Nelson's response to the article by Viv Williams was disappointing. We face enormous challenges in the next few years when the Clementi reforms come in. Add the housing market downturn, the credit crunch and continuing legal aid pay cuts, and I believe we have reached a tipping ...
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Turn cold calls into cash, solicitors told
Solicitors should make 'converting enquiries into business' their top priority, a leading marketing consultant advised this week. Speaking at the Law Society ?property section's spring conference, Ian Cooper, managing director of Cooper Communications, said there was no point spending money on marketing if firms failed to turn calls ...
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City firm report increased mid-market competition as pool of M&A deals shrinks
HARD MARKETING: magic circle chasing smaller transactions as credit crunch bites Magic circle firms have begun pitching for middle-market business as the pool of blockbusting merger and acquisition deals shrinks, according to competitors outside the circle. At the same ...
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Complaints delay
As a practising barrister not infrequently asked to advise solicitors regarding complaints to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), I endorse much of what Gregory Treverton-Jones QC had to say as reported in the news item 'Barrister puts SRA in the dock' (see [2008] Gazette, 8 May, 3).
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Legal Complaints Service hits improvement targets
GOAL: 67% of files closed within three months of receipt The Legal Complaints Service (LCS) achieved year-on-year improvements in all of ...
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Crime doesn't pay
The litigator graduated fee scheme was introduced solely to cut costs and defence firms are struggling to cope, alleges John Storer ...
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Cry for help
Can I draw together three recent threads of correspondence in these pages? 1. The anonymous solicitor who wrote describing how they had specialised in a now contracted sector of work and, while too young and too poor to retire, was apparently considered too old to be re-trained elsewhere ...