OBITER – Page 78
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NewsRedgrave robbed
The paparazzi were poised, the red carpet had been rolled out and autograph hunters were waiting in anticipation. Actor and campaigner Vanessa Redgrave was billed as star of the show at the annual bar conference held in London on 4 November. OK, so the scene might not have been quite ...
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NewsPorridge - Marmalade's off
A mystery is solved. A year ago we reported that the makers of the next Paddington Bear film were seeking a copy of the Gazette as ‘set dressing’. At the time, we speculated that our ursine friend might find himself needing legal advice on matters of immigration and asylum. We ...
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NewsCard work
Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas? Anthony Wooding, senior and managing partner of Ipswich and Colchester firm Kerseys, has provided the perfect excuse to start feeling festive. Wooding has designed a Christmas card to help raise funds for Ipswich & Suffolk Council for Racial Equality, which is ...
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NewsMemory lane
The Law Society Gazette, 15 November 2007 SRA issues warning on business models The Solicitors Regulation Authority last week urged solicitors to be ‘particularly cautious’ if approached about taking advantage of new business structures to be allowed under the Legal Services Act. The regulator said there could be conflict issues ...
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NewsLate show
Plenty of people will have something to say about the government’s latest wheeze for piloting extended court hours. And HMCTS should be applauded for being so willing to meet those who will be working the later sittings. Officials have set up meetings in Newcastle, Manchester and London over the coming ...
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NewsFacing the (extremely) critical masses
Obiter was encouraged to learn that the ‘below-the-line’, ever feisty commentators on the Gazette’s website are not wasting their cyber-breath. In fact, their sometimes witty, often acerbic, musings on legal developments are being picked up far beyond the environs of 113 Chancery Lane. Bigwigs from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the ...
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NewsGoing underground
Most of your colleagues will have a side project or hobby to help them stay sane when they leave the office. Few will go home and make their own coffin. But Sheffield solicitor John Jones is one such person. And he has applied his considerable skills to advising others how ...
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NewsMinister of courts (tennis or law?)
Did you know there was a minister for sport and civil society? Neither did the president of the family division. Listing the alarming number of Whitehall departments responsible for children and families at a Howard League for Penal Reform event last week, Sir James Munby said a recent announcement of ...
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NewsReceiving end of a real wigging
It is always dangerous for old fogies to dive in on today’s quarrels, so I will merely dip a toe. The subject is rude judges who undermine young advocates’ confidence to the extent they are reduced to tears and carry the memory with them for days or weeks. First, just ...
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NewsOpen-and-shut case
Delays in the courts system are nothing new. Indeed, it would probably be more newsworthy if a case actually ran to schedule. So there is a certain symmetry in the discovery that those administering the courts also have a poor track record when it comes to timekeeping. Sniffing out a ...
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NewsBalham, gateway to the sounds
Our series on rocking lawyers has been remiss in not yet mentioning the biggest lineup of them all – the global legal battle of the bands Law Rocks! To date, the initiative has raised nearly £2m for charities around the world. Two big events are coming up this month. On ...
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NewsMemory lane
The Law Society Gazette, 1 November 2007 Bill given the green light The Legal Services Bill received Royal Assent this week after the government offered concessions on outstanding issues. The Ministry of Justice agreed to curtail the activities of trade unions that would be exempt from authorisation as alternative business ...
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NewsWay to work
Obiter is convinced that the natural symbiosis 'twixt art and the law remains untapped, and to that end spends time in gallery spaces drinking champagne with lawyers. Last week was a case in point – Bristol firm Burges Salmon was in residence at the National Gallery; London’s Wedlake Bell, sponsor ...
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NewsWill Billy send clerks off their trolley?
News that Google’s DeepMind artificial intelligence has beaten the world’s best human player of Go will make even the hardest sceptic wonder what task is now safe from the march of the machines. Obiter would once have bet on the barristers’ clerk. While AI is capable of taking over many ...
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NewsShot the sheriff, got badge
The first response to Obiter’s call for rocking lawyers comes from Stratocaster master Philip Astles, front man of The Fabulous Duck Brothers: A Tribute To Eric Clapton. ‘I get to be Eric in the band and we have a great time most weekends when we find ourselves gigging here and ...
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NewsCooking lunch at her convenience
Whatever misdemeanours are revealed in the next report of the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, our judiciary is non-league compared with premier league-standard Las Vegas family court judge Elizabeth Halverson. She qualified in 1992 and in 1995 became a clerk to the 8th Judicial District before setting up her own practice. ...
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NewsOf all the gin joints in all of Huddersfield
Obiter is well acquainted with old court buildings turned into bars and restaurants (Manchester County Court and Colchester Magistrates’ Court prime examples) but never before a humble solicitor’s office. Source: Trinity Mirror That is about to change after Kirklees Council gave final approval to turn a ...
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NewsBrags to riches
If nothing else, the Legal 500 is an excellent test of a law firm’s ability to humblebrag. The annual list was released last week and prompted a flurry of tweets, LinkedIn updates and press releases from excited firms and their marketing managers. But how to show off this achievement without ...
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NewsMind your ****ing language
Goodness gracious. The legal world, it would appear, is a flipping disgrace when it comes to bad language in the office. According to a survey of 2,000 Brits, 42% of respondents in legal jobs swear regularly at work. The good news is this is well down the league table; a ...
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NewsMemory lane
The Law Society Gazette, 25 October 2007 Bill reaches denouement The Legal Services Bill headed towards its end-game this week in the wake of the House of Lords defeating the government on three key issues. Peers supported amendments laid by Conservative shadow justice minister Lord Kingsland that limited the exemption ...