All articles by Paul Rogerson – Page 27
-
News
Judge speaks out on pensions
A solicitor judge unhappy with pension reforms has warned lawyer colleagues to ‘think carefully’ before ‘burning their bridges’ in private practice to join the bench. In a letter to the Gazette published today the judge, whose name is withheld on request, says they ‘no longer feel ...
-
News
Honours even?
‘There’s nothing new under the sun,’ as my grandmother (92 and still going strong) is gnomically wont to opine. News that a committee of MPs has concluded that too many people - particularly civil servants - receive government honours ‘just for doing their jobs’ shows that the dictum retains ...
-
News
Wheeldon should get the Buckles treatment
Just as respectable physicists once believed in the luminiferous ether, the mainstream commentariat has long been bewitched by the notion that public services are better and more efficiently run by organisations energised by the profit motive. A neoliberal article of faith for both main parties in recent years, it was ...
-
News
Law firm bids for TV licence
A Birmingham law firm behind a consortium bidding to run a new TV station in the city plans to broadcast a regular legal programme. DBS Law is part of Bham TV, which plans to launch in October if it wins approval from Ofcom for a ...
-
News
IFA rule under scrutiny
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has signalled that it is likely to scrap the requirement for lawyers to refer clients only to wholly independent financial advisers, as opposed to advisers contracted to sell the products of one or more providers.
-
News
SRA outlines ‘race bias’ action plan
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has reasserted its commitment to transparency in regulatory decision-making following allegations of discrimination against black and minority ethnic (BME) lawyers. Following talks with its External Implementation Group (EIG), which represents minority and BME practitioners, the regulator has drawn up a list ...
-
News
Top-100 annual results show PEP up by 8%
The first batch of top-ranking law firms to publish annual financial results for 2011/12 have reported average growth in profit per equity partner (PEP) of 8% (see table below). However, this figure masks wide variations in trading performance which have also been complicated by merger activity.
-
News
Separate jurisdiction could leave Wales in slow lane, Society says
The Law Society has warned that creating a separate legal jurisdiction in Wales could ‘dilute some of the benefits’ which accrue to the country from its present alignment with England. Such a move would also raise questions relating to whether there needs to be a ...
-
News
Hart waves Welsh flag to boost legal jobs
The Welsh government will today launch a long-term strategy to attract thousands of new legal jobs to the country. Business minister Edwina Hart is targeting international, London-based law firms, which she will urge to consider Wales as the ‘business location of choice’ for expansion and ...
-
News
Law Society vice-president's firm applies to be ABS
A virtual law firm set up by the incoming president of the Law Society has applied to become an alternative business structure, so that its lawyers can share profits without the regulatory burden of becoming a partner or director.
-
News
PEP dips by a fifth at FFW as public sector contracts
Field Fisher Waterhouse has blamed the squeeze on public sector spending and investment in the firm’s German offices for a sharp fall in profits in the year to 30 April. Profit per equity partner dipped £100,000 on 2010/11, from £510,000 to £410,000, on revenues which rose ...
-
News
Record profits for Eversheds as the good times roll again
Eversheds has returned to growth and posted record profits after three years of declining or flat revenues. Profit per equity partner climbed 14% to £632,000 in 2011/12, while income climbed 3% to £366m. Net profit grew 10%. In a statement, the firm said all major ...
-
News
SRA chief wants more trainee positions
Solicitors Regulation Authority board chair Charles Plant (pictured) today calls on the Law Society to launch a campaign encouraging solicitors to employ more trainees, after the regulator abolished the minimum salary requirement. And he insists there is ‘little evidence’ that the 30-year-old mandatory minimum ever met its stated objectives of ...
-
News
‘Clumsy’ regulation could thwart innovation, Chancery Lane warns
‘Clumsy’ intervention by regulators to ensure quality could stymie the development of innovative legal services, the Law Society has warned. Regulatory action should be used as a ‘tool of last resort’ in this regard, so firms are free to develop new ways of serving clients, it says. ...
-
News
'Customer' or 'client'?
I popped in to the doctor’s yesterday but I had to wait because my GP was busy with another customer. Actually, I was a bit late for my appointment. I’d just got off the phone to my child’s teacher. She’s always keen to chat because my family is one of ...
-
News
News focus: progress report on legal profession
The Law Society’s 28th Annual Statistical Report might appear to be a rather desiccated agglomeration of facts, tables and bar charts. It is not an avowedly political document and, for that reason, raises more questions than it answers. As a snapshot of changing trends in the profession, however, the survey ...
-
News
LSB chair brushes aside critics in robust defence of liberalisation
The chair of the Legal Services Board yesterday rebutted allegations that the quango is overreaching itself by seeking to 'micro-manage’ professional regulation. 'People and glasshouses spring to mind,’ David Edmonds (pictured) told a seminar on regulation at the Royal Festival Hall organised by Russell-Cooke and chaired ...
-
News
Law firms remain cautious despite profit growth
Law firms continue to rebuild profitability while keeping a tight rein on overheads, according to a respected annual bellwether of the sector’s financial health. Practices are also relatively bullish about future fees, with most expecting a 3% rise in 2012.
-
News
Big Brother in the Big Society
Civil liberties have few friends in government – only in opposition. Witness the coalition’s decision to hand police and intelligence agencies far-reaching new powers to monitor emails, phone calls and websites. ‘Big Brother WILL be watching you,’ booms today’s Independent.
-
News
Ditch the Porsche and fund an ‘apprentice’
A packet of wine gums at a provincial cinema; a large cappuccino at Starbucks; or maybe 10 minutes of Premier League football. That’s what a trainee will be able to buy for an hour’s work when the Solicitors Regulation Authority does away with the minimum wage.