All articles by Rachel Rothwell – Page 32
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Civil proof standard for disciplinary matters: just one problem
As we reported last week when the SRA takes on its Legal Services Act powers to conduct disciplinary matters itself – for lesser offences worth a maximum fine of £2,000...
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Allen & Overy launches in Australia
Magic circle firm Allen & Overy announced the launch of an Australian practice today. The firm has appointed 17 new partners, with 14 based in Sydney and three in Perth. It said analysis of the Australian market had shown there was space ...
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MPs attack ‘lax’ Legal Services Commission
The Public Accounts Committee has today lambasted the Legal Services Commission for its handling of legal aid funds. Committee chairman Edward Leigh MP said financial controls at the LSC were ‘lax’, noting that ‘it does not know enough about the costs and profitability of firms to ...
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Why burnt-out lawyers are bad for business
Tough times call for tough measures, and there is no doubt that firms have had to bite the bullet last year, letting go of large numbers of staff in the hardest hit areas such as property and corporate. The fall-off in work made redundancy programmes inevitable.
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Will clients accept new conflicts rules?
The SRA’s latest, fast-tracked consultation on conflicts of interest is expected to receive a warm welcome in the City.Indeed, it is the City of London Law Society that has been pressing for the reform, which will allow law firms to act for ‘sophisticated’ clients in any situation in which there ...
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Family justice review aims to foster positive relationships’
The government was expected to launch a ‘family justice review’ as the Gazette went to press to consider how family courts can take a more ‘positive’ role in proceedings. The review will coincide with the publication of a ‘family green paper’ offering greater support for separating ...
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Why are women trainees paid less than men?
For some time, the profession has been doing a good job of enticing women in (although, as we all know, a lot of them end up packing their bags in their 30s when they find family life incompatible with their firm’s demands).
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HMRC tax break for large law firms
Large law firms struggling with cash flow problems will find it easier to obtain an extension on their tax deadline following a change in the rules adopted by HM Revenue & Customs. The new policy will extend the revenue’s Business Payments Support Service (BPSS) to large ...
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‘Breakthrough’ tax agreement helps large partnerships
Large law firms struggling with cash flow problems will be more able to obtain an extension on their tax deadline under a change in the rules adopted by HM Revenue & Customs. The new policy will extend the revenue’s Business Payments Support Service (BPSS) to large ...
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The BVT pilot decision could spell trouble for the LSC
It is telling that last week’s announcement to scrap the best-value tendering pilots in Manchester and Avon and Somerset came from the Ministry of Justice, not the Legal Services Commission. At a time when the two bodies seem to be increasingly at odds, the MoJ has decided to step in ...
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SRA to overhaul regulation and scrap ‘unjustified’ rules
The Solicitors Code of Conduct is to be rewritten and a swath of detailed conduct rules are likely to scrapped under plans being discussed today by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The SRA intends to fundamentally reform the way it regulates, moving from the current ‘box-ticking’ system ...
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Judiciary must speak out on 'parlous state of family law'
The judiciary must ‘come off the bench’ and speak out about the ‘parlous state of family law in 2009’, lord justice Wall has said. Speaking at the Association of Lawyers for Children conference, the Court of Appeal judge said ‘the time has come when the historical ...
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Family judges must speak out, says Wall
The judiciary must ‘come off the bench’ and speak out about the ‘parlous state of family law in 2009’, Lord Justice Wall has said. Speaking at the Association of Lawyers for Children conference, the Court of Appeal judge said ‘the time has come when the historical ...
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Lawyers attack government plans to extend family reporting
Family lawyers have attacked government plans to extend the media’s right to report family cases, warning that they will clog the courts with preliminary hearings and lead to miscarriages of justice. The media have been allowed to report on the process of family cases since April, ...
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City firms publish environmental performance
A group of 138 legal sector organisations including top City firms will publish a report on their climate change performance in a live webcast next week. The Legal Sector Alliance (LSA) report will show the extent to which members of the group have complied with ...
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New PC charges to benefit in-house lawyers
Changes to the practising certificate (PC) fee charging system will see around £16m transferred onto private practice solicitors, to the benefit of in-house and local government lawyers, under plans due to be unveiled by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Under the new charging regime, 40% of ...
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A bold step forward for the bar – or is it?
It has been a long time coming, but the Bar Standards Board finally made a decision last week to allow barristers to go into partnership, not only with each other, but even with those dreadfully commercial solicitor types. It may have taken five consultations and two years of deliberation, but ...
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Scrapping assigned risks pool ‘dangerous’
Abolishing the assigned risks pool (ARP) would place solicitors at the ‘whims and fancies’ of the insurance market, a leading solicitor has warned, as the profession voiced concerns over the proposals put forward by the Solicitors Regulation Authority last week. Sundeep Bhatia, chairman of the Society ...
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Private equity investors focus on legal sector
Private equity investors are becoming much more interested in doing deals with law firms, a report on the Legal Services Act 2007 launched today has revealed. A study by public relations company Byfield Consultancy, in association with law firm Fox Williams, shows that private investors ...
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Solicitors issue advice warning over child neglect cases
Solicitors representing children in cases of chronic neglect are being obliged to act without the advice of a guardian or social worker, lawyers warned this week. A shortage of guardians at the Children and Family Courts Advisory Service has led to courts directing solicitors to appoint ...