Last 3 months headlines – Page 1115

  • News

    Cyber threat warning to UK’s top 100

    08 April 2013

    The security services have advised the UK’s largest law firms to take urgent action against cyber attacks, the Gazette can reveal. Partners from 40 top firms attended a private briefing last month with officials from the government’s Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure and ...

  • News

    Wales broaches support plan

    08 April 2013

    The Welsh government is in talks with the Law Society about providing taxpayers’ money to support new and existing law firms in the country, the Gazette can reveal. Meetings were held last week with a view to the government offering help to domestic firms in ...

  • News

    Fighting talk from PI firms despite Jackson

    08 April 2013

    Surviving personal injury firms say they will emerge from bruising civil litigation reforms stronger than ever, despite gloomy forecasts for the sector. The Jackson reforms and this month’s 60% cut in fixed fees through the RTA Portal have forced many firms to make redundancies and reduce ...

  • News

    LETR may be ‘outdated’, warns Savage

    08 April 2013

    The much-delayed Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) could be ‘obsolete and outdated’ even before it is published, according to the University of Law’s chief executive Nigel Savage.

  • News

    Solicitor gets Met Police damages over assault

    08 April 2013

    A criminal solicitor has received ‘substantial damages’ from the Metropolitan Police after settling a claim that she was assaulted in an East London police station as she sought to represent her 13-year-old client. Catriona Sheehan, a solicitor with 20 years’ experience, started a civil action ...

  • News

    In-house practitioners warm to mediation

    08 April 2013

    In-house lawyers are becoming more confident about mediation without assistance from external firms and three-quarters expect their use of mediation to grow in the next three years, according to a leading dispute resolution group. A survey by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) showed that of 50 respondents, 42% ...

  • News

    More firms using unrated insurers for PII

    08 April 2013

    The proportion of law firms relying on an unrated insurer for professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover almost doubled last year, a new survey has revealed. Around 16% of cash-strapped practices – including almost a quarter of sole practitioners – ignored warnings about unrated insurers as they ...

  • News

    Legal aid ‘deserts’ warning

    08 April 2013

    There could be job losses for close to a third of legal aid lawyers and advisers as firms close or cut services, creating ‘advice deserts’ across the country in the wake of the legal aid cuts, according to a report published today. According to an online ...

  • News

    Army law: uniform instructions

    08 April 2013

    Some press reports estimate that up to one in four of the army’s lawyers face being cut. And the overall picture for the army is one of drastically reduced headcount – the Ministry of Defence’s Future Force 2020 plans will see the army cut 20,000 regular soldiers by 2020, with ...

  • News

    Leveson: overview

    08 April 2013

    2010 was full of vociferous comment on the libel reform campaign; 2011 gave us Ryan Giggs and ‘superinjunction spring’. And 2012 provided the finer detail of the phone-hacking scandal and the resulting Leveson Inquiry. Anyone browsing the array of domestic newspapers over the last few years would be forgiven for ...

  • News

    Leveson: the press

    08 April 2013

    The current state of play post-publication of the Leveson Report can only be described as an unsatisfactory stalemate. When Lord Justice Leveson published his recommendation that newspapers should operate a system of independent self-regulation, he surely cannot have envisaged the political turmoil, in-fighting and secret backdoor deals that have resulted. ...

  • News

    Law firm ABS ventures for insurer Admiral

    08 April 2013

    Insurance giant Admiral Group has confirmed two joint ventures with law firms. The UK motor insurance giant has joined with national firm Lyons Davidson and Cardiff firm Cordner Lewis to create Admiral Law and BDE Law. The insurer confirmed in a ...

  • News

    Ealing process begins after cuts

    08 April 2013

    A not-for-profit law centre in London opened last week, the day after wide-ranging civil legal aid cuts came into force. Ealing Law Centre will provide specialist housing and immigration support. A small group of volunteers (pictured) has built up the centre since October 2011 with ...

  • News

    Leveson: private practice

    08 April 2013

    The proposed new scheme of press regulation agreed by the main political parties and encapsulated in a Royal Charter includes an arbitration arm as part of the new body. Leveson was keen to ensure that people of all means had access to justice under the new regime and not just ...

  • News

    Hold the front page

    08 April 2013

    In case you didn’t notice, April Fools’ Day brought something special to the mass media this year. The news famine generated by a four-day holiday pulled the topic of civil legal policy from the dusty corners of the classified ad sections to the dazzling sunlight ...

  • News

    DLA Piper’s Unicef pledge

    08 April 2013

    International law firm DLA Piper has announced a £980,000 partnership over three years with the United Nations Childrens Fund (Unicef) to help it expand its global child justice work, and ensure that children coming into contact with the law are better served and protected.

  • News

    Matchmaking sites go live

    08 April 2013

    Two new online matchmaking services for legal professionals claim to offer tickets to survival. Springboard.net is described as a LinkedIn-style social network for solicitors. Its founders say it allows members to tap into a national network of new business opportunities, control and manage ...

  • News

    Catherine, the language warrior

    08 April 2013

    There is a tradition which is stronger on the continent than in the UK, that of the Festschrift or Liber Amicorum. ‘Celebratory book’ is probably the closest in English. For the second time, I have been asked to contribute to one, and it is thoughts about the lawyer in whose ...