Last 3 months headlines – Page 1154
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Free trade legal impact ‘will be small’
Free trade talks opening today between the EU and US are likely to end with agreements to open legal services – but lawyers in England and Wales will notice little difference in practice. Ambitions for a free trade agreement were announced at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland last month. ...
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RTA claims plummet following fees cut
New RTA claims fell dramatically in the first month following the cut in solicitors’ fixed fees. Figures collected by Claims Portal Ltd show 53,895 claims notification forms opened during May. That was a fall of 31% from April and down almost 25% in comparison with the same month in 2012. ...
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PI firms warned off medical cases
Leading clinical negligence lawyers have warned of the risks arising from growing numbers of personal injury practitioners moving into their sector. Legal consultancy Zebra last week reported a tenfold increase in enquiries about setting up or expanding medical negligence cases since the beginning of the year. The majority of those ...
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School leavers offered apprenticeship
School leavers seeking a route into the profession are being offered a legal services apprenticeship in a partnership between the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) and Manchester Metropolitan University Law School. The scheme will provide legal services apprenticeships at more than a dozen regional firms including Pannone, Weightmans and ...
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‘Spectacular’ threat to judges
The lord chief justice has warned that the ‘spectacular’ constitutional changes of the last government could pose future threats to judicial independence. In a speech at Mansion House, London, Lord Judge warned of the need for vigilance against ‘totally unintended little steps, which might, long term, serve to undermine the ...
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Marching for Legal Pride
The legal profession came out in force to celebrate Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) diversity for Legal Pride 2013. Legal bodies marched in London under the banner ‘Equality under the Law’ to promote LGBT rights. Members of the Law Society, Bar Council, Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, Interlaw Diversity ...
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Law Society alternative legal aid proposals
The Law Society last week published alternative proposals to the government’s Transforming Legal Aid plan, saying they would retain client choice, provide certainty and facilitate greater market efficiency. On contracting, the Society proposes: Rolling three-year contracts, awarded subject to an increasingly rigorous quality and capacity framework (QCF). Contracts will ...
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Clifford Chance partners take 9% hit in ‘disappointing’ year
Profit per equity partner (PEP) dropped by 9% to £1m at Clifford Chance in 'disappointing' 2012-13 financial results for the magic circle firm. Profits fell 6% to £404m, on a turnover drop of 2% to £1.271bn, figures released today show. Managing partner at Clifford Chance David Childs said the results ...
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Criminal bar chair backs Law Society’s stance on legal aid
The chairman of the Criminal Bar Association has called for unity in the profession and attempted to quell ‘disquiet’ over the Law Society’s decision to share with the Ministry of Justice its proposals for an alternative to price-competitive tendering (PCT). In his weekly online comment, Michael Turner QC said that ...
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Turkish lawyers harassed, arrested and detained
Dozens of Turkish lawyers arrested 18 months ago have been subjected to ‘excessively punitive’ treatment by state authorities, with 15 of the 46 still detained in prison, an international delegation of lawyers reports. The trial of the 46 has been consistently delayed, with three-month gaps between one-day hearings, ‘causing extreme ...
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Appeal to ‘your majesty’ that paid off
Even in the midst of their fight against further cuts, legal aid lawyers allow themselves an evening to celebrate achievements. Yes, last week saw the 11th Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards – the legal aid equivalent of the Oscars, though with fewer tears. The glittering evening at Shakespeare’s ...
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Guess the bank: a fun game for all the family
Obiter had been worried that litigators and expert witnesses weren’t having enough fun these days. Reassuring, then, to find that inventive playfulness is alive and kicking for those involved in the financial services litigation over allegedly mis-sold interest-rate hedging products. One attendee at last week’s Gazette roundtable confessed: ‘We have ...
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Simulated insecurity
A break-out session at last week’s SRA event on risk involved solicitors, consultants and the Gazette’s own reporter voting with Millionaire-style keypads on a series of options for the future of a hypothetical mid-sized firm. The group started out risk-averse, opting out of investing in a service advising on Scottish ...
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Raising an eyebrow or two
At Obiter Towers we could barely bring ourselves to watch last week’s Apprentice, shorn as it was of Dynamo Legal founder ‘I’m from Wales’ Alex Mills. We’ll be especially disappointed by his absence from this week’s interview stage, if his final exchange with Lord Sugar was anything to go by. ...
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Lawyer’s bank warning ‘ignored’
Lawyers at the Financial Services Authority ignored a finance lawyer’s written warnings over the alleged inappropriate sale of derivatives products to small and medium-sized businesses two years before accusations of widespread mis-selling amounting to billions were made public, a Gazette roundtable was told this week. Stuart Brothers, founder of SRB ...
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Private equity firm hires planning team as ABS total hits 160
A law firm backed by James Caan’s private equity investment company has announced the appointment of a team of six town planners. Knights Solicitors, which secured an alternative business structure licence in January, will incorporate the new additions into its real estate team. ...
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Modest profit increases at Linklaters and Freshfields
Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are the latest magic circle firms to post a modest increase in profits for 2012-13. Freshfields recorded an increase in profits of 2.4% to £548m. Turnover grew by 7.2% to £1.221bn. Profit per equity partner climbed 7.6% to £1.39m. ...
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Quality mark to boost solicitor brand in wills market
The Law Society today announced the creation of an accreditation scheme for firms providing will-drafting, probate and estate administration services to enable solicitors to ‘stand head and shoulders’ above competing providers. Desmond Hudson, chief executive, told the Society’s private client conference that the Wills and ...
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Ashurst, Norton Rose Fulbright and Eversheds post results
Ashurst, Eversheds and Norton Rose Fulbright were the latest top-100 firms to post financial results for 2012-13 today. Profits at City firm Ashurst fell 6% to £105m, as market conditions in Europe and the weakening euro had a ‘marked impact’. Turnover at the firm was flat ...