Last 3 months headlines – Page 1183
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Co-op adds family law to shopping trolley
The march of supermarket brands into reserved legal services takes another forward step today with the official launch of Co-operative family law services. The mutual says it is publishing a customer service charter promising ‘no nasty surprises’ on fees as well as a jargon-free service that treats clients as individuals. ...
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London lawyers targeted in ‘high-risk’ sector tax clampdown
London lawyers are the target of a crackdown on tax evasion expected to yield £3m launched today by HM Revenue & Customs. The Capital’s legal profession is one of five ‘high-risk’ trade sectors that will come under the scrutiny of specialist tax inspectors, HMRC said. Teams ...
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The end of the age of innocence
I started my career as a criminal defence lawyer with the famous words of Viscount Sankey LC firmly in mind: 'Throughout the web of English criminal law one golden thread is always to be seen. No matter what the charge or where the trial, the principle that the prosecution must ...
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What should lawyers make of EBaccs?
What sort of education should lawyers want there to be in our schools? It is the perfect time to ask this, as changes to GCSEs - specifically the introduction of the ‘English Baccalaureate’ (EBacc) in six core subjects - are in part prompted by those who purport to speak for ...
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Tips on appearing before the court of justice
I assume that all lawyers have memories of the first time that they appeared in court: tongue-tied, hot and cold flushes, mistaking the judge for the usher, standing in the wrong place, unbidden words emerging in a strange order, asking for an illegal remedy, leafing through the wrong file.
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Complaints data naming law firms goes live today
The Legal Ombudsman has today published an online list of complaints relating to 770 law firms across England and Wales. The list shows the collated names of lawyers or law firms involved in complaints which have led to a formal decision by an ombudsman. It will ...
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Royal snaps expose more than just flesh
The publication of holiday snaps of the Duchess of Cambridge last week – with those images inevitably set to take a virtual tour of the globe thanks to the world wide web – have exposed more than just skin. What has been laid bare has been ...
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PC renewal to start on 1 November
The president of The Law Society has today written to solicitors explaining the process for renewing practising certificates in 2012/13, which will begin on 1 November. Lucy Scott-Moncrieff outlines steps that have been taken to make the process run smoothly following last year’s well-publicised disruption. ...
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Level playing field
I was concerned to read how the Law Society responded to the recent Ministry of Justice consultation paper on shared parenting. As a single father who has enjoyed equal (50%) shared access to my 11-year-old daughter for the past seven years, I know only too well how inconsistent the legal ...
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Just say no
Your correspondents (letters, 6 September) argue that public servants should not on grounds of conscience refuse a service to a consumer; and that it is reasonable to dismiss such a public servant. Presumably they would argue for the dismissal of doctors who refuse to carry out abortions. The service they ...
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Getting it right
It is ironic that the government's consultation paper on the future of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme should be called Getting it right for victims and witnesses, when it intended introducing swingeing changes that would remove compensation for people who currently have injuries worth up to £2,500.
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FFW and Osborne Clarke decline comment on merger
Top 40 law firms Field Fisher Waterhouse and Osborne Clarke have separately confirmed that they are keen to secure a merger – but refused to comment on speculation that it is with each other. Speculation mounted today that the firms – which together posted turnover ...
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Colombia's continuing struggles - The Colombia Caravana 2012
She was a lawyer and they dismembered her alive. When the Colombian police found her body, they mistook it for a dog that had been repeatedly run over. It was her 12-year-old son who was called upon to identify her. Witnesses at the trial of ...
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McNally gets legal aid as MoJ portfolios announced
Liberal Democrat peer Lord McNally has been handed the legal aid portfolio following last week’s government reshuffle. The Ministry of Justice today confirmed McNally (pictured) – the only justice minister to survive the reshuffle – will take over that responsibility from Jonathan Djanogly. McNally, who helped ...
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Council lawyers warn of red tape bind
New rules on transparency could leave councils tied up in red tape and ‘swamped by minutiae’, senior legal officers have warned. The new rules will create a ‘huge and unsustainable bureaucratic burden’ and tie up local government in the very red tape that it is ...
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Could a cover-up on the scale of Hillsborough happen again?
I was in Sheffield the day of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. Not at the Sheffield Wednesday ground, but just over a mile south at the university, at a conference for youth and student groups. Of course no one had a mobile phone, so news filtered in slowly with whispers and ...
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SRA offers support to struggling firms
Law firms facing financial problems as a result of the recession have today been urged to contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority for support and advice. SRA supervisors are already getting in touch with practices that may need help, as part of the regulator’s new approach under outcomes-focused regulation. ...
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Complaints hike follows surge in unrepresented litigants
An increase in litigants in person has been cited as the reason for a sharp spike in complaints against barristers, alleging discrimination. The Bar Standards Board yesterday heard there were eight complaints in the first quarter of 2012/13, compared to just nine in the whole of ...
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Intellectual property
Design - Design right - Infringement - Claimant company holding community registered designs and community trademarks Pollen Estate Trustee Company Ltd Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft v Round and Metal Ltd and another: ChD (Pat) (Mr Justice Arnold): 27 July ...