Last 3 months headlines – Page 1186

  • News

    Young dreams

    25 March 2013

    So, what do you want to be when you grow up? According to an official survey of the nation’s children, among 13- and 14-year-olds the most common answer is actor (5.6%) - followed closely by lawyer (4.4%). However, as we grow older and wiser, the stars ...

  • News

    LLPs set for tax avoidance probe

    25 March 2013

    Law firms operating as LLPs could be caught in a planned crackdown on avoidance of national insurance payments. In last week’s budget, chancellor George Osborne announced plans to consult on ‘removing the presumption of self-employment’ from limited liability partnerships. The budget ...

  • News

    Delivering the verdict

    25 March 2013

    The mess in which the first Vicky Pryce jury found itself really doesn’t match up to the jury that, not so many years ago, used a Ouija board to reach a verdict in a late-night session in a Brighton hotel, writes James Morton. Nevertheless, it ...

  • News

    Firm explores online advice to defendants

    25 March 2013

    One of the country’s largest criminal defence firms is exploring how legal advice could be given to clients online. Mike Rainford (pictured), head of business crime at north-west firm Burton Copeland, told the Gazette this week that the firm is in discussions with IT companies to ...

  • News

    Burden of proof on firms after fee ban

    25 March 2013

    Personal injury firms will be expected to retain records and management information from next Monday to prove that payments for cases do not fall within the referral fee ban. Definitive rules for the ban will be published when the SRA Handbook is changed to coincide with ...

  • News

    SFO questioned over use of Slaughter and May

    25 March 2013

    Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry has raised questions about the Serious Fraud Office’s decision to retain a magic circle firm to defend potentially the most expensive case in its history. Attorney general Dominic Grieve confirmed earlier this month that the SFO had brought in Slaughter and ...

  • News

    Watchdog may survive ‘bonfire of the quangos’

    25 March 2013

    Government plans to throw a legal watchdog on to its ‘bonfire of the quangos’ have suffered a blow after the House of Commons justice committee opposed the move. The committee said there is not a strong enough case for the abolition of the Administrative Justice ...

  • News

    Pathway to Law scheme boosted by £1.2m grant

    25 March 2013

    An educational charity has secured a £1.2m grant to help 1,200 sixth formers from less privileged backgrounds pursue a career in the law. The Legal Education Foundation has given £1.2m to the Sutton Trust to fund its Pathways to Law programme, open to low- and middle-income ...

  • News

    Ukraine eyes EU with code revision

    25 March 2013

    Ukraine has announced a revised criminal procedure code centred on ‘freedom and human rights’ in what is believed to be an attempt to ease its entry into the European Union. Ukraine must meet certain conditions by May if it is to join the EU, including ridding ...

  • News

    Jackson reforms: trials and tribulation

    25 March 2013

    One could be forgiven for thinking the campaign to halt or defer the main planks of the civil justice reforms devised by Sir Rupert Jackson is still in full swing. To be fair to the refusniks, the impression that all was not settled has been given in part by the ...

  • News

    We must give victims of sexual exploitation confidence to come forward

    25 March 2013

    by Lord Carlile of Berriew QC High-profile child sexual abuse and exploitation cases have shown us that more needs to be done to give victims the confidence to disclose the harm they have suffered.

  • News

    Picture-perfect in-house advice

    25 March 2013

    In-house counsel were last week urged to show the value they add ‘in pictures’ not ‘words’, to be better understood by the rest of their business. This was among the tips Richard Tapp, director of legal services at construction and support services giant Carillion, shared with 110 lawyers who attended ...

  • News

    Probate: establishing the testator’s intention

    25 March 2013

    The rule against double portions is intended to give effect to the presumed intention of parents. It applies where a testator leaves a child a portion by will and then makes a lifetime gift of a portion to that child. The court presumes that a parent would not intend to ...

  • News

    Data page - March 2013

    25 March 2013

    The latest data page figures are now available (PDF, 194.78kb).

  • News

    Quindell adds a software company to its portfolio

    25 March 2013

    Fast-expanding alternative business structure Quindell Portfolio today announced the acquisition of a supplier of a case-management system. Quindell, which over the past year has acquired three law firms, announced the takeover of iSaaS Technology Ltd to the AIM stock exchange this morning. The company markets ...

  • News

    Would you earn more in France?

    25 March 2013

    The Law Society’s Research Unit is in the process of publishing multi-part assessments of the legal services market. The reports often confirm what we already know – for instance, that there are two solicitors’ professions, and aren’t the City types doing well, while those poor devils in the small and ...

  • News

    Society sticks to joint representation for homebuyers

    25 March 2013

    Joint representation provides the best value for money for clients, the Law Society of England and Wales said today following a vote by its Scottish counterpart in favour of separate representation. Jonathan Smithers, chair of the Law Society’s conveyancing and land law committee said: ‘The regulatory ...

  • News

    Bar publishes plan for quicker civil justice

    25 March 2013

    Better case management with all cases docketed and dealt with by a single judge are among the Bar Council’s recommendations to make civil justice quicker and more cost effective. A working party chaired by the immediate past chairman of the bar, Michael Todd QC, published its ...

  • News

    Compensation culture is ‘media-created’ myth - Dyson

    25 March 2013

    Master of the rolls Lord Dyson has urged the government, courts and legal profession to educate the public to address some of the media-created myths of the compensation culture. Giving the Holdsworth Club lecture earlier this month, Dyson (pictured) said there had been no developments ...

  • News

    Conveyancing fraud

    25 March 2013

    Every good conveyancer should be aware of the risk of vendor conveyancer fraud. Not only has the media featured many alarming cases, but the Solicitors Regulation Authority in March last year released a warning notice about bogus firms and identity theft, stating that you cannot rely on the SRA database ...