Last 3 months headlines – Page 1220

  • News

    Call time on court shortcomings

    Archive

    I am writing to ask if your other readers feel the same about the centralisation of the money claims court process.

  • News

    QASA and the fear of review

    Archive

    There are those who have complained about the new Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates for its lack of ‘bite’. Practically speaking, an advocate would have to be not only incompetent, but doggedly determined to remain so, in order to lose rights of audience under the ...

  • News

    Connect2Law chief vows to create ‘leading’ UK brand

    Archive

    Legal referral and support network Connect2Law has announced the heavyweight appointment of David Jabbari to the new role of chief executive. Jabbari (pictured) will join the executive board and become a partner at Pannone, which established Connect2Law in 2001. Jabbari was until recently chief operating ...

  • News

    SRA approves compliance officers

    Archive

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed the first set of approved compliance officers for legal practice, and finance and administration. About 5,000, just over 40% of the total, have been notified. Notifications of approval will continue to be sent to firms until 31 December. The new compliance officers will take ...

  • News

    ‘Oppressive’ employment litigants costs call

    Archive

    ‘Oppressive’ litigants in employment tribunal cases should have punitive costs awarded against them, the Law Society has said in its response to a review of tribunal rules. The Society also criticised the review’s proposed scrapping of the £20,000 cap on awards and called for provisions to ...

  • News

    Interpreters ‘gag’ probe

    Archive

    MPs have sought an explanation from the Ministry of Justice over allegations that magistrates and court staff were instructed not to participate fully in an inquiry into the operation of a private sector contract to provide court interpreters. In written evidence to the Commons Justice ...

  • News

    App lost in translation

    Archive

    I started reading the article in this week’s Gazette entitled ‘Release an app’, but abandoned it when I hit the following sentence: ‘Further critical success factors include: determining and engaging key internal and external stakeholders to deliver a user-focused product, and developing appropriate analytics and key performance indicators to measure ...

  • News

    Costly battle of finding advice

    Archive

    As a solicitor with 16 years’ experience in special educational needs law, I must respond to Lord McNally’s assumption that the education lawyer who had had a client for 11 years was possibly not giving the right advice.

  • News

    Partners live up to work ethic

    Archive

    James Caan wishes to get rid of those he refers to as ‘under-performing partners’. His comments betray his lack of understanding of how the partnership structure works. In most of the firms I deal with, the partners are likely to be among the hardest workers ...

  • News

    Egypt judges boycott constitution vote

    Archive

    Judges in Egypt have refused to oversee a vote on the country’s new draft constitution announced by president Mohamed Morsi. The Judges’ Club’s decision follows a confrontation between Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court and Islamist supporters of Morsi. The court said it was suspending its work after ...

  • News

    Tax microscope may fall on lawyers

    Archive

    The likely reputational damage attendant on its alleged tax avoidance dawned on Starbucks last week. On Saturday, the coffee chain announced it is reviewing its tax approach to Britain, ahead of a scathing report from the Public Accounts Committee accusing household-name multinationals of ‘immoral’ use of various schemes to minimise ...

  • News

    Investing in young talent is the way forward in law

    Archive

    by Mark Hoban, employment minister I do not need to convince you just how varied, interesting and rewarding a career in the legal sector can be – but I do not think enough young people realise this. I want to change that.

  • News

    Evidence

    Archive

    Trademark – Infringement – Advertisement Interflora Inc and another company v Marks and Spencer PLC: Court of Appeal, Civil Division (Lord Justices Hughes, Etherton and Lewison): 20 November 2012 The ...

  • News

    Rocket man's leap into cupcake land

    Archive

    Obiter felt distinctly over-dressed last week when the Gazette’s crew arrived suited and booted for the official launch of new-kid-on-the-block Rocket Lawyer UK. After setting off from dear old Chancery Lane, we felt as if we had travelled through the space-time vortex as we entered ...

  • News

    Hello, Sydney!

    Archive

    And so to Australia, where a planned lecture on ‘privacy’ by Lord Justice Leveson will take place on 7 December. Unkind commentators have implied that Sir Brian’s expenses-paid trip, coming as it does straight after the publication of his 2,000-page report, constitutes either an admission of defeat or some sort ...

  • News

    Seat at international table at risk over human rights

    Archive

    It seems a long time since human rights were regarded as a noble aspiration. Since then, they have become something of a political football. Where will it be kicked next? On prisoners’ votes, the government’s goal is clearly the long grass. Remember David Cameron promising that ‘prisoners are not getting ...

  • News

    Voluntary sector should be able to charge - LSB

    Archive

    Not-for-profit groups should be allowed to charge for provision of legal services, the Legal Services Board has said. The super-regulator wants the Solicitors Regulation Authority urgently to remove the current ban on charging. In a response to the consultation on regulation of ...

  • News

    Tax

    Archive

    Supply – Taxpayer Subway franchisee supplying hot toasted subs and meatballs – Taxpayer seeking ruling that supply zero-rated for VAT Sub One Ltd (trading as Subway) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners: Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) (Mr Justice ...

  • News

    Trade union giant Thompsons is latest ABS

    Archive

    Trade union personal injury firm Thompsons has become one of the biggest practices yet to be licensed as an alternative business structure. The Solicitors Regulation Authority today confirmed the firm’s application had been successful, along with that of Thompsons-owned subsidiary firm BBH Legal. ...

  • News

    Family lawyers losing business

    Archive

    Could family lawyers be doing more to win business? The findings of a YouGov poll published last week to coincide with the government’s launch of a web app to provide advice to separating couples suggest they could. The survey showed that more than half (52%) of ...