Last 3 months headlines – Page 1228
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Jack of all trades
How much does an ex-justice secretary cost? This question may be of more than passing interest to Ken Clarke, as political seers believe a Cabinet reshuffle may be imminent which could see the wily Westminster veteran jettisoned.
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Marathon man
Some lawyers run marathons. Naz Gauri, associate at Chadbourne & Parke’s London office, has just run six. In seven days. Across the Sahara. He was taking part in the 246km Marathon des Sables (MdS) - a seven-day ultra-marathon which includes one extra-long day when the ...
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It will soon matter (even) more how much loot resides in the ‘bank of mum and dad’
There are few things as dispiriting in modern public life as the sight of the great and good pulling up the drawbridge of opportunity. David Willetts, ‘the thinking person’s Tory MP’, has written a provocative book about the phenomenon: the unambiguously titled The Pinch: How the baby-boomers stole their children’s ...
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COLPs and COFAs central to outcomes-focused regulation
The launch of outcomes-focused regulation (OFR) on 6 October 2011 marked a pivotal shift in how law firms are regulated, with a less prescriptive and more risk-based approach. It has required firms to look closely at how they run their businesses and whether they have appropriate systems and procedures in ...
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Home truth
Would I Lie to You?, Charles and Eddie (pictured) once asked. Well, if they’d been singing to solicitors, there’s every chance it wouldn’t have mattered. The University of Central Lancashire has revealed that 95% of solicitors think they are better at detecting deception than they really are.
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Going barefoot
Here’s one for the diary. On Monday 12 November, come to work prepared to doff footwear in public. Whatever the weather. Toes, ankles and soles are to be bared on the birthday of blind Chinese human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng.
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The Shulman defence
The story of the man who left his wife his collection of (valuable) Dinky toys took me back to a tale of nude photographs. Property dealer Clive Raphael apparently bequeathed his wife, the model Penny Brahms, a shilling and some revealing shots of her. It came ...
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Defamation Bill ‘a sop to media’ says libel lawyer
Proposals in the Queen’s speech to implement the draft Defamation Bill in the next parliamentary session attracted a mixed response. A bill ‘to protect freedom of speech and reform the law of defamation’ is expected to restrict the use of ‘forum shopping’ by overseas litigants and to introduce a new ...
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Employment bill to set existing changes in legislation
The Enterprise & Regulatory Reform Bill announced in the Queen’s speech includes plans to overhaul the employment tribunal system and transform the resolution landscape.
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Cautious welcome for Children and Families Bill
Legislation heralded in the Queen’s speech to reduce delays in the family justice system needs to be matched with the resources to make it a reality, family lawyers have warned. Lawyers broadly welcomed the announcement of a Children and Families Bill, but cautioned that its measures ...
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Crime and Courts Bill to create single county court system
The government has confirmed in the Queen’s speech that it will enact proposals for a single county court system in England and Wales. The move was mooted in March amongst a raft of other proposals following the report of a consultation into solving disputes in the ...
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How the new EU cookie law affects law firms
Most websites nowadays use ‘cookies’ (as I will explain) and the European Union has passed a law which means we all have to take action. Your clients need to take action, but so do you, as your firm has a website too. What are cookies? They ...
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TLT creates UK-wide practice
National firm TLT has announced plans to launch operations in Scotland and Northern Ireland to create a UK-wide practice. The firm has merged with Scottish practice Anderson Fyfe to create TLT Scotland, with the deal expected to be confirmed on 1 July. ...
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Spectator to face contempt charge over Lawrence trial article
The Crown Prosecution Service is to prosecute The Spectator magazine over an opinion column published during the Stephen Lawrence murder trial last year. The notice to prosecute is the first since the CPS published guidelines that called for prosecutors to assess whether the public interest outweighed ...
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LLPs 10 years on
In fact, limited liability partnerships (LLPs) have been with us for just over 11 years since their introduction in April 2001. Although it was possible to operate a law firm as a limited company prior to 2001, an LLP has been viewed as a more obvious alternative to a traditional ...
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Solicitors lose probate market share
The profession’s share of the probate market has dipped sharply, with solicitors and companies providing probate services last year receiving just 44% of all probate grants issued, according to figures published today. The 2011 data from the Probate Service, a division of HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), reveals that ...
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Riverview barristers offer fixed-price divorces to wealthy
An innovative legal practice today launched a barrister-led fixed-price divorce service to cut costs for wealthy couples.
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London courts to scale back for Olympics
Courts near Olympics venues and traffic hotspots will significantly cut their sittings from 27 July to 12 August, HM Courts and Tribunals Service said today. Officials are concerned that jurors and witnesses will be unable to attend hearings during a period when hundreds of thousands ...
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Strikes and work to rule will hit courts from Thursday
Hundreds of court staff will refuse overtime until August as the public sector pensions row threatens to create a backlog in the court service. Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union are due to walk out on Thursday for a one-day strike over cuts to ...
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The coalition’s tin ear problem
Today sees prime minister David Cameron and his Lib Dem deputy Nick Clegg ‘relaunch’ the coalition. It’s hard to imagine most lawyers being anything other than sceptical about this exercise, for reasons I’ll come to below. I probably have more time for politicians than most, ...