Last 3 months headlines – Page 1229

  • News

    FFW merger deal with Osborne Clarke off

    2012-11-14T00:00:00Z

    Merger talks between top 40 law firms Osborne Clarke and Field Fisher Waterhouse have collapsed over ‘differences in approach’. The firms confirmed in September that talks had started over a joint venture. But in a statement today, the firms said they had ...

  • News

    Legal training system not broken - City

    2012-11-13T00:00:00Z

    The City of London Law Society has criticised what it calls ‘misconceived’ assumptions underpinning the landmark review of legal education and training. In a response to the Legal Education and Training Review being conducted by the three main regulators, the group representing 15,000 City lawyers says ...

  • News

    UK dismisses European common sales law plan

    2012-11-13T00:00:00Z

    The government has poured cold water on European Commission proposals for an optional common European sales law. In a response to a call for evidence published today, it describes the commission’s plan as ‘an unbalanced proposal which is overly complex, introduces confusion and legal uncertainty ...

  • News

    Scot-free banking

    2012-11-13T00:00:00Z

    ‘Unbelievable!!!’ was the striking line in an email I received earlier this week from a trusted contact. It referenced a reported request by John Cridland, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, for banks to be protected from lawsuits related to the sale of products linked to Libor. ‘It ...

  • News

    Becoming excited about data protection

    2012-11-12T00:00:00Z

    I was on a conference panel recently with an Irish solicitor who gushed enthusiasm for data protection, and made it sound… well, interesting. I carefully watched him perform his schtick, and I’m now ready to sing and dance for you on the same subject.

  • News

    Insurers ‘frustrated’ at small claims limit delays

    2012-11-12T00:00:00Z

    The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has criticised the government for delaying a decision on the future of the small claims process. The Ministry of Justice has yet to produce a response to the consultation, which closed in the summer, on whiplash and the Road Traffic ...

  • News

    LSB must go now, says Bar Council chief

    2012-11-12T00:00:00Z

    The barristers’ profession cranked up its pressure on the Legal Services Board this weekend as the chair of the Bar Council called for the super-regulator to be ‘disbanded'. Michael Todd QC told the bar's annual conference that the LSB was going ‘beyond its brief’, and criticised ...

  • News

    Salary ranking shows some good news for lawyers

    2012-11-12T00:00:00Z

    Lawyers’ average salaries have risen more slowly than the national average since 2006 – but still outflank most other professions, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Analysis by recruitment firm Randstad Financial & Professional found salaries increased by 8.1% since the first full ...

  • News

    Osborne’s employment rights trade ‘adds to red tape’

    2012-11-12T00:00:00Z

    The complexity and costs associated with offering employee ownership in return for the forfeiture of employment rights is likely to deter employers from the scheme proposed last month by chancellor George Osborne, the Law Society warned today. It said that the new 'employee owner' status ...

  • News

    Pilot officer Isaac’s short second world war

    2012-11-10T00:00:00Z

    Memorial plaques at Golders Green Crematorium, north London, bear lots of memorable names; Anna Pavlova, Marc Bolan, Sid James. But, hanging around after a funeral a few years back, a memorable date caught my eye. It was 3 September 1939, on a Commonwealth War Graves tablet commemorating the falling of ...

  • News

    It’s time to fight, bar chief says

    2012-11-10T00:00:00Z

    The bar must fight to shape its own future in a ‘dramatically and quickly-changing legal landscape’ or be lost forever, the head of the bar told its annual conference in London this morning. In a passionate and wide-ranging address, Michael Todd QC (pictured) spoke ...

  • News

    Time limit for care cases ‘impractical’

    2012-11-09T00:00:00Z

    Family law groups have warned that the government's plan to impose a 26-week time limit for courts to conclude care cases is impractical in most cases and constitutes ‘potentially unlawful interference with judicial discretion’. Giving evidence to the justice committee, the Law Society, Family Law Bar ...

  • News

    Chancery Lane warns of ‘two-tier’ will system

    2012-11-09T00:00:00Z

    A two-tier system for regulating will-writing could confuse consumers and lead to a drop in standards, the Law Society has warned. The Society has welcomed the Legal Services Board’s recommendation that will-writing, estate administration and probate should be regulated. But Chancery Lane is concerned that the ...

  • News

    Flotsam and jetsam

    2012-11-09T00:00:00Z

    On a slow day recently I blew the dust off some files and looked in cabinet drawers that had not seen the light of day for many a year. When we started this firm I had one file for administration; now I have cabinets full of papers. So this was, ...

  • News

    Legal challenge over custody rights of 17-year-olds

    2012-11-09T00:00:00Z

    A children’s charity has been given permission to challenge the legality of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act code of practice and the failure of government and police to provide adequate support and protection to 17-year-olds in police custody. The High Court granted permission yesterday for ...

  • News

    Goldring warns expert witnesses on fee ‘padding’

    2012-11-09T00:00:00Z

    Expert witnesses will face fixed fees if they are found to be ‘padding out’ their charges to compensate for new hourly rates, the senior presiding judge of England and Wales warned the largest regular conference of experts today. Lord Justice Goldring told attendees at the ...

  • News

    Ombudsman will have more powers in February

    2012-11-09T00:00:00Z

    Chief legal ombudsman Adam Sampson has revealed that radical changes to his role and scope could be in place as soon as next February. Sampson (pictured) said today that ministers were ‘broadly comfortable’ with a range of reforms that his office has recommended. The changes will ...

  • News

    Insurers take a risk if they get too greedy

    2012-11-09T00:00:00Z

    ‘I’m going to MASS tomorrow,’ I told my better half last night. ‘Since when did you go to church?’ was her immediate reply. Sadly the Motor Accident Solicitors Society conference doesn’t seem imprinted on everyone’s mind just yet. Certainly the delegates here have more reason than ...

  • News

    Design

    2012-11-08T00:00:00Z

    Infringement – Claimant company alleging defendant company’s products infringing registered designs Mainetti (UK) Ltd v Hangerlogic UK Ltd: Patents County Court (Recorder Purvis QC): 24 October 2012 The claimant company ...

  • News

    Employment

    2012-11-08T00:00:00Z

    Redundancy – Dismissal by reason of redundancy – Whether tribunal erring SNR Denton UK LLP v Kirwan and another: Employment Appeal Tribunal (Mr Justice Langstaff): 10 July 2012 The Employment ...