Last 3 months headlines – Page 1346
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Tenancy deposits
Parliament has sought to establish schemes to protect tenants’ deposits (incorporating alternative dispute resolution) and to penalise any landlord who fails to comply with his duty to protect the deposit within an authorised tenant deposit scheme. Sections 214 and 215 of the Housing Act 2004 ...
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Bias shown by barrister-judges is certain to compromise advocacy accreditation
It is no surprise to me that the bar insists on judicial evaluation of advocates. When the barrister-judge starts the trial in open court by offering the solicitor-advocate his spare wig, you have little doubt of the bias that we will endure at the hands of many barrister-judges within the ...
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Open mind on ADR
Alan Langleben appears to have misread my earlier letter. I entirely approve of mediation as a means to dispose of cases efficiently and economically - indeed, my firm is closely involved with mediation companies in the region, and actively promotes alternative dispute resolution to our ...
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Mediation dilemma
In response to Edward Foster’s letter, we have had a similar situation with regard to alternative dispute resolution. A, B and C were in partnership. A left the partnership and signed a termination agreement. B and C subsequently incurred a liability and asked A to contribute what they considered was ...
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Short memory
Let me say at the outset, I am not a luddite. My firm is quite happy to work in a paperless environment and we have for many years been asking the Crown Prosecution Service why we cannot receive evidence by electronic means. In fact, our first request mentioned floppy disks!
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Pay back time
I cannot agree with Franklin Sinclair who wrote: ‘I can’t leave a young lad with mental health problems unrepresented, so I have to do it for free.’
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SRA ‘ready and waiting’ for ABSs
Applications by firms to become alternative business structures (ABSs) could take up to nine months to process, the Solicitors Regulation Authority revealed this week. The SRA, which on Tuesday became a licensing authority after two years of preparation, said it is ‘ready and waiting’ to accept forms from new entrants ...
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Everyman Legal launches franchise scheme
Solicitors are to be offered the chance to set up their own practices under a franchise scheme launched today by commercial firm Everyman Legal. The firm, which in October became the first practice to target a stock exchange listing, will support members through its marketing and back-office systems.
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CBA self-interest
The Criminal Bar Association says that there are three ‘bottom line, non-negotiable elements’ in respect of the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA).
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Flexible protocol
I write regarding your article on the launch of the Flexible Working Protocol. You may be interested in knowing a few more details about our firm - a working example of how flexible working can be successful.
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Email ‘bugbear’
A recent Gazette drew attention to the writer’s ‘bugbear’ with emails - that many senders of them fail to quote his reference. I can’t say I agree. On the contrary, one delight with emails is precisely that you can send them straight to the correct ...
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Lawyers named in honours list
The Queen’s solicitor and the former terror laws watchdog were among the lawyers recognised in the New Year honours list. Mark Bridges, partner at London firm Farrer & Co, was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for his work as personal solicitor to the Queen. ...
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Our mutual friend
Young people, eh? Just the other day Obiter heard about a new starter at a legal firm who, on his very first day at work, returned from an errand with a black eye after getting into a fight with some yob who’d remarked on his hat. The clerk’s name was ...
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Clearing the decks
Obiter is a huge fan of all the latest hot DJs on the hit parade: Tony Blackburn, DLT, Mike Reid (wasn’t he Frank Butcher? - Ed). So we’re obviously saddened to hear that Radio 1 stalwart Judge Jules is to swap the mixing for billing ...
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Walsall's bard
If Obiter were a poet laureate for any town, we’d choose a rhyme-friendly location such as Poole or Neath. So we don’t envy wordsmith Ian Henery, the solicitor who has been tasked with creating poems for his home town of Walsall. ‘It’s not too difficult to ...
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Fit santas
Ho ho ho… staff at Veale Wasbrough Vizards dressed up to take part in this year’s Santa Fun Run in aid of Help the Hospices. Colin Godfrey (third from left) finished fourth in the 5km race.
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Crims on rims?
Down under, there is currently a racing scandal to rank alongside the travails of four British jockeys who have, subject to any appeal, lost their licences.
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Lord Falconer slams assisted dying law
A thinktank led by former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer (pictured) has called the law on assisted dying ‘inadequate and incoherent’. In a report published today, the Commission on Assisted Dying concludes that the law can be reformed without endangering protections for vulnerable people. The report’s ...
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Leveson plea on ‘either way’ offences
The chairman of the Sentencing Council has called on magistrates to send fewer ‘either way’ offences to the Crown court. The number of such cases reaching the Crown court rose from 310,000 in 2007 to 353,000 in 2010. Lord Justice Leveson told the House of Commons ...
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Retention rate for trainees up
The number of trainees staying with their firms after qualifying recovered in 2011 after a two-year dip, according to a survey of more than 120 commercial firms. The Chambers Student Guide found that 1,813 of the 2,251 trainees who qualified in 2011 stayed on. That retention ...