Last 3 months headlines – Page 1350
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Duplication cost
I was admitted to the roll in January 2010. I declined to attend an admission ceremony (not my cup of tea). I assumed that my admission certificate would be put in the post but alas it did not arrive. ...
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Parity proposal
I would say to Ilex president Mr McGrady (‘Ilex chief in parity plea’) that if he wants parity, he and his members should try and qualify as solicitors. Barry Brooks, Brooks & Co, Fetcham, Surrey
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Focus set squarely on tackling legal concerns
This is my penultimate podium – and while I have a busy diary for the month ahead, I am naturally starting to think about all that has taken place at Chancery Lane since I became president last July. There has been no quiet time during my ...
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National protests against legal aid cuts
Legal aid campaigners are to step up the pressure on government by holding marches across the country tomorrow in protest at the legal aid reforms to be outlined in the Justice Bill, expected next week. The ‘day of action’, organised by Justice for All and ...
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Fingerprint standards questioned by Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal has called for an examination of the quality standards of fingerprint experts. The court last week quashed the conviction of Peter Kenneth Smith from Nottinghamshire for the murder of his neighbour Hilda Owen in 2007, after doubt was cast on the reliability ...
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Law firms running out of time, warns Mayson
Time is running out for law firms that have not yet considered the changes they should make to compete with new entrants to the legal market, a leading commentator has suggested. Speaking at the Law Society’s Law Management Section conference, Stephen Mayson, director of the Legal ...
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Russian lawyers denied visas for Society human rights event
Twelve lawyers from Russia were denied visas to attend a three-day Law Society human rights training course in London last month. The Russian lawyer who co-ordinated the visas, which would have enabled the lawyers to receive training on the rule of law, described the decision not ...
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Norton Rose in overseas mergers
City firm Norton Rose was this week expected to confirm mergers with firms in South Africa and Canada. The enlarged group will rank among the top-10 legal practices in the world by headcount when it completes a link-up with Canada’s Ogilvy Renault and Deneys Reitz in ...
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Colombian lawyers under threat, report claims
Six judges, 12 prosecutors and 334 defence lawyers were murdered in Colombia’s ‘judicial war’ between 2003 and 2009, a report by a delegation of British and international lawyers has claimed. The report, published last week, found that Colombian lawyers still live in constant fear of assassination, ...
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Magistrates set garden bench-mark
Life may not be a bed of roses for magistrates just now, as the government’s programme of court closures gets under way, but the Magistrates’ Association demonstrated its appetite for growth with the Magistrates’ Garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. The bloomin’ good garden, ...
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Sparkes will fly
A Portsmouth solicitor is set to do a parachute jump next month to raise funds for Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, where his friend, legal executive Kristy Richardson (pictured, jumping herself some years ago), is on the waiting list for a heart and lung transplant. Tim ...
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Slaughtering the competition
Magic circle firm Slaughter & May is taking the defence of its Standard Chartered Great City Race title very seriously. The firm, which won the 5km corporate challenge in London last year, has entered a staggering 124 staff for the 2011 event, taking place on ...
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Memory Lane
Law Society’s Gazette, June 1971 ‘House Style’ for a Law Office by A. G. McBain and Jean Field Notes for those taking up ...
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Loadsa law
Judges often complain about the number of new laws being churned out these days, and figures compiled by legal publisher Sweet & Maxwell show why. In 2010, 14 new laws were passed for every working day, more than in any other year. ...
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Profession must fight to the end to block unprecedented and shocking cuts to legal aid
by Patrick Allen, senior partner of Hodge Jones & Allen LLP, a firm which has dealt with legal aid cases for 33 years As we go to press, we await the delayed publication of the government’s plan for legal aid cuts.
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Is lining the pockets of intermediaries the best way to safeguard access to justice?
What’s the difference between a bribe and a referral fee? Those solicitors who are the most vitriolic critics of referral fees fail to draw a distinction, as the Gazette’s postbag consistently testifies. One can see where they are coming from. ...
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SRA approves scheme requiring advocates to be assessed by judges
The solicitors’ regulator has agreed to back proposals for a Quality Assurance Scheme despite some fears about how solicitors will be assessed. The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) yesterday endorsed plans to accredit advocates working in criminal cases. The scheme, ...
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Work-based learning without training contract dubbed ‘success’ by SRA
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has given a thumbs up to ‘work-based learning’ as a route to qualification without the need to secure a training contract after analysing the results of a two-year pilot scheme. A report on the pilot results, produced by Middlesex University, concluded ...
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Use of a limited liability partnership as a fund vehicle
Recently clients asked me to consider using an LLP as an onshore vehicle for pooling funds for investment purposes. Perhaps I missed some research but I was unable to find any sensible writings on the use of an LLP for such a purpose. ...
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Law firms maintain staff bonus levels
Some 91% of law firm bonus schemes have remained unchanged over the last 12 months, but personal injury firms are expected to buck this trend by reducing bonuses next year, a survey of 400 regional law firms by recruitment consultancy BCL Legal has found. Other key ...