Last 3 months headlines – Page 1373
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The creation of ABSs offers the chance for others to shape the future of the in-house sector
The views of corporate counsel command a high degree of moral authority and respect in the world of commercial legal services. It was not always so, but it is now rare for private practice partners to deride in-house peers as professionals who went in-house because they ‘couldn’t cut it’ in ...
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Conveyancing solicitors must meet the challenge of competition head on
by Peter Rodd, senior conveyancing partner at Boys & Maughan in Margate The new Conveyancing Protocol is eight months old. The growing number of firms accredited under the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) are obliged to follow it, and many others are beginning to do so.
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Memory lane
Law Society’s Gazette, 8 December 1981 The Royal Courts of Justice, by Rodney Griffith When today we behold the splendour of the interior of the Great Hall of Justice in the Law Courts in the Strand, it is difficult to conceive the ...
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Solicitors to work ‘unpaid’ until committals abolished in April 2012
Committals in either way criminal cases will be abolished from April 2012, the justice secretary announced today. Kenneth Clarke said the change will be effected by bringing into force schedule 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 on a phased basis. The regions where it will ...
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Top 100 growing fast, Deloitte survey shows
The legal sector has been given a welcome boost after new figures showed a sharp rise in income among leading firms. The top 100 have reported an average revenue increase of nearly 10% for the second quarter ended 31 October. A survey by Deloitte showed that ...
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Retreating partners
As many of us know from experience, partners in solicitors’ practices often cannot agree on even writing the most basic strategic plan; yet at this time of extreme change it is more important than ever that law firms have a clear vision as to what the future holds for them. ...
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Barristers plan escrow scheme for holding client money
The bar is looking into a scheme to allow barristers to hold client money through proxies, the incoming head of the bar said in his inaugural speech last night.
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Charities reveal qualms about seeking legal advice
Charities understand little about the law but many are put off talking to a solicitor because of worries about cost, according to a major new study. The Legal Services Consumer Panel asked more than 800 small charities about their legal needs and experiences. Responses showed ...
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I didn’t forget defence solicitors, says lord chief justice
The lord chief justice has thanked defence solicitors for the ‘huge contribution’ made in the summer riot court cases, stressing that they had been included in his earlier praise of the rest of the legal profession. At his annual press conference at the Royal Courts of ...
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ADR and ODR: the EU acts
European policy initiatives are like London buses. After a long wait, a whole bunch arrives together. But their timing is not so mysterious as with buses. No, Eurocrats are clearing their desks before Christmas, having laboured through the autumn to perfect their product. Now the lobbyists have to sacrifice their ...
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CPS drops fraud charges in referral-fee case
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has dropped charges against 11 solicitors and doctors after an investigation into an alleged insurance fraud. The group had faced charges including conspiracy to defraud and false accounting in relation to the payment of after-the-event legal expenses premiums as well ...
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Inquiring minds
Throughout 2011, the phone hacking scandal has rocked the UK’s public landscape, drawing comparisons with Watergate in terms of its effect on our national psyche and its long-term significance. The saga has kicked off again this Autumn with the Leveson Inquiry, but listening to testimony of News Corporation staff throughout ...
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Bar aiming to bypass ‘superfluous’ solicitors
Solicitors are dismissed as ‘superfluous intermediaries’ in a new bar consultation paper which recommends making it easier for the public to bypass them and instruct barristers directly. The Bar Standards Board is examining whether barristers should be able to accept direct instructions from clients eligible ...
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It’s madness to relax health and safety rules
If you haven’t heard of Stewart Lee, then search for him on YouTube and cancel all appointments for the next few hours. If you’re not laughing within 10 minutes, check you still have a pulse. My favourite routine of his surrounds his nan’s tale of her trip to the hairdresser’s. ...
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Pinch point
The stark comparison between new legal service providers and traditional firms’ approach to clients’ contact shows a way forward for all firms. In many solicitors offices there is a pinch point that restricts the ability of a firm to grow, the traditional solicitors’ receptionist and switchboard operator.
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Privacy case numbers soar
The number of public figures using privacy arguments has more than doubled over the past year as the controversy over the use of injunctions has grown, according to research from legal publisher Sweet & Maxwell. The firm’s data shows a rise from nine to 24 in ...
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Jurisdiction
Conflict of laws - Challenge to jurisdiction - Parties entering into licence agreement Seven Licensing Company Sarl and another company v FFG-Platinum SA and other companies: Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Gloster): 16 November 2011 ...