Last 3 months headlines – Page 1375
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Domestic harmony
Laura Hodgson's article about the problems women and some other groups have in achieving senior roles quoted Baroness Hale, our only female Supreme Court judge. About 10-19% of City equity partners are female; not too different from the statistic for female membership of the cabinet. ...
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Quality conscious
We write from a firm which, according to Mr Craig Holt, the chief executive of QualitySolicitors, is clearly less profitable, less efficient and about to be squeezed out of the market by his company. We have no doubt that Mr Holt knows his own business, but ...
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Land bank offence
Some solicitors will have become aware of ‘land banking’ operations over recent years. For those who are not aware, these involve a company buying a plot of agricultural land, setting up a scheme to make it look as though it has development potential, and then selling ‘plots’ at a huge ...
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Support legal aid
I urge readers to help legal aid practitioners by writing to Lord Bach along the lines of my own recent letter to him, which followed a Gazettenews item on 20 October: ‘We are a "high street legal aid practice" whose very existence is seriously threatened by the 10% cuts in ...
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Proceeds of crime
Unlawful conduct - Violent disorder - Costs - Civil recovery proceedings Gale and another v Serious Organised Crime Agency: SC (Lords Phillips (president), Brown, Mance, Judge, Clarke, Dyson, Reed): 26 October 2011 ...
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Abuse of process
The courts have made it difficult to stay criminal proceedings for abuse of process. Abuse can be argued in two ways: either that it is not fair that there be a trial; or that it is not possible for any trial to be fair. The first ...
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All rise for Mr Justice Squeezy
Obiter was rewarded for attendance at the Bar Council’s annual conference last weekend, not just by getting to spend a Saturday in the company of around 600 barristers, but with a novel conference freebie in the form of a squeezy judge. Inner Temple was giving ...
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Though cowards flinch, and traitors sneer
To One Great George Street in the heart of Westminster for ...
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You don't have mail
A pigeon alights on Obiter’s window ledge with the news that tomorrow (11 November) is national no-email day. Web guru Paul Lancaster says the idea is not to abolish email but to ignore it for 24 hours and ‘do something more productive with the time saved’. This could simply involve ...
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Legal drinkers under siege
Never mind St Paul’s Cathedral, Obiter is more concerned about the possibility of ‘Occupy’ protests interrupting services at another London institution. The La Paquerette bistro is slap in the middle of Finsbury Square, currently a protest camp site. One legal firm has already emailed the Gazette to say it may ...
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Memory lane
Law Society's Gazette, November 1981 Brian’s brief fails to convince Maybe it was the joyous announcement that the future Duke of Cambridge had been conceived, but the Gazette letters page had a light-hearted edge throughout the month. ...
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The ‘doublethink’ of the government appears to posit one set of rules for the rich and another set for the poor
The editor of this journal visited Leningrad (as it then was) 30 years ago and it was a surreal experience. A monochrome city seemingly preserved in aspic, the (doubtless carefully vetted) citizens detailed to mind western tourists had but one topic of conversation: the indubitably heroic role of the Red ...
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Review means family justice changes are needed
by Naomi Angell, co-chair of the family law committee of the Law Society The final report of the Family Justice Review published last week describes delays in public law as scandalous, with care proceedings taking on average over a year to complete and private law cases ...
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Extradition debate
Joshua Rozenberg’s analysis of the findings of the extradition review fails to mention one of the key grievances campaigners have against it - it found that there is no need to introduce the ‘forum bar’ to extradition into law.
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Cause for complaint
So far, my experience - as designated ‘complaints partner’ for my firm - of the role of the Legal Ombudsman in complaints-handling has been a positive one. However, I am now mystified as to how we should operate our future complaints-handling process.
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Secret police?
I have just attended a fine lecture by Professor Peter Camp on the new SRA Handbook. It was a sobering experience. Some of the book’s new elements should give rise to alarm. As we already know, unqualified employees are subject to disciplinary proceedings before the SRA. None of the employees ...
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In-Deed set to buy high street firms
A property legal company has revealed its intention to buy up high street firms. In-Deed, launched this year by Rightmove founder Harry Hill (pictured), will use the £4.5m secured through an Alternative Investment Market flotation in June to secure ownership of high street firms, build its ...
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European Court of Human Rights reform may be supported
On Monday, the UK took over the political leadership of the body that runs the European Court of Human Rights. Last Friday, the UK’s judge in Strasbourg, Sir Nicolas Bratza, became president of the court. Will the Brits make a difference?
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Double-digit growth for A&O but tougher times ahead
Magic circle outfit Allen & Overy has been rewarded for rapid worldwide expansion with a jump in income - but has warned there are difficult times ahead. The firm, headquartered in London, today announced half-year turnover of £582m, up 11% on this time last year. ...
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Four firms secure half of PII market, says SRA
Four insurance firms secured more than half the market share of professional indemnity insurance in 2011, according to figures released by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. More than 18% of law firms took out initial PII with XL Insurance, the leader in the market, for 2011/12. ...