Last 3 months headlines – Page 1394
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Chancery Lane hails landmark ruling on access to justice
Solicitors must be allowed to shoulder the risk of adverse costs orders on behalf of their clients to ensure proper access to justice, the Court of Appeal ruled today. Giving judgment in Sibthorpe and Morris v London Borough of Southwark, the court said that a conditional ...
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Legal aid cuts - what are the alternatives?
In its impact assessment on the legal aid green paper, the government notes that people who no longer receive legal aid may tackle disputes differently or - as seems more likely in many situations - may decide not to tackle an issue at all. Ministers accept ...
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'Poor financial management’ at MoJ, committee concludes
The Ministry of Justice risks making ‘ill-informed’ cuts to services when attempting to slash £2bn from its budget, unless it gathers adequate data and fully understands what it spends, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said today.
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Lawyers, banks and balance sheets
Post recession, the banks have been labelled with the word ‘difficult’. It seems that many law firms maintain the policy of minimum contact and disclosure. What is this based on? Dare I suggest one reason might be that the bank will find out just what weaknesses exist in these law ...
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Twitter for beginners
The CCBE has dipped its toe into the world of Twitter. In our office, we had all heard of it and its impact on the world, but none of us had ever used it. It was like the introduction of the first telephone into companies nearly a hundred years ago: ...
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Legal professionals reveal ‘sins’ in survey
One in four lawyers and legal professionals does online shopping at work, while one in eight confesses to doing something at an office party that they later regretted, a recent survey of 500 members of the profession has revealed. Research by twosteps online job board also ...
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Direct access to the bar
We always caution ourselves against stereotyping, but sometimes we just cannot help ourselves. The first time I ventured into London as a tyro lawyer to consult with the barrister my firm had instructed for a tricky commercial litigation, I was delighted to find my prejudices confirmed. A threadbare carpet, an ...
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Where solicitors are going wrong in online wills
I had a meeting last week with Grahame Cohen, chief product and technology officer at Epoq – the company that writes software for many of the big brands now providing wills for consumers. I’ll confess that I was expecting something of a sales pitch from ...
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Withers to open in Zurich to meet high-net-worth demand
City firm Withers will open an office in Zurich to cope with increasing demand from high-net-worth clients, the firm said today. The new office, set to open in April, will be headed by UK tax and trust partner Judith Ingham. The firm, which opened an office ...
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More than 1,000 solicitors support Will Aid charity scheme
More than 1,100 solicitors have participated in a will-writing scheme that is set to raise at least £1.5m for nine UK charities. Solicitors all over the country took part in November 2010’s Will Aid campaign, forgoing their usual fee for preparing a will, and instead asking ...
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Bar Council seeks to raise its profile in Russia
The Bar Council has announced it is to send a delegation to Moscow and Kiev to raise its profile in the former Soviet republics. The trip next week, which will be led by bar chairman Peter Lodder QC, is supported by the British embassies in Russia ...
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Law firm creates ‘accident app’
A 150-year-old Manchester law firm has created an iPhone ‘accident app’ which it claims could revolutionise the personal injury claims process. Croftons has released the iPhone app to help claimants gather accurate evidence and information after an accident at work or on the road, and provide ...
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Prosecute solicitors who lie to PII insurers, says Law Society
The Solicitors Regulation Authority should prosecute every solicitor who lies on their professional indemnity insurance (PII) application form, the chief executive of the Law Society said yesterday. Speaking at an Association of British Insurers (ABI) seminar on solicitors’ PII, Desmond Hudson said that the profession 'needs ...
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Intellectual property
Infringement - Trade marks – Irreparable harm – Balance of injustice Cowshed Products Ltd v (1) Island Origins Ltd (2) Patrick O’Connor (3) Bianca O’Connor: Chd (Judge Birss QC): 17 December 2010 ...
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Scouting – social value and balancing risk
The Scout Association v Barnes [2010] EWCA Civ 1476 (Lord Justice Ward, Lady Justice Smith and Lord Justice Jackson) When 13 years of age, the claimant suffered injuries valued at £7,000 in an accident ...
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How can trustees decide which investment vehicle is best?
The dramatic volatility of stock markets over the past decade has shaken investors’ belief in the traditional approaches to investment, and trustees are in danger of exposing their beneficiaries to undue risk by failing to review their portfolios. This article looks at two major investment vehicles which facilitate diversification – ...
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How more devolved powers in Wales could affect the law
Wales goes to the polls on 3 March to vote on whether the National Assembly’s law-making powers in the 20 devolved areas should be extended. It has already started building a body of law with a distinctive Welsh flavour, despite the tortuous process put in place in 2006 that requires ...
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Whitehall faces conflict with lawyers over plans to cut immigration
Immigration was not high on the political agenda at the millennium. Indeed, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, the new immigration and work permit rules that emerged in the UK were seen by many businesses and their advisers as a spirited attempt to get ...
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Pre-nup, I love you
The firm that brought feuding spouses the antithesis of the perfect Christmas present – the ‘divorce voucher’ – has now come up with a new gift idea in time for Valentine’s Day. In a timely coincidence, as the Law Commission published its consultation on whether ...