Lawyers may face regulation as MPs reject lobbyist register – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 13th, 2012 in law firms, lobbying, news by sally

“Lawyers who lobby professionally for their clients should be subject to regulation, according to a Commons committee report out today.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 13th July 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Shifting the burden: support for stress – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 21st, 2012 in law firms, legal profession, mental health, news, solicitors by sally

“The suicide last year of a senior local authority solicitor who felt unable to cope with the demands placed on him following a 30% cut to his department’s budget shocked the profession.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 21st June 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lawyers gear up for rush on domain names – but firms fail to register – The Lawyer

Posted June 18th, 2012 in domain names, internet, law firms, news by sally

“The scramble for new domain names is likely to bring a rash of work for specialist IP, media and technology lawyers.”

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The Lawyer, 18th June 2012

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Consultation paper on extending the SRA’s compensation fund for ABS beyond the end of the year – Legal Services Board

“The intention of this consultation document is to ensure that there are adequate compensation arrangements for SRA regulated ABS firms after 31 December 2012.

Also included in the document is a draft Order published in accordance with section 70 of the LSA.”

A consultation paper under section 70 of the Legal Services Act 2007 on proposals to modify the Solicitors Act 1974 for the purposes of the Law Society making compensation arrangements (PDF)

Legal Services Board, 14th June 2012

Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk

New licence will allow law firm clients free access to publishers’ work – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 8th, 2012 in copyright, internet, law firms, licensing, news by sally

“Organisations will be able to obtain free access to some publishers’ digital content through their law firm under a new licensing option on offer by the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA).”

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th June 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Call for curbs on legal lobbyists – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 8th, 2012 in law firms, lobbying, news, parliament by sally

“MPs have called for tighter restrictions on law firms that act as lobbyists for their clients. Firms should be forced to sign up to a new register for lobbyists if they are acting beyond simply advising their clients, they have urged.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 8th June 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Team Move Update – 11 KBW

Posted June 7th, 2012 in contract of employment, employment, law firms, news by sally

“What developments have there been now that the dust has settled on the Tullett litigation?”

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11 KBW, 1st June 2012

Source: www.11kbw.com

SARs ruling brings relief to law firms – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 24th, 2012 in appeals, banking, damages, law firms, money laundering, news by sally

“A Court of Appeal ruling on anti-money-laundering obligations will bring relief for businesses, including law firms, and remind lawyers of the importance of having appropriate systems to evidence concerns leading to suspicious activity reports (SARs).”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 24th May 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Withers’ bid to take client money dispute to Supreme Court rejected – The Lawyer

Posted April 13th, 2012 in appeals, client accounts, fees, law firms, news, Supreme Court by tracey

“Withers has been refused permission to appeal to the Supreme Court a dispute brought against it over client money.”

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The Lawyer, 11th April 2012

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Drinking and casual sexism still institutional in top firms, LSB research claims – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 11th, 2012 in equality, law firms, news, professional conduct by sally

“The legal profession’s culture of ‘casual sexism’ and high levels of drinking has led women and ethnic minority solicitors to adopt special strategies to overcome institutional discrimination in law firms, researchers funded by the Legal Services Board claim today.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 11th April 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Vos J threatens phone-hacking firms with group litigation order as costs spiral – The Lawyer

Posted March 19th, 2012 in claims management, costs, interception, law firms, media, news by sally

“High Court judge Mr Justice Vos has ordered firms involved in the wave of phone-hacking cases to find a more efficient method of working or risk their clients being forced into a group litigation order [GLO] represented by a single firm.”

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The Lawyer, 19th March 2012

Source: www.thelawyer.com

News focus: no to ‘patronising’ quotas – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 15th, 2012 in diversity, equality, law firms, news, women by sally

“Women lawyers overwhelmingly oppose the introduction of quotas as a tool to help more of them into senior positions in firms, it emerged at an international conference last week.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 15th March 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court upholds wasted costs order – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 9th, 2012 in costs, law firms, news, wasted costs orders by tracey

“The Court of Appeal has upheld a wasted costs order against a Buckinghamshire firm, ruling that it was ‘complicit’ in its client’s ‘manipulation’ of the court process by failing to give reasons for opposing a hearsay notice in a criminal trial.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 8th March 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Master of the Rolls criticises Irwin Mitchell costs – The Lawyer

Posted February 21st, 2012 in appeals, costs, law firms, news, personal injuries by tracey

“Irwin Mitchell has been forced to defend its pricing policy after the Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger highlighted a case in which it charged six times the amount paid out to its client.”

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The Lawyer, 21st February 2012

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Landmark judgment on fixed-share partner rights – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 10th, 2012 in law firms, limited liability partnerships, news, unfair dismissal by tracey

“Fixed-share partners of law firms are not employees and cannot claim employment rights before a tribunal, the Court of Appeal has ruled. However the ruling, in a case brought by Martin Tiffin against southern England law firm Lester Aldridge (LA), applies only when fixed-share partners enjoy some of the ‘obligations and responsibilities’ of full equity partnership.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 9th February 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Tiffin v Lester Aldridge LLP – WLR Daily

Posted February 3rd, 2012 in law firms, law reports, limited liability partnerships, unfair dismissal by sally

Tiffin v Lester Aldridge LLP [2012] EWCA Civ 35; [2012] WLR (D) 19

“Section 4(4) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000 required an assumption that the business of the limited liability partnership had been carried on by two or more of its members as partners and upon that assumption, required an inquiry as to whether or not the person whose status was in question would have been one of the partners. If the answer to that inquiry was that he would have been a partner then he could not have been an employee of the partnership; if the answer was that he would not have been a partner there would have to be further inquiry as to whether his relationship would have been that of an employee. It was implicit that the primary source material for the purpose of answering those questions would be the members’ agreement although that would not necessarily represent the totality of what might be looked at.”

WLR Daily, 1st February 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Court of Appeal rules fixed share partners are not employees – Legal Week

Posted February 3rd, 2012 in law firms, limited liability partnerships, news, unfair dismissal by sally

“The Court of Appeal has upheld an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruling that fixed share partners are not employees and, as such, are not eligible to claim for unfair dismissal.”

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Legal Week, 2nd February 2012

Source: www.legalweek.com

Firms in revolt over CPS ‘paperless’ plan – Law Society Gazette

Posted December 9th, 2011 in Crown Prosecution Service, electronic filing, law firms, news by tracey

“The Crown Prosecution Service’s ambitious plan to go paperless by April could be in peril following a refusal by defence firms to engage with it.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 8th December 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Legal apprenticeships take on new relevance – The Lawyer

Posted November 28th, 2011 in law firms, legal education, news by sally

“In the past year a ­number of firms have begun flirting with the idea of the modern legal apprenticeship. But what is the attraction of the model and is there a place for it in the legal market?”

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The Lawyer, 28th November 2011

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Legal profession braces itself for a surge in DIY lawyers after funding cuts – The Guardian

Posted November 9th, 2011 in law firms, legal aid, litigants in person, news, pro bono work by tracey

“Legal aid cuts will leave more people representing themselves, but may also make City firms pull their weight with pro bono work.”

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The Guardian, 8th November 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk