General counsel ‘bypass law firms’ and go directly to the bar – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 29th, 2010 in barristers, law firms, legal profession, news, reports, solicitors by sally

“General counsel are increasingly bypassing law firms to go directly to the bar for legal advice, according to a report published today.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 29th April 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Bar Council begins consultation on modernising terms of instructions from solicitors – The Bar Council

Posted April 29th, 2010 in barristers, consultations, news, solicitors by sally

“The Bar Council, the Approved Regulator for barristers in England and Wales, has begun a three-month consultation on new terms of engagement of barristers for solicitors. The move comes as the profession looks to update the current basis on which barristers take instructions from solicitors, which is viewed as outdated and unsatisfactory. The new terms, drawn up by the Bar Council’s Implementation Committee, are intended to be transparent and enforceable, and to provide more protection to barristers (particularly young barristers) in countering unacceptable delays in payments. The consultation is being carried out with members of the Bar and a number of interested bodies, including the Approved Regulators of lawyers practising in England and Wales.”

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The Bar Council, 29th April 2010

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

City lawyer ‘sacked for writing online erotic novel’ sues for £3.5m – Daily Telegraph

“A senior lawyer, Deidre Clark, sacked from a leading city firm after she wrote a sexually explicit online novel is suing her former employers for £3.5 million.”

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Daily Telegraph, 26th April 2010

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Five cleared of trying to extort £4.25m from duke over stolen Da Vinci painting – The Guardian

Posted April 22nd, 2010 in artistic works, news, solicitors by sally

“Five men accused of trying to extort £4.25m from one of Britain’s richest peers for the return of a stolen Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece have all walked free after an eight-week trial.”

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The Guardian, 21st April 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lawyers ‘desperate’ to buy shares before buyout, court told – The Independent

Posted April 20th, 2010 in insider dealing, news, solicitors by sally

“Two lawyers made nearly £80,000 in unlawful profits after using insider information to buy shares in a small biotech firm on the brink of a large corporate buy out, a court heard today.”

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The Independent, 20th April 2010

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Jack Straw hopes to save libel reform measure after MPs rebel – The Guardian

Posted April 1st, 2010 in defamation, fees, news, solicitors by sally

“The justice secretary, Jack Straw, has said he hopes to save legislation to cut the size of the ‘no win no fee’ deals used by libel lawyers before the impending general election.”

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The Guardian, 1st April 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New higher rights qualification approved – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 30th, 2010 in news, rights of audience, solicitors by sally

“New regulations that provide a single route for solicitors to qualify to appear in the higher courts come into effect this week, on 1 April.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 29th March 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Two solicitors accused over file-sharing ‘bully tactics’ – Law Society’s Gazette

“The Solicitors Regulation Authority has referred two solicitors from London firm Davenport Lyons to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over claims that the firm sent ‘bullying’ letters accusing hundreds of people of illegal file-sharing.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 11th March 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Miners’ solicitors to face court action – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 5th, 2010 in claims management, compensation, miners, news, solicitors by sally

“Solicitors who handled sick coal miners’ government compensation claims are set to appear before courts across the country, as the first known court actions for alleged undersettlement of such claims begin to emerge.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 4th March 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Libel success fees limited to 10% – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 5th, 2010 in costs, defamation, fees, media, news, solicitors by sally

“The success fees charged by lawyers in defamation cases will be cut by 90% after justice secretary Jack Straw laid an order to amend the laws on ‘no win, no fee’ agreements.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 5th March 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Libel lawyers have success fees cut up to 90 per cent – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 4th, 2010 in costs, defamation, fees, media, news, solicitors by sally

“Libel lawyers will have their success fees cut by 90 per cent under a Government ruling which has been hailed as a victory for press freedom.”

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Daily Telegraph, 4th March 2010

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Landmark Court of Appeal ruling on retainers – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 4th, 2010 in fees, law firms, news, solicitors by sally

“Solicitors who cease acting for a client where the case has no chance of success on points of law are entitled to be paid for the work done up to that point, the Court of Appeal has ruled.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 4th March 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Only one solicitor among new QC appointments – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 26th, 2010 in news, queen's counsel, solicitors by sally

“Just one solicitor was among the 129 Queen’s Counsel appointments announced by the lord chancellor today in the fourth competition run by the independent selection panel.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 26th February 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Richard Buxton (a firm) v Mills-Owen (Law Society intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted February 25th, 2010 in appeals, costs, law reports, solicitors by sally

Richard Buxton (a firm) v Mills-Owen (Law Society intervening) [2010] EWCA Civ 122; [2010] WLR (D) 49

“It was wrong to restrict the circumstances in which a solicitor might lawfully terminate his retainer to those in which he was instructed to do something improper. Solicitors were under a professional duty not to advance arguments which they did not consider to be properly arguable and where a client insisted that such an argument should be advanced a solicitor was lawfully entitled to terminate his retainer.”

WLR Daily, 24th February 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Solicitors ‘key’ to increasing judicial diversity – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 25th, 2010 in equality, judiciary, law firms, news, reports, solicitors by sally

“Persuading more solicitors to apply for judicial posts is ‘absolutely key’ to increasing diversity in the judiciary, the chairwoman of the Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity told the Gazette this week, as the panel published a raft of recommendations aimed at improving diversity on the bench.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 25th February 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Some criminal advocates ‘not up to the job’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 25th, 2010 in advocacy, barristers, criminal procedure, news, solicitors by sally

“Research on how to assess standards of advocacy has backed up anecdotal evidence that there are problems with the quality of some criminal advocates, but found there is no significant disparity between the performance of solicitors and barristers.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 25th February 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Regulation of estate agents ‘unnecessary’, says OFT – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 22nd, 2010 in estate agents, news, reports, solicitors by sally

“Solicitors have expressed disappointment that the Office of Fair Trading did not propose the regulation of estate agents in its home buying and selling report published last week.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 22nd February 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Bilkus v Stockler Brunton (a firm) – WLR Daily

Posted February 18th, 2010 in appeals, costs, law reports, solicitors by sally

Bilkus v Stockler Brunton (a firm) [2010] EWCA Civ 101; [2010] WLR (D) 43

“When a solicitor rendering his invoice to a client charged an uplift fee he had to give careful attention to the question whether the work charged for was contentious or non-contentious work.”

WLR Daily, 17th February 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

High numbers of women and solicitors appointed to judicial posts – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 10th, 2010 in judiciary, news, solicitors, women by sally

“More than half the candidates selected in the last recruitment round for fee-paid employment tribunal judge positions were women, statistics have shown, while three-quarters of selected candidates were solicitors.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 9th February 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

High Court ruling reveals lawyer’s role in £380,000 aviation ‘bribe’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 4th, 2010 in airlines, appeals, bribery, news, solicitors by sally

“A senior City lawyer arranged for a £380,000 ‘bribe’ to be paid to a former Indian state official in a failed attempt to unlawfully secure a lucrative aviation contract for her clients, a High Court ruling has revealed.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 4th February 2010

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk