Brand new silks at the Criminal Bar, who also feature in our pick of the Criminal Bar, include David Calvert-Smith QC and Peter Clarke QC, at Queen Elizabeth Building (Hollis Whiteman Chambers), Ken MacDonald QC at 2 Garden Court, Gaias Gozem QC at Lincoln House Chambers, Manchester, Nigel Lithman QC at 3 Hare Court, Steven […]
William Christie, who headed 13 Old Square chambers for 18 years, has had his recent retirement from the set marked by a gala dinner. Called to the Bar in 1952, Christie, a former diplomat, war veteran and author, was honoured by friends and colleagues at a dinner given at the Old Hall in Lincoln’s Inn. […]
THE BAR Council has reported an “overwhelming” response to a survey designed to gauge the level of computer know-how in the profession and help it devise a strategy to beat technophobia in chambers The questionnaire, sent out with the Bar Council’s newsletter, Bar News, prompted 50 replies within a week, with more arriving as The […]
The Court of Appeal has ruled that four-partner Kensington practice Berensons is liable for £3m to a syndicate of four banks that loaned money to one of its clients. In 1990, Berensons acted for Cavendish Funding Limited, a mortgage company that provided bridging finance to borrowers. When Thomas Peterson Hotels requested a loan from Cavendish, […]
Criminal barristers have been getting their share of the legal headlines recently for instigating moves in the criminal justice system as well as for working within it. It is the criminal lawyers who, depending on the case and its outcome, get the glory or the brickbats. So leading criminal practitioners are looking for barristers who […]
A controversial section of the official Bar Directory, which allowed chambers to claim they had adopted tough new practice management and equal opportunity codes, has been dropped because there is no way to check up on the truth of the assertions. The move follows surprise in some quarters of the Bar at the large number […]
London School of Economics Professor of Law Michael Zander QC will address the Chancery Bar Association 1997 Spring Lecture on 28 April. Zander, an often controversial figure, will speak on the Woolf Report and question whether it will be a forward or backward move for the new Lord Chancellor. Entry is free with the lecture […]
Two Gloucester drug dealers serving life sentences for the knife and crowbar murder of a rival have won the right to take a challenge to their convictions to the Law Lords. Gary Mills and Tony Poole, who were jailed for life after conviction at Bristol Crown Court on 26 January 1990 for the murder of […]
A new property survey shows that US law firms have set their sights on more than three acres of prime office space in the City of London since the beginning of the year, as part of a startling growth spurt. The survey, by Chestertons property consultants, reveals US firms have taken over, or are actively […]
A former Oxford scientist accused of removing more than £41,000-worth of equipment from Oxford University is being sued for damages and return of the equipment. The Medical Research Council has issued a writ claiming damages from Kevan Martin, of Zurich, Switzerland. The council’s writ claims Martin worked for it at Oxford in the department of […]
Some duty solicitors face two related problems. First, those of us who have been targeted by a local duty solicitor committee know what a lonely and harrowing experience it can be, as there is nowhere to turn for help. Is it not time for the formation of a duty solicitor defence organisation? Second, there is […]
Law Society investigative staff are threatening to strike – ostensibly over a reduction in their car allowances by £30 per month. A total of 41 MSF union members in two departments – the monitoring unit and the investigation accountants – have voted to authorise strike action over a reduction in monthly car allowances from £370 […]