City lawyers have claimed success in lobbying the European Commission over continuity of contracts when EMU arrives. The Commission last week published several draft laws on European Monetary Union, including an article which specified that contracts written in ECUs should continue after the change to the EMU in 1999. Geoffrey Yeowart, Lovell White Durrant banking […]
THE IBA’s new women lawyers group should have its own web site so women lawyers from all over the world can communicate with each other, according to its founder. Over 200 women lawyers gathered for lunch at the IBA conference in Berlin for the launch of the group, set up by Dianna Kempe, who has […]
Canadian mother Donna French, whose daughter was abducted, raped and murdered, broke down as she told delegates how the judge in the case should not have had transcripts from a videotape of the rape and torture read out to the media during the trial. “It seems to offer no benefit other that to satisfy the […]
A Court of Appeal decision to slash damages for severely injured accident victims has been described as a “return to the Dark Ages” by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. In a hearing last week, the Court of Appeal substantially reduced damages awarded to personal injury victims in three separate cases. The victims’ damages had […]
Francis Taylor Building has brought in training consultants to help it comply with two quality standards – Investors in People and the Bar’s own practice management standards. The general common law set, which has 34 tenants, believes it is the first set in the country to have opted to work towards joint compliance with both […]
The owners of a unique £185,000 Lamborghini, which was damaged after being stolen and involved in a police chase, are suing the Hotel for Fine Automobiles for compensation. The Lamborghini Countach Celebration 25th anniversary car had been left unattended, with the keys in the ignition, at a courtyard belonging to the hotel, where it was […]
I read with interest the article in The Lawyer (15 October) headlined “Brains top the list of trainee requirements”. It saddens me that academic intelligence continues to rank as the most important requirement for selecting trainee solicitors when prospective candidates have so much more to offer. Having filled in numerous application forms this summer, I […]
Dianna Kempe QC has been reinstated as secretary general of the International Bar Association after something of a to-do when she was challenged for the position. The IBA Council’s overwhelming vote in her favour coincides with a groundswell of support for the woman who, had she lost, would have been out of the running for […]
Alison Laferla reports IT suppliers are claiming a victory after the Law Society gave in to pressure to publish a supplement to its IT directory that lists suppliers excluded from the original. The directory, Information Technology, published in August, claimed to provide guidance on how to choose an IT system and to contain information on […]
Evan Donaldson was born in Bridge of Allan in Central Scotland on 16 March 1962. He is the legal director/company secretary at construction company Miller Group. What was your first job? Legal trainee at Brownlie, Watson & Beckett in Glasgow. What was your first ever salary as a lawyer? £4,500 per annum, I think. What […]
Currently, the rights of audience of corporate barristers limit them to appearances before county courts, magistrates’ courts and industrial tribunals. This is simply an anachronism. Our private practice colleagues, together with litigants in person, enjoy rights up to and including the House of Lords. In contrast, US advocates employed by US corporations have identical rights […]
Bedlington Magistrates Court is to launch an interactive video service designed to help users be more at ease in the courtroom. In what is thought to be a first in the UK, the court will provide visitors with an interactive video designed to tell them about how the court works. The new point-of-information system, launched […]