In September, the Employment Appeals Tribunal ruling that a hotel’s management was liable for racist comments made by comedian Bernard Manning about two Afro-Caribbean waitresses made national paper headlines. But in the sensationalised publicity surrounding the case it was easy to lose sight of the fact that the ruling had great legal significance. It was […]
The chambers 11 Stone Buildings has created its own site on the Internet. It includes information about the chambers and pupillages it offers, law reports of cases tenants have been involved in, and information on legal topics such as The Ten Commandments of Civil Litigation. The site will be updated regularly. Law firms have caught […]
Barnards Inn director of chambers Andrea Kennedy has left the set after three years to investigate the possibility of setting up an independent practice management consultancy for chambers. Kennedy joined Barnards Inn, which covers a wide range of work, including banking, consumer law and civil rights, shortly after it was formed in 1993. “I was […]
US firm White & Case is to pay New York-level salaries of around £45,000 to its newly-qualified lawyers in London as part of a recruitment drive. The move, which has raised eyebrows among City managing partners, will see the salaries of newly-qualified lawyers rocket from a median of £27,000 to £45,000, with subsequent incremental rises […]
The Law Commission has published a consultation paper on shareholder remedies. The paper makes provisional proposals for changes in the law and procedure. The commission recommends that the circumstances in which a shareholder can sue on behalf of a company be set out in rules of court; that a new more streamlined statutory remedy be […]
The IBA Conference opening, with guest Roman Herzog, has become the talking point of the event More than 4,000 lawyers watched an unusual mixture of shadow dancing, music and lighting effects that formed the grand opening ceremony for the 26th biennial International Bar Association Conference in Berlin. The display, performed before and after a series […]
The Justices’ Clerks’ Society has hit out at Government proposals to introduce minimum and mandatory sentences, saying they may lead to a regression to a more primitive system of law. The society said it had “grave misgivings over the use of minimum sentences, both in principle and in practice”. The Penal Affairs Consortium agreed, and […]
Barristers specialising in employment law in the regions face tough competition from the top provincial solicitors, who do the majority of their own advocacy. Several barristers were recommended for their advocacy and advice skills, particularly in Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Bristol, although the list below is not exhaustive. However, the overwhelming view among solicitors […]
Nicholas Cheffings is a property litigation partner at Nabarro Nathanson. In the case of Havenbridge v Boston Dyers the Court of Appeal held that a landlord satisfies his insuring liability if he has struck a proper deal in the market. The court held that, in the absence of clear words in a lease, it was […]
Computer hackers do not fear the law, are seldom caught and rarely prosecuted, according to a new survey released by IT supplier Computacenter. The survey of 126 hackers revealed that 79 per cent of hackers believe tougher legislation would not be a significant deterrent and 62 per cent said more prosecutions would not stop them […]
An “eleventh hour” out-of-court settlement has ended Banque Bruxelles Lambert’s £50 million negligence claim against Simmons & Simmons. The long-running case had been scheduled to go to trial at the beginning of last week, and although its terms are confidential, Linklaters & Paines, which acted for the bank, has expressed delight at the outcome. “We […]
A NATIONWIDE speaking tour is being staged by the Law Centres Federation in a unique bid to highlight the organisation’s fears about the consequences of the Government’s planned legal aid reforms. In what is a first for the federation, it hopes to hold meetings at most of the country’s 55 law centres over the following […]