Planning lawyer Geoffrey Searle has been elected the first lawyer president of the UK Chapter of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI). Searle was formerly managing partner at Denton Hall & Burgin but left two years ago to set up his own planning practice. He has been chairman of FIABCI’s international planning committee for some […]
The Labour party’s plan to scrap second tier City regulators will create confusion in the City, according to leading financial regulation lawyer and SJ Berwin partner Charles Abrams. Labour has long planned to simplify City regulation by creating a single regulatory authority similar to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Last week, shadow treasury minister […]
A JUDGE has attacked Government plans to abolish the Independent Tribunals Service (ITS) in the latest of a series of judicial complaints about the erosion of the judiciary’s independence. His Honour Judge Keith Bassingthwaighte, who is president of the ITS, the UK’s largest judicial appeals handling body, has spoken out against a proposal to scrap […]
One of the top three commercial law firms in Reading said it planned to recruit a further 12 solicitors and legal executives over the next few months after taking on 15 fee earners in the past six months. Boyes Turner & Burrows, which employs 40 lawyers, is spending £300,000 on an expansion programme fuelled by […]
The City of London Law Society is seeking funds to appoint a public relations officer for the first time in its history. The society’s ruling committee decided last month to see if big City firms are prepared to contribute to the cost of a PR officer. Anthony Pugh-Thomas, chairman of the committee, and William King, […]
Senior City solicitors have attacked the Lord Chancellor’s Department for wasting a “huge pool” of City talent that on retirement “will be heading for the golf course instead of the judge’s bench”. The City of London Law Society hit out following the results of a survey it conducted of City litigation partners. Of the 289 […]
Linetime is holding one-to-one seminars on the impact of IT on practice management. Delegates may concentrate on issues affecting their practice or request specific advice on Linetime products. The first two seminars are in Manchester and Liverpool, on 23 and 24 October respectively. Call Rachel Rowling on 0113 250 0020.
Alison Laferla reports Two Garden Court is upgrading its computer network. The chambers, headed by Ian Macdonald QC and Owen Davies, will install the Ace Infinity system, enabling it to have internal and external e-mail, and to offer barristers access to their own diaries, the Internet and CD-ROM. The set, which is not disclosing the […]
I am happy to see that someone somewhere is taking the initiative regarding a pro bono unit. I recently needed to find out where an unfortunate client could get some free help as I was unable to assist. Where was I advised to go? To the Bar, which has such a unit available and a […]
We wish to clarify a news item in The Lawyer 10 September issue concerning Worthington Group’s acquisition of B S Dollamore which contained an inaccuracy (not an error on the magazine’s part). We act on behalf of Worthington Group and we acted with Norton Rose on the matter. Anthony Seymour Lipkin Gorman.
I note with interest a claim by the South Wales firm Hugh James to be the first in the country to launch free campus-based legal advice clinics for students. Without wishing to dash their hopes, my firm originally operated a free clinic in the Students Union at the University College of North Wales, Bangor, for […]
One of the most expensive aspects of our adversarial legal system is paying lawyers to stand on their feet to argue cases in open court. Not only is it an expensive operation in itself, but it has a knock-on effect in terms of the expense of listing, judicial time and so on. It has, therefore, […]