Niche pensions firm Hand & Co is to close. Its sole partner, Graham Chrystie, will join 19-partner general practice Edwin Coe following the death of Sean Hand. Chrystie said: “Sean Hand founded Hand & Co just over a year ago. The firm built up a reputation as a leading pensions litigation specialist. When he died […]
NICHE intellectual property firm Rouse & Co is changing its UK name to Willoughby & Partners to avoid confusion with its intellectual property enforcement business in Europe, China and Hong Kong. The firm’s international work was previously done under two names: Rouse & Co in Europe and New China Consultants in China and Hong Kong. […]
Helen Sage reports Arthur Price-Jones has taken early retirement from his position as town clerk and deputy chief executive at Leicester City Council. Price-Jones, a former chair of the Law Society’s local government group and president of the Leicestershire law society, began his career in local government 30 years ago at Nottingham City Council. He […]
The Labour Party has pledged to reform the Crown Prosecution Service “to increase its effectiveness in securing convictions” in a manifesto unveiled last week. Measures to stamp out crime feature heavily in the policy document The Road to the Manifesto. Labour promises a system of fast track punishment for persistent offenders by halving the time […]
A prowling orange cat has been adopted by Bristol firm Osborne Clark to adorn its stationery and office signs. The new logo, a far cry from the traditional legal images of wigs and quills, is an attempt by Osbornes to update itself and stand out from the crowd. A second large regional firm, Manchester’s Donn […]
Historically, Hong Kong has been an attractive alternative for UK lawyers wishing to gain international experience while continuing to practise English law. For those who wanted to remain with a City or London firm, yet sought to sample life in the Far East, the opportunities in Hong Kong seemed at times almost boundless. However, during […]
Alsop Wilkinson’s Andrew Young has been catapulted into the limelight with his orchestration of a mystery donation of nearly £10 million to UK charities, including one run by Benedictine monks in a remote corner of West Sussex. Young, head of the private client department, spends much of his time setting up offshore trusts for wealthy […]
He faces flack from both solicitors and the public, yet Peter Ross is looking forward to giving his all as director of the Solicitors Complaints Bureau. Communication, he tells Helen Sage, will be the key One week into his job as director of the Solicitors Complaints Bureau and Peter Ross is still smiling. He left […]
The price of court listings service CLLIX has been slashed after a disappointing uptake by users. CLLIX, developed by the Legal Information Exchange, the Lord Chancellor’s Department and the Bar Council in 1992, is used by only 50 chambers and firms. It sends court lists over a telephone line as they are published. Data is […]
Lawyers demonstrated to the Lord Chancellor the difficulties of franchising in his visit to a London legal aid firm last week. E Edwards Son & Noice was host to Lord Mackay in a visit which showed a franchised legal aid firm in operation. The Lord Chancellor spent two hours discussing the problems that franchised firms […]
Manchester law firm Donns is tapping into new markets by setting up shop in a local hospital. Donns, formerly Donn & Co, has invested £200,000 in a four-man unit after the NHS trust board at Salford’s Hope Hospital invited businesses to set up there. The unit will cater primarily for hospital staff whose working hours […]
UK companies and investors need to make more of an effort to attract Israeli companies to London, or they will lose out to Wall Street, according to Gavin Rabinowitz, head of Nabarro Nathanson’s Israel desk. Nabarros is organising a seminar aimed at encouraging the UK to invest in Israeli companies. Chaired by Lord Young, the […]