This was the moment that convinced judges there was nothing Dibb Lupton Broomhead partner Paul Eardley didn’t know about Australian terriers. Eardley, a company commercial partner at the firm’s Manchester office, won best of breed with his dog Ch. Sherex Shiraz. One of the country’s leading Australian terrier breeders – he has eight of them […]
TIME is running out for The Lawyer readers to cast their votes for the legal personality of the year. Votes have been flooding in for all the nominated contenders in this year’s race to name the lawyer’s lawyer. Last year, the top award went to Civil Court reformer Lord Woolf. The 22 nominees are listed […]
The first set of Compulsory Competitive Tendering contracts for legal services has been described by local government lawyers as “a tribute to the quality and cost efficiency of local authority legal departments”. CCT for local government legal services started last week. None of the contracts tendered by London boroughs and metropolitan councils were awarded to […]
CITY and Home Counties firm Penningtons has been rocked by a series of high level resignations with eight partners quitting shortly before Easter. The resignations came as speculation intensified that Penningtons was poised to axe jobs as part of a radical restructuring programme. Managing partner David Stedman said: “We are undertaking a review of our […]
Anyone called for jury service will be able to watch a new video called “Your role as a juror”, brought out by the Courts Service Agency. The video is designed to clarify who is eligible to be a juror, set out courtroom procedures and explain the jurors’ role and legal responsibilities. Videos replaced introductory talks […]
LORD Woolf’s impending civil justice reforms will swell the ranks of the district judiciary and lead to an “increasing recognition” of their work, according to their newly elected president. District judge Dick Greenslade, the new president of the Association of District Judges, has identified Lord Woolf’s plans for fast track litigation for claims under £10,000 […]
A CHALLENGE fund set up by Chancery Lane to help local law societies pay for new initiatives has been dismissed as a “sop” by the president of one of the country’s largest societies. The Law Society has invited local societies across the country to apply for a slice of the £25,000 fund by submitting projects […]
Four chambers headed the pack of newly appointed silks in last week’s appointments. Pump Court Tax Chambers, headed by Andrew Thornhill QC, has two new Queen’s Counsels, as have Anthony Scrivener QC’s chambers at 2-3 Gray’s Inn Square, R Neville Thomas QC’s chambers at 3 Gray’s Inn Place and Richard Kidwell QC’s chambers at 2 […]
Demutualisations, the change of a company’s status from a mutual body owned by its customers to a limited company owned by shareholders, are becoming an increasingly common event in British commercial law. These transactions are important because they impact on a vast number of people who have become members of these institutions over the years. […]
CHANCERY Lane’s warring factions are presenting a united front against a campaign to split the Law Society into two. Martin Mears, the Law Society president, and his deputy Robert Sayer, have distanced themselves from the new Solicitors’ Association Steering Group which wants to split the society’s representative and regulatory functions. While expressing sympathy for the […]
Canada’s proposed reforms to its civil justice system is indicative of the pressure on lawyers worldwide to become attuned to client needs. The Canadian Bar Association, in an effort to make the law accessible, has come up with a report which mirrors Lord Woolf’s thinking. Many ideas in the report are already in force here […]
Solicitor Brian Marson warns that if solicitors expect to be paid something by lender clients they could well lose conveyancing work altogether (“Are we pricing ourselves out?” The Lawyer 6 August). It really is rather demeaning to suggest that any labourer (including a solicitor) is not worth his or her hire. I sometimes wonder whether […]