Litigation partners instructing counsel at the commercial Bar are looking for a barrister who is just that – commercial. Generally, the emphasis is on the delivery of a professional service to clients which includes the quality of the counsel. As one leading litigation partner comments: “The whole psychology of litigation and legal practice has changed […]
Lord Chief Justice Taylor has called for funding to extend a witness support scheme to magistrates courts. The Witness Service is available in every Crown Court in England and Wales from this month. The national scheme, run by Victim Support, provides information and support to witnesses, victims and their families attending court. Speaking at Newcastle […]
A solicitor at the London Borough of Camden has been appointed as the council’s new deputy chief executive. Amanda Kelly, 39, has been Camden’s borough solicitor since 1993 and before that was head of legal services at the London Borough of Brent. She will continue her work in the council’s legal services department in addition […]
As concern mounts over the escalating cost of legal aid, hunt saboteurs have been accused of draining the Legal Aid Fund of hundreds of thousands of pounds a year to support them in hopeless cases. The row centres on three pending personal injury claims mounted by hunt saboteurs against hunt followers. In each case the […]
A mother of nine whose tenth child was born without clinical signs of life but was resuscitated to survive for a year is suing a health authority for damages. Margaret Cummings, 46, of South Croydon, has issued a High Court writ claiming damages from Croydon Health Authority. It says she was admitted to the Mayday […]
Professor Nigel Savage’s appointment to the new £100,000 a year chief executive post at the College of Law will mark a u-turn in the college’s position from defensive to offensive, according to the outspoken academic. Savage leaves Nottingham Law School, where he has been head since 1989, to take up the post created on the […]
Eversheds has snapped up the latest partner to leave Pinsent Curtis, which has suffered a continuing fallout of partners since the merger which created the firm. It has lost eight partners since August, following the May merger of Birmingham-based Pinsent & Co and Simpson Curtis of Leeds. The latest partner to leave is former head […]
THE KENT solicitor who saved pit bull terrier Dempsey from death row has reacted angrily to an MP’s jibe that solicitors were cashing in due to the Act’s complexity. The accusation was levelled at Trevor Cooper last week as he gave evidence to the enquiry of the Home Affairs select committee into the Dangerous Dogs […]
Denton Hall, the UK’s 13th largest law firm, has launched a major recruitment drive to boost its City practice at 5 Chancery Lane. The firm is seeking to increase staff at all levels to reflect its expanded role in the Square Mile. Denton Hall is currently acting for business services group Rentokil which has launched […]
College of Law students are appealing for law firms to sponsor a charity bungee jump from London’s Chelsea Bridge Tower. Twenty-two students will perform the jump on 27 April to raise money for the Dunblane Disaster Relief Fund, Cancer Research, the Osteoporosis Foundation, the Mental Health Foundation and the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association. Cheques […]
Oxford-based firm Cole & Cole has appointed three new partners, making a total of 31 partners in the practice. Hugh Jones is a specialist in corporate finance, acquisitions and takeovers, based in the Oxford office. Jenni Howard, a specialist in family law based in the Witney office, has also been admitted to the partnership and […]
The mother of a murder victim has been granted leave for judicial review over her exclusion from the criminal injuries compensation scheme. Mary Ennis was entitled to £10,000 compensation under the controversial tariff-based compensation scheme introduced by Michael Howard in April 1994. But she lost this right when the scheme was thrown out by the […]