A UNIQUE consultation exercise has been launched by the Bar Council in a bid to gauge the profession’s views on the need for democratic reform within the profession. Barristers are being urged to complete a questionnaire on accountability being sent out to them in the April edition of Bar News, the Bar Council’s monthly news […]
SMITH Bernal International, the court reporting and litigation support company, has launched a global support network for its 1,500 or so clients. The company, which owns the LiveNote court reporting transcription system, has principal offices in London, Philadelphia and Hong Kong. Under its new support arrangement, Hong Kong is co-ordinating firms in the Pacific Basin […]
The introduction of the Defamation Bill has been widely followed. But one often over-looked proposal is the suggested extension of the statutory reporting privilege, particularly as it relates to the affairs of public companies. The existing privilege is enshrined in the Defamation Act 1952 which relates to a fair and accurate report of proceedings at […]
The importance of choosing the right investment adviser for a trust and monitoring its performance cannot be overemphasised. But the sophistication of modern financial markets and the availability of a huge and developing range of investment products has made the task of a trustee much more difficult than before. Even UK charity trustees have been […]
LONDON firm Palmer Cowen has initiated a new association of international law firms which will focus on the needs of individual businesspeople as well as multi national companies. Law Link has member firms in Bahrain, Lebanon, India, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Germany, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UK. Palmer Cowen, which […]
Mary Heaney reports Edinburgh firm Lindsays WS has appointed Lorna Spence as a financial planning adviser to provided a dedicated advice centre for commercial and private clients. Spence will be based at Lindsays’ principal office in Atholl Crescent and will be responsible for providing financial advice and planning on investments, tax issues, pensions, inheritance tax […]
The House of Lords has given leave for an appeal direct from the High Court in Bankers Trust International v RCS Editori Spa. The case centres on a dispute over 1992 ‘swap options’ between the parties. The Law Lords are to be asked to probe jurisdictional points and the impact of Article 17 of the […]
Readily accessible from the UK and mainland Europe, with the convenience of European time zones and excellent communication links, Guernsey has set itself up as an excellent base for the financial affairs of the famous and internationally mobile. Offshore trusts and companies offer advantages for all those involved in the entertainment and sports industries and […]
THE EVILS of conditional fees, the lack of pupillages and the dearth of financial help for would-be barristers were top of the agenda at a special meeting for the Young Bar. An open meeting for young barristers heard last week of the threat to the Bar’s much cherished reputation for independence posed by no win, […]
ONE of the new measures to crack down on legal aid abuse by the apparently wealthy could put the UK in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Law Society has claimed. Russell Wallman, head of the society’s professional policy unit, has urged the Lord Chancellor’s Department to rethink its plans to limit […]
The captive insurance market has seen a year of expansion in Guernsey – the number of insurers registered at the end of 1995 was 312 (300 captives and 12 offshore life companies). As well as the additional business coming from newly registered companies, many captives have been expanding their existing insurance programmes. Notable additions during […]
A Cabinet Committee this month considered dropping the Family Law Bill despite the fact that it had passed its stages in the Lords and such a decision would probably mean the resignation of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay. Would a Labour government, led by a barrister and supported in the Lords and Commons by two […]