A Crown Court judge has won a public apology and damages over “distorted” reports of a sex assault case he presided over at Winchester. The High Court heard last week how reports of a case handled by Judge David Griffiths falsely gave the impression he was “wholly unfit to sit on the bench”. The judge’s […]
Linklaters & Paines head of marketing Conor Boden is quitting to join management consultancy Mercer Management Consultancy, part of US insurance giant Marsh & McLennan. Boden, 34, joined Linklaters in October 1992 as the firm’s marketing number two, and became head of the department in May 1994. He was previously with accountants Arthur Andersen.
English libel juries are among the most generous in the world – so generous that plaintiffs will cross the Atlantic for the booty. But extravagant awards have damaged the law of defamation and although the Court of Appeal has had the power to reduce them since 1990, juries continue to make enormous awards. But juries […]
Barring further delays, practitioners should get a chance this week to read the long-awaited legal aid White Paper. Although the White Paper working party at the Lord Chancellor’s Department has been disbanded, no team has been put in its place to consider a Bill. And if one is planned, it is being left rather late, […]
The central issue in this election is simple – did you like the Law Society as it was before the Mears/Sayer revolution? If you did (and only if you did), then Tony Girling and his associates are the men for you. But does Girling, in fact, represent the old regime? He can hardly deny it. […]
Tony Girling, 52, manages the Kent practice Girlings and is deputy vice-president of the Law Society. This month he is locked in a battle with Martin Mears for the society’s presidency. What was your first job? Farm labourer. What was your first ever salary as a lawyer? I forget, but my income was £2,400 in […]
Herbert Smith acted for Hartlepool-based Stadium Group in its flotation. Pinsent Curtis advised NatWest Markets Corporate Finance
THE NEW head of the Law Society’s bureaucracy has broken two of its long standing taboos before even setting foot in Chancery Lane. Jane Betts, who becomes secretary general on 1 August, is both the first woman and the first non-lawyer to hold the post. A further feature of her appointment, revealed last Thursday, is […]
LONDON law firm Anthony Goldman has started offering mediation services to its clients in the run up to the introduction of the Family Law Bill. The practice, which has recently appointed family law solicitor and qualified mediator Kim Beatson as a partner in its family law team, rejects the idea that mediation will see the […]
Top 10 Canadian firm Goodman Phillips & Vineberg (GP&V) claims to be handling the two largest acquisitions Canada has seen this year, including the single largest take-over in Canadian history. The two deals, which involve five mining companies, have a combined value of over Can$6 billion. Both deals are being led by a securities partner […]
THE BAR Council is applauding China’s “encouraging progress” towards a reformed criminal justice system at a time when Amnesty International is holding its world-wide “China – No one is safe” campaign. Bar Council leaders have made a series of visits to China and have been urging the Chinese authorities to adopt the safeguards and protections […]
London firm Collyer-Bristow has invited Alan Marco, head of matrimony at nearby firm Baileys Shaw & Gillett’s, to join its own matrimonial department. Marco will join the firm this week as a partner. He has 30 years legal experience and also sits as a deputy district judge at the Principal Registry at Somerset House.