CASH-STRAPPED magistrates courts face severe cost-cutting, redundancies and consequent damage to their service, if this autumn’s budget is as bad as predicted. Members of the Justices’ Clerks Society (JCS) say they have been tipped off by senior figures in the Lord Chancellor’s Department about spending plans. They say reduced spending could add further problems to […]
THE UNITED Nations will be asked to declare 1997 the Year of the Rule of Law if a proposal to be put to the International Bar Association Council later this month is approved. IBA president Ross Harper will submit the two-page resolution in Paris at the 25th conference of the Section on Business Law. The […]
ADVERTISING by solicitors in the Irish Republic, which began seven years ago, is to be curbed by the country’s law society following complaints about the aggressive approach adopted by some lawyers. A committee has been set up to examine the advertising issue and will publish guidelines, designed to eliminate some of the present excesses. Irish […]
THERE is no majority opinion in the debate over rights of establishment and France and Spain have strong support from a number of member States, the French have claimed. Jean-Bernard Thomas, a member of France’s delegation to the Council of Bars and Law Societies of the European Union (CCBE), said claims of support being slanted […]
Legal affairs spokesmen for the three main political parties will discuss future prospects for the legal profession in a debate at Anglia Polytechnic University at 6.30pm on Thursday. Chaired by Dr John White, head of Anglia Law School, the debate will look at the policies of the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats and question […]
Macfarlanes acted for Ashby Developments in the extension of United Biscuits’ warehouse facility at Flagstaff 42. BP Collins & Co acted for United Biscuits. Berwin Leighton acted for Hyfleet, part of the British Land group which provided finance.
MICHAEL Howard’s “stupidity” in abolishing the unconditional right to silence is demonstrated by The Lawyer’s investigation into the new law, according to Labour. But the Government has defended the law despite concern from opposition parties over the findings of last week’s survey of criminal law solicitors. “If someone is innocent what have they got to […]
Bristol firm Burges Salmon has doubled the value of its commercial deals to a record £500 million over the last 12 months, claiming the upward trend reflects the growing demand for professional services in the city. Corporate partner David Marsh said there was “no shortage” of deals in 1994, with a strong start to 1995. […]
LEGAL Aid lawyers have attacked parts of the Lord Chancellor’s legal aid Green Paper as a “grossly unfair slur” on solicitors’ integrity. In its response to the reform blueprint, the Legal Aid Practitioners’ Group (LAPG) smarts at what it claims is the impression in the Green Paper “of solicitors doing shoddy work and artificially inducing […]
Partners in the small law firms remain severely hit by falling incomes, with salaries and drawings plummeting by an average of £25,250 since 1992. The figures come from annual research by recruitment consultants Garfield Robbins. Partner Nick Robbins said: “There are small firms, relatively general practices, who are in severe difficulties.” Mergers would continue to […]
Steve Warshal The Lawyer is running a seminar, Financial services, an expanding niche market for solicitors, in London on 28 September. It looks at how solicitors can expand their financial services business to build a profit centre; how to comply with new legislation and regulations and how to keep up with new data and product […]
The 25th anniversary of the IBA Section on Business Law is a good chance to reflect on developments in the practice of law in Europe and to speculate about what the future may bring. Perhaps the most striking changes since 1970 have been the enormous growth in the size of firms and the extent to […]