City practice Denton Hall has completed a £42.75 million deal acting for the Millennium Group in its purchase of the Leavesden Aerodrome site from Rolls Royce. The Millennium Group, controlled by a Malaysian publicly quoted company, plans to develop a film and television studio complex with a studio tour and family entertainment centre. The Dentons […]
FORMER Law Society president Charles Elly has questioned his successor’s confrontational tactics and put his weight firmly behind the move for constitutional reform at Chancery Lane. In this week’s The Lawyer, Elly criticises Martin Mears’ calls for supporters to challenge sitting council members who oppose him. Questioning what a change in council members would actually […]
CONVEYANCING fees campaigner John Edge has told Law Society Council members the profession “will not forgive or forget” them if they try and sabotage a move to bring back scale fees. The Bournemouth campaigner is pressing ahead with his initiative, buoyed up by public support from Law Society leaders following revelations in last week’s The […]
A SWANSEA firm has claimed a conditional fees first with the successful completion of a trial on a no win no fee basis. John Collins & Partners believes it made history when Swansea County Court found in favour of its client in a dispute over liability following a car accident. The client, a self-employed carpenter, […]
For the practice seeking to meet the needs of the private client the addition of an investment services department can bring great benefits. But how do you make it work? Choosing the right person to run the department is a critical starting point. Not only must he or she be able to set up the […]
Regional firm Needham & James has brought Eversheds partner Sarah Shilcof on board to boost numbers in its Birmingham office. Shilcof, who joined as head of corporate law earlier this month, has wide-ranging experience including the handling of management buy-outs, buy-ins, mergers and acquisitions. The office’s managing partner Keith James said: “We are building an […]
The Pension Act 1995, the Greenbury Report and cases such as Brooks v Brooks and Ramsay v Caboche have focused industry attention on occupational pension schemes and the repercussions of changes in legislation and practice in this area. However, the introduction of commission disclosure in early 1995 also had its own impact on the personal […]
As from this month, firms that wish to carry on investment business have to do more than simply register with the Law Society. They have to prove their competence to do the business. Once the dust has settled, it will be interesting to see how many firms the market will support. David Lough, head of […]
Senior French judge Francois Falletti will discuss the role of the Instructing Magistrate in French criminal procedure at a meeting of the Franco-British Lawyers Society next month. The meeting, run in association with the Bar European Group, will be held at Parliament Chamber in Middle Temple at 6pm on 4 December. Falletti, responsible in the […]
THE CONTROVERSY surrounding Lord Mackay’s Divorce Law Reform Bill could end this week if reports about its inclusion in the Queen’s Speech prove correct. Family lawyers are standing firm in their support of the Lord Chancellor, saying his plans to introduce a no-fault divorce system are essential. And they have also welcomed claims that his […]
Royal Assent has been granted to the Law Reform (Succession) Act 1995 which alters technical rules governing the distribution of estates of people who die intestate, claims for financial provision by the deceased’s family, and the effect of divorce or annulment of marriage on testamentary gifts or appointments of executors in favour of a former […]
John Malpas looks at the stormy relationships which have dogged the LAB and talks to the institution’s main players “A DOWNCAST institution, riven by internal dissension from the highest to the lowest levels.” That is how the Law Society described the Legal Aid Board not long ago. In a speech which sparked off a huge […]