Director of Public Prosecutions Barbara Mills QC and High Court judge John Chadwick QC could be called to provide affidavits and oral evidence to the Court of Appeal concerning their role in advising the Serious Fraud Office in the first Guinness trial. As senior members of the prosecution team, they are understood to have advised […]
A NEW award honouring the late civil liberties lawyer Bernard Simons has been created by the International Bar Association. The Bernard Simons Memorial Award, presented by the IBA’s Section on General Practice (SGP), will recognise personal endeavour in the practice of criminal law which makes a substantial contribution to the promotion, protection and advancement of […]
Over 60 law firms attended the Kienzle Solicitors User Group annual meeting and conference in Reading. Delegates “were impressed by the commitment of the group to the legal market,” says user group chair Andrew Priest, finance director of Davies Arnold Cooper. Kienzle says its ARISTA practice management system had over 40 new law firm users […]
Christopher Millard’s best accessory is his electronic office “Life in a wig is to a large class of people much more terrifying and impressive than life with its own head of hair.” – ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’, Charles Dickens. Here is a brief guide to the “wigs in court” debate:
Family lawyers have welcomed the opening of nine new care and family hearing centres. Eileen Pembridge, chair of the Law Society’s family law committee, says waiting times have been growing and travelling has proved a problem in some areas. The Lord Chancellor’s Department decided to increase the number of nominated County Courts after a review […]
Solicitors have figured prominently in the New Year honours list. A knighthood goes to Treasury Solicitor and Procurator-General Gerald Hosker. Sir Gerald heads a team of 200 lawyers working for government departments, and special litigation and property divisions. Judge Robin David QC, resident judge at Chester Crown Court and a circuit judge since 1968, is […]
Christopher Heaps, chairman of the Law Society Adjudication and Appeals Committee, has been reappointed member of Council on Tribunals. He is a partner at Jaques & Lewis, which is merging with national law firm Eversheds. He was first appointed member of the Council on Tribunals, the independent watchdog on tribunals in England and Wales, in […]
Manchester firm Addleshaw Sons & Latham has appointed Graham Kershaw to the newly-created post of personnel and administration director. Kershaw, formerly company secretary of the Tetley Pub Company, will act as a member of Addleshaws executive board, reporting directly to managing partner Paul Lee. He is a JP and director of the West Yorkshire Probation […]
The first body specifically for outdoor clerks is being set up. The Outdoor Clerks Association aims to increase the profile of its members and improve training. “Outdoor clerks do what is often a very important and responsible job without a great deal of notice being taken of them,” association member Martin Osment says. “Training and […]
A RESOLUTION committing the Law Society to a closely timetabled reform programme has been described as “innocuous” by the president. The motion calling for recognition of the need for reform and a “timetabled programme to produce proposals” was approved unanimously by the Law Society council at its meeting on Thursday. A second resolution to establish […]
Roger Pearson previews the action over Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease, dubbed the human equivalent of ‘mad cow’ disease, will be the subject of a major High Court class action next year. The Health Department and the Medical Research Council are to be sued over deaths said to have resulted from it. The claims […]
India’s liberalisation policy has put the economy back on the path to recovery. The bureaucratic constraints, which denied India growth and prosperity ended as the government introduced a series of economic reforms in 1991. The macro-economic indicators prove the point, indicating improved export performance, a stable currency and declining interest rates. The manufacturing sector and […]