That's the way Cannes does it
Since its origins as a fashionable resort at the turn of the century, Cannes has steadily built up an array of options for the entertainment and pampering of its guests in staggering proportions.
In brief: Health and safety advice on offer
Leading West Country businesses have signed up to a scheme offering health and safety advice set up by Bristol firm Osborne Clarke. So far 35 companies and institutions have joined the club established by Richard Bretton, head of Osborne Clarke’s health and safety unit. The services offered by the club feature free advice bulletins, workshops […]
In brief: Firms pull off largest UK pre-let deal
Three law firms have completed what is believed to be the largest UK single office letting before construction. The pre-let transaction involved the acquisition and financing of Milton and Shire Houses in the City’s Silk Street, and the pre-let of the majority of the forthcoming development to Linklaters & Paines for its new international headquarters. […]
Media firms form double act
A SPECIALIST defamation firm which counts Private Eye among its clients is merging with well-known media practice Davenport Lyons. Four partners and five fee earners from Wright Webb Syrett’s litigation department will make the short trip from Soho Square to the Davenport Lyons Old Burlington Street offices, also in the West End, on Monday next […]
Bar gets own personal injury voice
URGENT action to lobby the Lord Chancellor’s Department on conditional fee arrangements will be the first task of a new association for personal injury barristers launched this week. The Personal Injury Bar Association holds its inaugural meeting on 7 March, and organiser Matthias Kelly expects barristers country-wide to converge on the Gray’s Inn arbitration room […]
Property
GA Properties, advised by Cobbett Leak Almond, has bought for u3.75m 12.8 acres of development land at Birchwood Science Park, Warrington, from Digital Equipment, advised by Vaudrey Osborne & Mellor.
Commission urges mental health review
THE LAW Commission has called for urgent reform of mental incapacity law following its exhaustive five-year study. A nine-point plan has been put forward to plug the “glaring gaps” in the current law on substitute decision-making. And it has come up with a string of other recommendations to protect vulnerable people from harm. Commissioners claim […]
Speaker's corner
The consequences of getting the introduction of conditional fees wrong are dire, so why is Lord Irvine rushing to introduce them? ask Richard Fox and Richard Evans. Richard Fox is honorary secretary of the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA) and a partner at Kingsley Napley; Richard Evans is president of the LSLA and a partner […]
Solicitor faces fraud allegations
FORMER London solicitor Geoffrey Beccle has been arrested in connection with a series of alleged property frauds involving former clients and four leading mortgage lenders and worth at least u1 million. No charges have been brought but the police and the Solicitors Complaints Bureau (SCB) are investigating his activities, which are also the subject of […]
Sheila Simison on the rise of macho tactics in the Commercial Court
Those who practice in the Commercial Court are usually litigating on behalf of one of the top one thousand companies over vast sums of money. By comparison, the legal costs may represent just a small percentage of the sum in dispute. But how cost-effective are some practitioners in doing the best job for their clients? […]
Harper calls for Japanese reforms
THE JAPANESE criminal justice system needs a complete overhaul, according to the leader of the international barristers’ group. Professor Ross Harper, president of the International Bar Association (IBA), is putting pressure on Japan to reform custody procedures which he says contravene the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The professor has recently returned from […]
Dibbs faces union complaint
DIBB Lupton Broomhead faces possible legal action or a complaint to the Solicitors Complaints Bureau (SCB) from a client. The complaint centres on the Leeds-based firm’s decision to terminate a lawyer’s involvement in a case weeks before a major High Court trial involving millions of pounds. The action is against a company, Milton Medes, over […]