Keith Oliver Considering the recent fortunes of two targets of his admiration – he admits that he is a passionate supporter of Manchester United and that his hero is Eric Cantona – Keith Oliver no doubt hopes his own fortunes will be different. A litigation partner with West End firm Peters & Peters, Oliver is […]
A new conditional fee protection plan is being launched by Litigation Protection in response to the Lord Chancellor’s recent announcement on “no win no fee” arrangements. The plan will cover all classes of litigation included in the new conditional fee regulations – cases of personal injury and medical negligence, insolvency work, and applications to the […]
Written communication is an essential part of being an expert witness. The expert’s report provides an opportunity to exhibit the quality, excellence and innovation in the expert’s thinking. But presenting a report in evidence is also a challenging and complex task. The other side in the dispute will have their own expert whose responsibilities include […]
The civil court system is condemned in a new survey as too slow, too complicated, open to manipulation and not user-friendly enough. Three quarters of people who have been involved in a dispute criticised the procedure and only 13 per cent found it easy to understand. The survey for the BBC Radio 4 ‘Law in […]
DENTON Hall employment head Stephanie Dale has rejected an offer from rival practice Dibb Lupton Broomhead to move to its London office. Dale was expected to fill the void left by former London head of employment Jill Andrew, who quit the practice in March. The employment group is operated on a national basis by partner […]
HUMAN rights specialist Saul Lehrfreund has been named as the first recipient of the Bernard Simons Memorial Award. Established in memory of Simons, who died in 1993 during his presidency of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association, the award recognises personal endeavour in the practice of criminal law and in the promotion, protection and advancement […]
THE LORD Chancellor has dismissed the Law Society’s blueprint for legal aid reform and called for a more imaginative response to his own radical proposals. A cash-limited legal aid fund and the restriction of legal aid delivery to franchised firms are central tenets of the Lord Chancellor’s reform Green Paper. The proposals are vigorously opposed […]
A ROLL call of big name silks has been lined up for the multi-million pound fraud trial of the Maxwell brothers beginning next week. Top barristers from earlier high-profile City fraud cases will appear for the prosecution and defendants Kevin and Ian Maxwell, Larry Trachtenburg and Robert Bunn. The trial opens on 31 May at […]
Mark Haftke, a specialist in music litigation, has joined the multi-media group at Bird & Bird. Haftke was previously a partner at the music law firm Russells. Trevor Cook, head of Bird’s intellectual property department, says: “Mark’s entertainment industry expertise will be a tremendous asset. We look forward to his contribution.”
A SUPPORT scheme aimed at helping the growing number of solicitors who have alcohol and drug problems is currently being considered for funding by the Law Society. The independently-run scheme would start off by treating lawyers for alcohol dependency, before expanding to provide additional counselling for other forms of addiction. Jacqueline Davis, a guidance officer […]
INTERNATIONAL development agency US AID has retained UK practice McKenna & Co to advise the Sri Lankan government on its new 40 megawatt power project. The project, a benchmark deal in the country’s efforts to attract private funding for infrastructure projects, is an extension of McKennas’ work in India, where the firm acts for the […]
A SENIOR council lawyer has beaten more than 400 competitors to win the chance to study at the prestigious Harvard University law school in the US. John Harrison, deputy head of legal services at Southwark Council in south London, has been awarded a Harkness Fellowship. He will examine public sector dispute-solving methods in a year-long […]