City lawyers may be asked to participate in a review task force being set up by the independent financial advisers’ association (IFA), following its judicial review of the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) guidelines for compensating investors. The review task force will aim to negotiate with and advise frontline regulators. The group will consist of […]
NOTTINGHAM law firm Freeth Cartwright Hunt Dickins has unveiled ambitious expansion plans after opening an office in neighbouring Derby. Chief executive Colin Flanagan says the firm aims to take on up to 100 staff for the offshoot over the next five years. The firm – formed last year from the merger of Freeth Cartwright and […]
‘Suspect expert evidence’ is a phrase we hear all too often. If we add to this the ‘high cost of experts’, ‘it takes at least six months to get a simple expert report’ and a handful of similar comments about partiality and advocacy by experts, we begin to understand the problem. Or do we? It […]
CURBS on new solicitors, less Law Society staff, a less generous compensation fund and a conveyancing insurance levy for clients, are included in Martin Mears’ election manifesto. Due to be unveiled this week, it urges electors to vote in “the reform candidates” of Mears and Sayer, his running mate. Among the proposals, rounded on as […]
As concern grows about the time and money involved in resolving a dispute by litigation, the role of the expert witness is coming under close scrutiny. This is particularly true of disputes relating to construction work where cases routinely take five or six years to get to court, and legal costs become a major factor […]
NATIONAL Solicitors Network Conquest is to launch a family mediation programme to enable members to integrate Lord Mackay’s recommendations on mediation-related client support into their own practices. Members voted overwhelmingly to introduce the new initiative following the recent release of the White Paper on divorce reform. Network chair Richard Berenson welcomes the positive response from […]
Ex-McGrigor Donald associate Hugh Macmaster has joined Glasgow-based firm Harper Macleod as a partner. Macmaster, who has also worked for Slaughter and May in the past, is specialising in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. “The acquisitions and mergers market in Scotland is going through an exciting period of growth,” he says. “I look forward […]
TOP UK firm Clifford Chance has opened a second Vietnam office in the country’s commercial centre in Ho Chi Minh City. The firm has operated an office in Hanoi since May last year, and practice head Fraser White says the country’s “ever-growing attraction” to foreign investors has prompted the establishment of a second presence. White, […]
US LEGAL management consultants Altman Weil Pensa has announced plans to establish a presence in the Pacific Rim under the direction of former Cameron Markby Hewitt information technology head Wendy London. London, who left CMH in 1994, will also become head of a new information, media and communications group at 21-partner Australian firm Price Brent […]
The expert determination of disputes is proving to be a cost-effective and popular alternative to both arbitration and litigation. David Ashton explains its advantages The expert determination of disputes has steadily gained popularity during the past several years. It serves as a useful adjunct to other means of resolving disputes without recourse to costly and […]
Last year, the technology transfer organisations of UK universities formed the University Companies Association (UNICO) to ensure the results of university research are rapidly transferred into commercial exploitation. One such technology transfer company is University of Leeds Innovations (ULIS). Established 25 years ago it now employs over 100 staff and has a turnover of nearly […]
CLIFFORD Chance faces High Court action after allegedly pulling out of a $1,742,800,544 court case. Zappia Middle East Construction Co, of Abu Dhabi, and Joseph Zappia, of Rome, have issued a writ against the firm claiming damages for breach of contract and fiduciary duty. The writ says the firm acted for the Zappias from May […]