A case in which surveyors, valuers and auctioneers, Clive Lewis and Partners are to be sued by Mayfair property company Seymour Adelaide and Co, over allegedly negligent valuation of property is due in court soon. Seymour Adelaide claims the valuation of the property at u350,000 prior to refurbishment and u540,000 afterwards was an over-estimate of […]
City firm Herbert Smith has transferred its payroll processing contract to CMG Computer Management Group. A Payfact 2000 for Windows data entry system is being used to manage its monthly payroll. CMG has also developed special facilities for the automatic administration of a newly introduced profit-related pay, scheme, as well as online reporting and a […]
THE CHARITY Law Association (CLA) is to present draft legislation on the constitution of charities to the Home Office next year. The association is sponsoring research at Liverpool University with the aim of finding a simple system to replace the present web of regulations. CLA chair Anne Marie Piper says directors of charities with ordinary […]
US lawyers are spreading the word about northern firms following a flying visit organised by the Cowen Group. The group is named after its founder, Booth & Co joint senior partner Maurice Cowen. American members of the group gave seminars to Booth & Co clients in Leeds and to those of Addleshaws Sons & Latham […]
LEEDS-based Hammond Suddards has announced the formation of a new executive to lead the firm following the retirement of joint senior partner Trevor Lewis. Alan Bottomley will become Hammond Suddards’ sole senior partner and will chair the new executive, which will be comprised of John Heller, head of the litigation department, Noel Hutton, head of […]
URGENT action is needed to tackle problems with law student funding, the Lord Chancellor’s advisers have warned. A sharp drop in the number of discretionary grants awarded by local authorities could pose a “significant threat” to the widespread availability of general legal services. The Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct (Aclec) is […]
CLIFFORD Chance has launched a recruitment drive in a search for new people to boost numbers in its Moscow office. The office, which opened three years ago, includes partner William Knowles and 11 other lawyers plus researchers, paralegals and support staff. The firm has placed no limit on the number of new solicitors it is […]
VICTIMS of racially motivated crimes get a poor deal from lawyers and the legal system, a Law Society conference heard. But the conference was split on the Home Affairs Select Committee’s recommendation for a specific crime of racial violence. Barrister Courtney Griffiths said the law was adequate and legislation would divert attention from more practical […]
Personal injury lawyer Douglas Stewart, aged 50, is a partner at Stewarts and an author of legal fiction. Born in Glasgow, he lives and works in London. What was your first job? British Rail porter at Folkestone Harbour. What was your first salary as a lawyer? Overpaid at u5 per week. What would you have […]
LEEDS-BASED Simpson Curtis has set up a specialist business crime unit in response to the rising tide of white collar fraud. Partner Guy Harvey, who will head the new section, says the unit will be looking for commercial and criminal work. “This is an untapped market. You only have to look at the number of […]
The future for around 14,000 Lloyd’s Names facing legal action by the Lloyd’s corporation hangs in the balance as they await a major Court of Appeal judgment. Lloyd’s is seeking to recover the solvency shortfall to cover its u2 billion losses. The Appeal Court has reserved judgment on two separate but parallel cases which have […]
LONDON 24-partner firm Winckworth & Pemberton is restructuring its practice and forming new client-led mixed-skill teams to extend its niche services. The move has so far added u700,000 to the firm’s u8.5 million turnover this year by increased efficiency alone and further increases are expected from new business. The latest of the new teams is […]