INTERNATIONAL chartered accountancy firm Ernst & Young has surprised the legal world by slashing its US in-house department by more than one half. Thirty-seven of the firm’s 65 lawyers were called in on the 10 October Columbus Day holiday and dismissed. The firm’s national director of public communications, Mort Meyerson, says although staff had no […]
Parker Bullen is expanding its offices in Salisbury and Andover by strengthening its existing bases in those locations. The members of the firm’s former Southampton office merged with Bell Pope & Bridgewater, another firm in the city, and not the entire practice of Parker Bullen as reported in last week’s The Lawyer. Parker Bullen, which […]
The Westminster corruption hearings kicked off this week with district auditor John Magill announcing that solicitor Matthew Ives would be expected to explain his involvement in the housing policy. Ives, former legal head at Westminster City Council, was not included in the auditor’s provisional list of those accused of gerrymandering. But at the start of […]
THE ASSOCIATION of Women Solicitors (AWS) is compiling a record of the experiences of pioneering women solicitors. The project marks the 75th anniversary of the Sexual Discrimination (Removal) Act 1919, which removed the obstacles hindering women from entering any profession. Scant information exists about Carrie Morrison, the first woman to qualify as a solicitor in […]
CIVIL court delays compound the sense of unfairness felt by accident victims and add to their financial and emotional hardship, according to a new report. A Law Commission study reveals that damages awarded in personal injury cases are often too low to compensate for their long-term financial and physical suffering. It also confirms that there […]
CITY firm Lovell White Durrant has opened its new Vietnam office after the country’s authorities granted a license earlier this month. The office, to be based in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), signals a departure from the normal route taken by UK firms moving into Vietnam. The majority of firms have chosen to base […]
The Bahamas is the original tax haven and it still remains a favoured place for offshore funds, says Heather Thompson The Bahamas is known as “the first tax haven” and has long been favoured by the wealthy for the establishment of trusts. Its oldest trust company, the Bahamas General Trust Company, was established in 1936 […]
The International Bar Association (IBA) has elected its first woman office holder. Dianna Kempe QC, the first woman in Bermuda to become a Queen’s Counsel, was elected secretary general at the Melbourne meeting of the association. The appointment makes her a possible president for 1998. Scottish lawyer Professor Ross Harper was elected president from 1994 […]
Hackney Council in London is waging a war against council charge and community tax defaulters with the help of communications software from DCA. Using Remote LAN Node (RLN) software, recovery officers attending any magistrates’ court in England can access files from CTAX Unix databases at DCA’s municipal offices in east London to provide up-to-date print-outs […]
Property firm Ross & Craig has set up a specialist land regeneration unit to advise developers and property owners on land contamination problems. The group will form part of the firm’s environment division, headed by Martin Polden, chair of the Environmental Law Foundation (Elf). Elf has just appointed its first director, Katherine Davis, who joins […]
A D-DAY veteran is fighting the legal profession’s “privileged position” on fees by taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights. Bill Shaw, 74, is striking a blow for litigants-in-person, whom he says are grossly discriminated against when claiming costs. He is taking his fight to Europe under Article 6 of the Convention […]
Novell UK has announced that subsequent versions of Envoy, the portable document tool, can support integration with third-party components via a plug-in architecture called Envoy Extensions. This is the framework that will allow third-party developers to partially customise the Envoy Viewer by adding software components. These enhancements, available in early 1995, will complement the Envoy […]