The Law Centres Federation (LCF) believes that lack of training is to blame for the judiciary’s alleged failure to deal effectively with racially motivated crimes. A motion passed at the LCF annual general meeting pinpointed the “failure by the CPS to have properly trained prosecutors and a reluctance to undertake prosecutions”. Debashish Dey, of Tower […]
QUESTIONS still need to be asked about the expulsion of a black “ghetto chambers” by Lincoln’s Inn in the summer, according to a bar anti-racism campaigner Elpha Lecointe. The chambers of Yosefaly Serugo-Lugo was expelled from its rented premises at 9 Stone Buildings when its debts to the Inn rose above u38,000. At the time, […]
NEW national standards designed to advise court welfare officers on Family Court procedures have been released by the Home Office. The standards, which come into effect on 1 January 1995, are aimed at providing “best practice” guidelines for individual probation areas. Published for the first time, the new standards focus on the needs of children […]
As that conundrum and wonder of the international legal world, the International Bar Association, prepares for its biennial get together – this time in Melbourne – the old questions about it bubble to the surface. After two years in Claude Thomson’s safe hands, the internal state of the organisation is undoubtedly in a lot better […]
Andy Millmore
SOLICITORS in the UK could follow the example set by US advocates, taking out personal insurance rather than relying on the professional indemnity cover provided by firms. The move, which would “revolutionalise” professional indemnity cover, comes in response to a trend among smaller practices for suing lawyers and support staff for the excess on insurance […]
SOLICITORS could be asked to make compulsory payments to support pro-bono legal services if proposals to be put forward in a Labour Party consultation document later this year are approved. Speaking at the recent Law Centres Federation annual conference, Labour’s legal affairs spokesman, barrister Paul Boateng, said the party would be committed to a radical […]
THE GOVERNMENT’S failure to provide the Child Support Agency with the power to use discretion in making maintenance orders is seen by the legal profession as a “lacuna” in the legislation, a former High Court judge said. Speaking at last week’s fringe meeting of the Liberal Democrat Lawyers’ Association, Dame Margaret Booth said the objectives […]
As part of this year’s comprehensive International Bar Association coverage, The Lawyer has compiled tables of the top law firms in seven of the world’s major jurisdictions. From information supplied by the firms themselves, we have ranked them in descending order based on the number of fee earners they have. While the number of fee-earners […]
Criminal lawyers were due to launch a barristers’ charter at the weekend to improve standards and to cut down on last-minute changes in counsel. The proposal put foward by Manchester solicitor Michael Hopkinson, of Bridgwood & Hopkinson, at a conference of the Criminal Lawyers Solicitors Association (CLSA), follows a report on Bar standards which highlighted […]
Professor David Stephen Pearl is to be appointed as a circuit judge on the South Eastern Circuit. He is also to become an immigration adjudicator and chief adjudicator and has been designated as a special adjudicator. Pearl, who is 50, has been professor of law and dean of the school of law at the University […]
The recent report of the ‘beef’ tribunal of inquiry in the Irish Republic has left angry taxpayers with an Iru30 million bill in legal fees. One senior counsel earned over Irul million, the equivalent of the total estimated cost of Britain’s Scott Inquiry into the Arms-for-Iraq affair. Faced with widespread criticism over what is seen […]