IN-HOUSE lawyers working for police authorities are setting up an association to pool ideas and discuss common problems. An ad hoc group has been in existence for several years but now a draft constitution is being drawn up with a view to setting up a formal association. Chris Porteous, solicitor to the Commissioner of the […]
CITY firm Simmons & Simmons was attacked at the TUC conference in Blackpool for apparently advising rail chiefs to sack striking signal workers without notice and to face the legal consequences. But the firm declines to be drawn into a public row with unions over the affair. National Union of Journalists general secretary John Foster […]
The surge of interest in unit trusts over the last two and a half years has mostly been in trusts investing in the UK. Association of Unit Trusts and Investment Funds’ figures show that the most popular area in that period has been UK equity income sector funds with total sales between January 1992 and […]
Turner Kenneth Brown is being sued by three former non-executive directors of crashed Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). An originating summons was issued earlier this month for the return of documents, tape recordings and other materials relating to the period between 22 August 1991 and 26 April 1994 when the firm acted for […]
THE WIDOW of murdered Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane is proceeding with a legal action which could reveal further details of British military intelligence involvement in Northern Ireland. The case will be closely watched by the NI Law Society, human rights groups and Belfast solicitors concerned by the killing. The action is at the exchange of […]
THE LAW Society is setting up a system for on-going consultation with franchise-holders as practitioners debate whether or not to set up a break-away association. Birmingham solicitor Graham McGrath is floating the idea of an independent organisation to represent the interests of franchised firms. “Clearly the interests of those who are not franchised may be […]
THE longstanding relationship between lawyer and private client is in many cases a myth, a survey shows. Research reveals that only 50 per cent of people return to the solicitor they used last. The findings are in a report by marketing firm Synergy which examines how solicitors can win and keep clients. Synergy interviewed a […]
DEFENCE lawyers acting for American actor/footballer OJ Simpson are to use British legal software in the highly publicised murder trial starting at the end of the month. LiveNote, a computer-aided transcription system produced by Smith Bernal, was selected by the trial consultant to OJ Simpson’s lawyers, Robert Shapiro and F Lee Bailey. The UK product, […]
When Nabarro Nathanson swallowed up British Coal Corporation’s (BCC) legal team in 1990 and established a foothold in the north, the critics were quick to carp. Publicly they said it was ambitious, but in private many thought it mad. Competitors predicted that the mix of cultures, in-house and private practice, would prove problematic and that […]
FORMER British Petroleum legal chief Ken Walder has taken charge of British Airways’ in-house department. Walder, a barrister, has been appointed legal director in place of Mervyn Walker who is now the director of purchasing and supply. Walder also takes over as secretary from Gail Redwood who, at her own request, is resuming her role […]
LAWYERS are behind a new campaign to draw business into Nottingham. The city’s professionals are launching Nottingham First next week to establish the area as a major centre for business services. Eight of the city’s law firms have joined the new group, which also includes accountants, surveyors, bankers and insurers. The independent chair of Nottingham […]
MORE and more law firms are providing financial and investment services, according to a survey by The Lawyer. The findings coincide with the launch of a new Lawyer section on financial services (see pages 18 to 23). The survey among the country’s biggest 1,300 firms, found that around 40 per cent of the respondents are […]