A LEADING legal authority on civil actions against the police has hit back at claims that lawyers are “tactically” suing the force in London because it is a “soft target”. Hugh Tomlinson, a barrister at New Court Chambers, says the rise in out-of-court settlements is probably because people are becoming increasingly aware of their rights. […]
THE Reverend Jesse Jackson was due to give the keynote speech on the criminal justice system at the American Bar Association (ABA) conference as The Lawyer went to press. The conference is set to be one of the biggest ever, with 10,000 delegates and 3,000 guests at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. William […]
DEVON-based firm Veitch Penny has announced plans to move to new offices in Exeter as part of an overall expansion of the practice. In autumn the firm, which also operates a Crediton office and an associate firm in Tiverton, will relocate from its high street premises to a new 8,000 sq ft office based in […]
President of the Bristol Law Society Tony Miles is acting for Frederick West, the Gloucester builder facing mass murder charges. Miles, a partner with Bobbetts Mackan, takes charge of the case from Cheltenham sole practitioner Howard Ogden, who was dropped by West last week. Ogden, known in the area as Oggie, refused to comment on […]
The Employment Appeals Tribunal has ruled that an industrial tribunal chair who asked an Asian applicant if he spoke English was discourteous and disrespectful. In its judgment the EAT said chair Stella Hollis had acted irregularly when she asked former Westminster College lecturer Minya Laher about his ethnic origins. Laher was appearing at the tribunal […]
Lloyd’s of London has appointed a Dibb Lupton Broomhead insolvency partner to help create a scheme to rake in the millions of pounds in unpaid debts from Names refusing to pay. The lawyer, 28-year old Philip Holden, will work with Lloyd’s chief executive Peter Middleton and Bernard Bradford, a former National Westminster Bank bad debt […]
The team from City firm Ashurst Morris Crisp came first in this year’s Great Legal Challenge, organised as part of the Chemical Bank Corporate Challenge, last month. Around 7,000 runners from 500 companies and firms entered the three-and-a-half mile race in London’s Battersea Park. The team of five from Ashursts was the fastest of the […]
AN “intimidating” partner in a law firm, who would lose his temper if his morning coffee was late, overloaded his secretary with work to force her to resign, an industrial tribunal heard. Nicolas Bellord, partner with church and charity lawyers Witham Weld, was described as a “bully” by legal secretary June Hedley, who represented herself […]
When the infamous magic circle is mentioned, Sara Robinson is a name usually missed. This is a mistake, because she has handled some of the more public divorces of the past decade. Robinson is a lawyer who bucks trends. While her fellow SFLA members are moving away from large firms, she has made a success […]
A KEEN interest in photography provided the flash of an idea which grew into a major local merger in Cheltenham. Davis & Co and Gregorys merged to form a 21-fee-earner outfit called Davis Gregory. Davis & Co partner Martin Davis and retiring Gregorys managing partner Peter Stone both sit on the local Law Society committee […]
HIGH-FLYING City banking partner Maurice Allen – one of the top names in his field – has resigned from Clifford Chance. Clifford Chance managing partner Geoffrey Howe says Allen is leaving to have a break from practising law and to contemplate his career direction. “Maurice has been thinking about this for some time. We decided […]
Two London advice agencies are among the first wave of successful franchise applicants. Hammersmith and Fulham Law Centre and the Mary Ward Legal and Financial Advice Centre have been awarded contracts for nine categories of work. Sue Willman, law centre worker for Hammersmith and Fulham, says the agency put itself through the quality audit in […]