SWEEPING changes to the tax tribunal system, including ending the 200-year secrecy of Special Commissioners’ hearings, will lead to more taxpayers’ appeals and work for lawyers. The changes, allowing publication of Special Commissioners’ decisions, have been welcomed by the Law Society for creating a more open and even-handed system Society revenue committee secretary Jill Hallpike […]
LAWYERS set off to Blackpool at the weekend to take part in John Monks’ new-look TUC conference. TUC solicitors Russell Jones & Walker, represented by managing partner John Webber and partner Fraser Whitehead, will advise on the legality of conference motions and decisions. Whitehead says: “We will be there in our official capacity as TUC […]
THE LEGAL Action Group (LAG) and the Nuffield Foundation announce this week they are undertaking an alternative fundamental review – more wide-ranging than the Lord Chancellor’s. Eight experts at the cutting edge of legal developments around the world will be among those taking part in the project, called Shaping the Future. A one-day conference in […]
NEW advertising rules could be enforced on British lawyers following a European Commission inquiry into standards. The commission is sending out questionnaires to test the views of law societies, bar associations and other self-regulating bodies. New advertising standards could then be put before the European Parliament. The Law Society is concerned that restrictions could damage […]
DISSOLVED multi-party action firm Pannone Napier could reform if a spate of disasters similar to those which plagued the UK during the past decade occur again. But former Law Society president Rodger Pannone, who formed the joint venture firm in 1986 with fellow personal injury lawyer Michael Napier, says it is more likely that his […]
INSIDER dealing regulations in the Criminal Justice Act 1993 have failed to win the City’s confidence, research says. The new law and related Stock Exchange guidance have “fallen some way short” of their laudable objectives, concludes the study by Focus Communications. Only one per cent of 500 respondent listed companies felt the Act would better […]
The Solicitors’ Staff Pension Fund (SSPF) will provide free pension advice to lawyers in half-hour consultations at the Law Society this month. The clinics, organised in conjunction with the London Young Solicitors Group, will be held on 7 and 13 September. SSPF representatives will provide individual advice between 5.30pm and 8.30pm. Contact Clare Jones at […]
Tony Holland, a member of the Lord Chancellor’s fundamental review team, is “stunned” by reports that his proposal for legal aid fund-holders is being used to cut the annual budget. It has been claimed that Lord Mackay is negotiating with Jonathan Aitken, the chief secretary to the Treasury, over ways to slash the legal aid […]
National Coal Supply Corporation of Israel
A training programme from the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group on new government regulations, similar to those used by the financial sector, has been produced for solicitors . It comprises a video explaining how money is laundered, the regulations and impact on solicitors, computer-based training including testing, and a staff guide for reference and reinforcement. […]
FRENCH firm Salans Hertzfield & Heilbronn has taken on a university lecturer from Kazakhstan as a consultant to help develop its new office in the capital, Almaty. Anatoly Didenko, head of the civil law department, will work with the firm’s full-time lawyers, Karen Widess, a Russian-speaking Western corporate lawyer, and Aigoul Kenjebayeva, a Kazakh natural […]
Cleveland County Council is seeking leave to take its judicial review action against the Local Government Commission to the Court of Appeal. By the end of the year many more local authorities in England will have tried to challenge the commission in the courts. Is this merely local authorities fighting for their own survival at […]