LONDON barristers are considering career moves to the US as competition in the City hots up. Some 30 barristers travelled to the American Bar Association conference in New Orleans last month and a number of them realised there was life outside the Inns of Court. Amanda Green, of 3 Gray’s Inn Place, who was at […]
THE INSTITUTE of Legal Executives (Ilex) has unveiled a new distance learning course to provide accreditation for solicitor’s representatives. The scheme was launched after the Legal Aid Board’s decision to cut funding for the provision of legal advice in police stations. From February, only representatives accredited by the Law Society or registered as probationary representatives […]
FORMER England rugby international scrum half Richard Moon has joined Warwickshire firm Blythe Liggins as head of its employment law unit. Moon, who trained and worked with City firm Freshfields for eight years, moved to Birmingham practice Wragge & Co last year. He started at Blythe Liggins last month. An England B international, Moon won […]
The publication of the report from Lord Justice Scott into the sale of defence equipment to Iraq has been delayed until early next year. Publication of the report, scheduled for the autumn, has been postponed due to the need to gather and assess extra information. The conduct of the Attorney General, Sir Nicholas Lyell QC, […]
London firm Lawrence Graham has acted for the owners of a Soviet foxtrot class submarine which has been granted permission to moor near the Woolwich Barrier in Greenwich. The firm’s planning partner Trevor Blaney, who handled the case for Russian Submarines UK, says the firm moved “exceedingly quickly” on the case so the vessel could […]
Mediation organisation ADR Group is launching a complaints and disciplinary procedure for dissatisfied clients. The group, which provides solicitor mediators for bodies including the Bristol Law Society and the Housing Tenants Ombudsman Service, is establishing the service as part of a long-term plan to set up a national control body. The group has already contacted […]
THE FAILURE of most crown courts to eradicate delay and meet statutory waiting time limits indicates “grounds for concern”, says a National Audit Office (NAO) report. And the behaviour of defence lawyers and a shortage of judges on Circuit may be contributory factors to the problem, it says. The NAO’s recommendations, which have been largely […]
The Legal Aid Board has applied for leave to appeal a decision which will enable 20 smokers to reapply for funds to act against tobacco manufacturers. The board, which had an earlier application for leave dismissed by the High Court, went to the Court of Appeal last month to overturn a decision made in June. […]
Britain will host the world’s first exhibition for expert witnesses – the Expert Witness Event – in London later this year. The exhibition, to be held at the Barbican on 22 and 23 November, will allow visitors from the legal profession, industry and finance to meet experts in a range of topics including handwriting, ergonomics, […]
FORMER Richards Butler solicitor Charles Reynard has left the firm’s Hong Kong practice to join Nabarro Nathanson’s new Sheffield office. Reynard, who moved to Hong Kong six years ago as a founding member of Alsop Wilkinson’s branch in the colony, returns as a senior company and commercial solicitor. While practising in the Far East he […]
LEGAL bodies are continuing to recommend local government as a career path to lawyers, despite the current controversy over reorganisation, and the nearing start date for compulsory competitive tendering. Lawyers across the public and private sectors believe the benefits of a career in local authority still outweigh the disadvantages, with the rights of audience available […]
Roger Pearson looks ahead The House of Lords is to hear an appeal by a soldier jailed for life for murder after a car passenger was killed in a shooting incident in Northern Ireland. He has now been given leave to challenge his conviction. Lee William Clegg, a private with the Parachute Regiment, was given […]