The Lawyer reports from the front line of legal aid cuts as law centres and charities fear for the future of the UK justice system The Government’s proposed reforms to legal aid have attracted widespread condemnation from lawyers. Around 13,000 responses were submitted to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) Transforming Legal Aid consultation, which closed […]
Cyprus’s bailout and the haircut on deposits has hit the country hard. Although busy, the island’s law firms are also feeling the pain It was just under a year ago that Cyprus first went to the EU to ask for a bailout after suffering heavy losses from its exposure to Greek debt. Although the prospect […]
It’s sad, but the PR campaign against the Government’s legal aid proposals has not been as effective as it ought to have been. The impact of the proposals on high street solicitors is, of course, alarming, but any argument based on that angle is bound to provoke cries of lawyerly protectionism. Indeed, the Daily Mail […]
Kennedys’ purchase of aviation boutique is brave, but must be managed with care As big insurers demand more bang for their buck, some law firms are responding by trying to be all things to all people while others are building their specialist practices to make inroads into new areas. Kennedys’ acquisition of aviation boutique Gates […]
Korea’s top law firms are growing and keeping it friendly with incomers – for now It’s that time of year again when UK firms announce their financial results. While many are struggling to find the path to growth, firms in Asia present a clear contrast. Korea’s six top law firms recorded a collective revenue of […]
Minster to benefit hugely from investment by Compare the Market parent company Minster Law is one of those volume firms many City lawyers dismiss as downmarket factories. However, having been launched in 2005 the firm last year broke through the £100m barrier to post turnover of £104.1m. True, it carried significant debt, with borrowings of […]
Reviewing the Bribery Act before it has been tested in the courts is likely to be a waste of effort People are talking about the Bribery Act again. Not that the spotlight ever left it. Since it came into force it has been a focus of private practitioners, in-house counsel, compliance officers and board members […]
Associate pay is up at top UK firms, but it still trails pampered chums at US firms Those lucky City boys and girls have received good news in recent weeks. At Clifford Chance, salaries for NQ lawyers have jumped by 3.25 per cent, from £61,500 to £63,500. And this goes to up to £76,200 with […]
Stuart Whittle, director of operations Stuart Whittle joined Weightmans in 1993 and became an associate in 1998. He moved into a management role in 2005, when he was promoted to the firm’s head of IT, and has been director of operations since 2010. What are the key elements of your role? I’m responsible for our […]
The old rules no longer apply in the legal world, so it’s time to focus on the business basics We’ve all seen law firms unravel at alarming speed in recent years. We look apprehensively for reasons and quickly discount them as not applying to us. After all, it wasn’t you who took on massive lease […]
May was a good month for big players as Linklaters advised mega-miner Glenstrata on its first post-merger bond issue while CC and Freshfields both grabbed a piece of the £1.4bn Partnership IPO action. Shortly after clinching Glencore’s multibillion-pound union with mining peer Xstrata, which completed on 2 May, Linklaters sealed its role as lead adviser […]
Clarification could see courts get tough when sentencing on common law fraud prior to the SGC review Sentencing for the common law offence of conspiracy to defraud is back in the spotlight following the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Levene v R [2013] and R v Kallakisand Williams [2013]. Nicholas Levene, a former financier convicted […]