In brief: Turkish lawyers
Turkish lawyers are coming to London this week to learn about human rights. The British Council project aims to build a network of Turkish lawyers with a UK and international perspective on the protection of human rights.
Pro bono: elementary to education
Pro bono is viewed variously by lawyers as an altruistic sacrifice, good PR, or as building stronger links between the legal profession and the community. It is viewed by the Government as complementary to an efficient and fair system of justice, the same way as it views the relationship between government expenditure and lottery funding. […]
Game, set and match
According to at least one Labour MP, politicians view lawyers in the same way many people view politicians: at best they don’t trust them, at worst they think they are over-paid, elitist and arrogant.It is an uncomfortable fact that, as the battle over the Access to Justice Bill enters the House of Commons, many MPs […]
Rogue door causes uproar
The extent to which a local authority is justified in ordering a whole building to be demolished where planning consent has been breached is now pending in the High Court. The case centres on an enforcement notice ordering Anouschka Sparkes from Hampshire to remove a building on farm land at Hawkley on the basis it […]
Three top Italian firms merge to fight UK and US predators
Three top Italian law firms are merging in response to “aggressive competition” from UK and US practices.The firms are Erede e Associati, which is advising Olivetti in its £36.5bn take-over of Telecom Italia alongside Herbert Smith (The Lawyer last week), Bonelli e Associati and Pappalardo e Associati.Foreign interest has forced Italian firms to examine their […]
CPS plans shake-up of 'preferred sets' system
The Crown Prosecution Service is proposing fundamental changes to the system of selecting barristers to do its prosecution work, just a month after cutting 11 sets from its “preferred sets” list, as exclusively revealed in The Lawyer (17 November 1998).A CPS spokeswoman says: “The CPS has proposed that there should in future be access by […]
Partners on the moveA
Goodman Derrick has appointed Martin Emmison to its expanding corporate group. Emmison was previously a partner at Rowe & Maw and specialises in domestic and international acquisitions and inward investment from the US.Diane Murphy has left Taylors Solicitors in Blackburn to join Carlisle-based firm, baines wilson. Previously, she has worked for Dibb Lupton after its […]
Regions to be cheerful
In the professional negligence field, the general perception is that the expertise is based in London and it is, in fact, true that the London Bar is used exclusively for the biggest cases. The reason given for this is that professional indemnity insurers are largely based in the capital and they prefer the expertise that […]
Entertainments must get businesslike
The recent legal battle in which James Palumbo’s Ministry of Sound (MoS) companies sued one of its former key executives for breach of contract, is seen by top lawyers as highlighting the importance of equitable remedies in the fast moving and often informal environment of the entertainment industry. The recent case centred on Lynn Cosgrave, […]
Bluebells hit royalty claim
Former Bananarama singer Siobhan Fahey is heading for a High Court showdown with a man who claims he co-wrote Young at Heart, a 1983 hit for The Bluebells which was also used in VW’s TV adverts. Robert Beckingham, also known as Bobby Valentino, is suing Fahey and writer, Robert Hodgens. He is seeking a High […]
White & Case hires Bakers partner
White & Case has recruited a Baker & McKenzie partner and an associate to its Hungarian practice, Reczicza Law Firm White & Case.Zsuzanna Kovacs is described as a senior Hungarian lawyer by Rob Irving, joint head of the White & Case Budapest office.Kovacs was a local partner at Baker & McKenzie and joins Reczicza as […]
The pro bono myth laid bare
AS THE Government pursues a successful strategy of attacking solicitors for their supposed greed, the legal profession is steadfastly refusing to reveal what work it does for free.Unearthing individual solicitors who are committed to pro bono is not difficult. But getting the entire profession to provide the hard facts and figures to show how much […]