Except if you’re openly gay. Martin Bowley QC examines the recent case upholding the ban on homosexuals in the military The judgments in the recent gays in the military case (Regina v Ministry of Defence ex parte Smith and others) were delivered on 7 June 1995. Presumably they will be fully reported in due course, […]
Cyril Dixon reports THE CONDUCT of lawyers is to be scrutinised in an extensive review of planning law set up by Labour. Shadow planning minister Keith Vaz is heading a panel which will look at the cause of delays, costs, confusion and anomalies in the system. Vaz says that one of the key areas to […]
The Association of Pension Lawyers has called for reform of share disclosure law which demands disclosure of holdings above a three per cent threshold in public companies. The association warns current rules regarding the aggregating interests through occupational pension schemes are overly complicated and it has called for simpler rules to avoid trustees being subjected […]
Mark Green believes firms can buy themselves a bargaining chip or two by taking on board a quality mark for services Solicitors know as well as any professionals the importance of quality service. But how do you ensure that you deliver just that? Quality standards were developed to meet this need, a formal standard which […]
Japanese war criminal Hiroshi Abe has admitted his country maltreated British prisoners during World War II and has called on his government to issue a formal apology. Abe, an engineer in charge of working parties on the Burma-Siam railway, apologised in a statement read in London’s Imperial War Museum. The comments come amid a court […]
Lawyers acting for Barings investors are squaring up for a High Court battle over the future ownership of $150 million of assets in Barings BV, the Dutch wholly-owned Barings plc subsidiary. Two groups of Barings institutional creditors holding $150 million of guaranteed floating rate capital notes apiece have competing claims on the BBV assets. One […]
BUSINESSMAN who is the subject of a Green Form fraud inquiry has set up “consultancies” to introduce legal aid clients to law firms. Peter Lane, a self-styled business “organiser”, has consultancy arrangements with three firms of solicitors. Under the arrangements, he is paid to “find” clients. The firms then carry out the work and claim […]
PERSONAL injury solicitors gearing up for conditional fees are confident they can strike up workable deals with barristers despite the continuing gulf between the Law Society and the Bar Council on terms of engagement. The Law Society, which published its advice to solicitors last week, advises that the Bar’s model terms of engagement are “in […]
HEREFORD and Worcester Council has decided to lift a ban on fox hunting after its county solicitor warned that the policy could lead to a successful challenge in the courts. The warning from head of legal Roger Yates follows Somerset County Council’s failed attempt to ban the Quantock Staghounds. A committee report by Yates says […]
Clifford Chance partner Michael Bray, William Blair QC, and New York-based Shearman & Sterling partner Ronald DeKoven are among the speakers listed for this year’s International Banking Law Conference to be held at London’s Claridges in October. Issues to be discussed include insolvencies in Eastern Europe, State aid and the international banking community, and rights […]
The Institute of Employment Rights, the think-tank supported by trade unions, has published a report arguing for reform of the law surrounding strike and industrial action. Gwyneth Pitt, professor of law at the University of Huddersfield, argues for new positive rights to protect employees against dismissal for taking strike action. She also says courts are […]
John Cooper feels that the judge’s power to recommend a sentence should be prescribed by legislation When a defendant is convicted of murder, he faces a mandatory life sentence. The trial judge can then recommend to the Home Secretary, through a pronouncement in open court, the minimum term of years that he, the trial judge […]