Law Society president Charles Elly attended the official opening of the society’s newest regional office, based at the Old Vic in Bristol. The office is run by south west regional secretary Matthew McKaig (middle). The ceremony was also attended by Neil Major, president of the Association of South Western Law Societies.
AN ALL-male Law Society Council line up for the forthcoming presidential elections has prompted scathing “business as usual” accusations from rival candidate Eileen Pembridge. At its meeting last week the Law Society Council backed deputy vice president Henry Hodge as its candidate for the presidency following vice president John Young’s withdrawal from the race after […]
Property lawyers are facing further grim employment prospects following a downbeat assessment of the sector by analysts last week. Some authorities believe the market enjoyed a surge at the beginning and middle of last year – only to turn down again towards the end. Others say the recovery has only been sporadic, with major cities […]
A NEW Sentencing Council is proposed as part of a radical package of reforms unveiled last week by the Penal Affairs Consortium pressure group. The council would consist of senior judiciary figures and operate as part of the Court of Appeal, the group says. Regular guidelines would be issued to courts to ensure that offences […]
The two key factors that marked out the recession of the early 1990s from its predecessors were the damage it caused to hitherto secure areas such as the legal profession and the fact that its effects were felt harder in the South of England than in the North. The result of this ‘double-whammy’ was that […]
DISHONESTY among solicitors is on the up as they struggle to cope with growing debts, claims a Law Society report. A progress report to the society’s council on the campaign to crack down on fraud admits to only limited success since its launch two years ago. Though it identifies evidence defaulters are being discovered earlier […]
THE 850 pensioners of collapsed company Belling, victims of an alleged fraud by former solicitor Charles Deacon, will only benefit from £600,000 in Law Society compensation rather than the £2.25 million claimed. The society’s decision to pay anything out at all will be some relief to the pensioners and Law Debenture Trust, which handles their […]
DIBB Lupton Broomhead has fired 11 partners in an act of management blood-letting at the end of the firm’s financial year. The sackings, described by Dibbs as “counselling out,” occur across the 128-partner firm. The partners may work out their notices, ranging from six to twelve months. They will also receive external employment counselling costing […]
LAWYERS handling the private prosecution of four youths for the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence have set up a special fighting fund to pay for the investigation. The eight-strong team of barristers and solicitors have set up the Stephen Lawrence disbursement account alongside the existing fund which pays for other aspects of the Lawrence […]
TRAINEE solicitors have won their battle to maintain the minimum salary for trainees after a decisive Law Society vote in its favour. Training committee chair Roger Jones last week told members of the Law Society’s Council of significant support for the salary by his committee. A vote on keeping the wage, which the Trainee Solicitors’ […]
EURO MPs have shown initial signs of supporting a permanent right of cross-border establishment for EU lawyers following a debate in the European Parliament last week. The move has been welcomed by the law societies of England and Wales and Scotland, which have long opposed the European Commission’s proposal that lawyers should be subject to […]
The Law Society has shied away from proposals to monitor the ethnic make-up of all law firms although the equal opportunities policies of those taking on trainees will be monitored. The final proposals of the society’s working party on discrimination dealing with monitoring procedures were approved by the Law Society Council last week. A report […]