Crown Court backlog is shrinking at a ‘glacial pace’, Law Society says April 19, 2022 The Law Society has slammed the government for its failures to tackle the Crown Court backlog, after claiming the pile-up of cases is “shrinking at a glacial pace”. Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce hit out at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) after new figures showed there are still 58,450 Crown Court cases waiting to [...]
Pinsent Masons enters City bidding war after boosting pay for new lawyers to £92k April 19, 2022 Pinsent Masons has given newly qualified (NQ) lawyers working in its London offices a 22.6 per cent pay rise, in upping their salaries to £92,000 a year. The commercial law firm entered the fray by hiking pay for its freshly trained lawyers from £75,000 to £92,000 a year. NQs working in its regional UK [...]
High Court bans man from suing people after he files £33.3 quadrillion claim April 13, 2022 The High Court has banned a man from suing people, after he tried to sue someone for more gold than has ever been mined in history. The court said serial litigator Sayed Sangamneheri should not be allowed to file anymore claims for the next two years, after he sought to claim £33.3 quadrillion. After the [...]
High Court judge calls for cap on divorce costs as Siberian supermarket exec racks up £8m in fees April 13, 2022 A High Court judge has called on the government to put a cap on the cost of getting a divorce, in commenting on a protracted legal battle between a Siberian supermarket executive and her homemaker husband. Mr Justice Mostyn decried the “apocalyptic” state of affairs, that has seen a couple rack up £5.4m in costs, [...]
Martin Shkreli’s lawyers ask to drop him as client as ‘pharma bro’ owes $2m in legal fees April 13, 2022 Martin Shkreli’s lawyers are seeking to drop him as a client, over claims the price-hiking pharma exec owes them $2.04m (£1.57m). Philadelphia headquartered law firm Duane Morris LLP asked for a judge’s permission to pull out of representing Shkreli after claiming the imprisoned former hedge fund manager “has no assets” to pay its fees. The [...]
Magistrates call for fewer online hearings after defendant tuned in while having a bath April 13, 2022 The rise of remote hearings in magistrates’ courts saw defendants tune into tribunals while having a bath, a new report from the Magistrates Association has said. The use of video calls during the pandemic saw some defendants show a “complete lack of respect” for the court, by appearing “half-naked” and treating the process like “social [...]
Ex-DeepMind employee says AI firm sought to ‘salvage’ its reputation instead of dealing with complaints April 13, 2022 A former DeepMind employee has hit out at the Alphabet owned firm for seeking to “discredit” her in a bid to “salvage” its own reputation, after she accused the AI developer of mishandling multiple sexual misconduct complaints. In an open letter, the former DeepMind employee – referred to only as Julie – said the [...]
Divorce filings boom as ‘no-fault’ laws come into force April 13, 2022 The introduction of new “no-fault” divorce laws has led to a surge in the number of couples filing for divorces, new government figures show. Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service has confirmed it has received around 3,000 divorce applications in the past week, compared to averages of 2,072 applications a week last year. For comparison, [...]
Slaughter and May ups pay for new lawyers to £115,000 a year as talent war rages on April 12, 2022 Slaughter & May has given its newly-qualified lawyers a seven per cent pay rise after upping their salaries to heights of £115,000. The pay hike will see Slaughter & May’s NQs see their salaries jump from current rates of £107,500 to £115,000 a year from May. Slaughter & May also said it would pay out [...]
London lawyer denies charges of tipping off client ahead of money-laundering probe April 12, 2022 A City of London solicitor, accused of forging a legal letter and tipping off a client about a money laundering investigation, is set to stand on trial after denying both counts. William Osmond, founder of City of London law firm Osmond Solicitors, entered not guilty pleas on one count of forgery and one count of [...]