Changes to insurance regime could mean a PII revolution February 22, 2011 SOLICITORS are dealing with a number of challenges that threaten the futures of many within the legal profession. The recession has affected everyone and solicitors are no exception. Corporate lawyers aren’t seeing the deals that used to see them working into the early hours of the morning and the property lawyers have seen their conveyancing [...]
Serco walks from bid for US spy firm January 23, 2011 TALKS of a $2bn (£1.2bn) bid by outsourcing giant Serco for US spy firm SRA International were last night downplayed by the company. The contracting firm, which runs many of Britain’s public services, had reportedly considered a takeover bid for SRA in a deal that would have propelled it to become one of the biggest [...]
BRIEFS | LEGAL NEWS November 2, 2010 PARTNERS FACE PROCEEDINGS Former partners at Halliwells, which collapsed this summer, could face legal action. Joint administrators Dermot Power and Shay Bannon sent what has been dubbed a “letter of death” to ex-partners, saying that they could face proceedings related to claims including unpaid capital contributions and breach of duty. The administrators are investigating various [...]
BRIEFS | LEGAL NEWS November 2, 2010 PARTNERS FACE PROCEEDINGS Former partners at Halliwells, which collapsed this summer, could face legal action. Joint administrators Dermot Power and Shay Bannon sent what has been dubbed a “letter of death” to ex-partners, saying that they could face proceedings related to claims including unpaid capital contributions and breach of duty. The administrators are investigating various [...]
Two hot new hotels signal a new wave of cool for Miami October 31, 2010 HURRICANE SEASON”. It’s a phrase I’d blithely brushed aside clicking “add to basket” on my Miami flight, and continued to ignore while enthusiastically selecting “convertible” as a rental car. Now, trapped on the bridge to Miami beach, windscreen wipers going like the clappers and palm trees bent straining under the gale force winds, it’s one [...]
Indemnity market must be liberalised July 27, 2010 THIS year’s round of Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) renewals promises to be one of the most turbulent ever, but it could spur much-needed changes to the way the system is run. All law firms in England and Wales have to renew their PII by 1 October, but last week insurer Zurich, which insured 13 per [...]
Linklaters put on alert over Lehman help March 14, 2010 LEGAL regulation body, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is currently deciding whether to further investigate commercial law firm Linklaters in connection to advice it gave to stricken bank Lehman Brothers. A US court appointed report into the failings of the American bank found that Linklaters had advised Lehman Brothers on an off-balance sheet transaction called [...]
A new world of Tesco-style law for all October 20, 2009 SIX artfully stacked cans of baked beans adorn the desk of the Legal Services Board’s first chairman David Edmonds. This isn’t some clever executive desk toy nor is it evidence of a limited culinary imagination. Instead it’s a playful reference to “Tesco Law”, the shorthand for the ongoing liberalisation of the legal profession under the [...]
Private equity eyes up City law firms September 1, 2009 THE BELEAGUERED legal profession, says Jeremy Hand, managing partner of private equity firm Lyceum Capital, is facing “a fire-storm whipped up by the recession, smarter customers, technology, outsourcing and legislation”. If that wasn’t trouble enough, it’s also being forcibly opened up to competition that could arise from the so-called Tesco Law – the shorthand for [...]
Making sense of the legal consultation game June 2, 2009 ARE you feeling bemused? You are not alone. The City’s legal framework is undergoing profound change in the form of consultations that could define the direction in which the legal profession is heading. The point of consultations is to generate considered input from a wider number of people, leading to improved proposals. The problem for [...]