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Solicitors and other lawyers making the bad news from 2003 to date: News Roundup
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Date posted on UnjustIS |
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The market where 'caveat emptor' has become a charter for fraud The statisticians marked 2005 as a record year for the Alternative Investment Market, the London Stock Exchange's market for small and growth companies. |
30 Nov |
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The Pensions Commission has published its 2005 second report. |
30 Nov |
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Relief for Halifax fraud victims THE Halifax has finally agreed to
pay back the victims of IOU swindler Graham Price - with interest. |
30 Nov |
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The man who lost his mind Electro-convulsive therapy wiped out 15 years of Jonathan Cott's memories. So he began piecing together his past - and exploring what it means to remember. Barbara Elizabeth Stewart meets him |
29 Nov |
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Smoking Will someone please make up their minds. Ban it; partially ban it; agonise over consequentially lost revenues; inject more resources into the health service, or ignore the problem until it goes away. Hurry up - my arteries are hardening by the puff. |
Just a UJ ramble |
29 Nov |
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Calif. Congressman Admits Taking Bribes SAN DIEGO (AP) - Rep. Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, an eight-term congressman and hotshot Vietnam War fighter jock, pleaded guilty to graft and tearfully resigned Monday, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes mostly from defense contractors in exchange for government business and other favors. |
29 Nov |
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Fraud hits over half of UK companies: report LONDON (Reuters) - More than half of UK companies suffered from fraud in the past two years, losing an average of 1 million pounds each, and the most common method of detecting it was by accident, a report on Tuesday showed. Around 55 percent of British firms reported being hit by economic crime or fraud, compared with an average of 45 percent of businesses worldwid'e, a survey by auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers found. See also: Open to Persuasion? |
29 Nov |
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Lawyers give up power to rule on disputes SCOTLAND'S 9000 solicitors appear certain to be stripped of the right to police themselves after their governing body effectively conceded defeat in a battle to retain control over how the profession is regulated. |
29 Nov |
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Rogue Partner Michael Fielding embezzled millions from Lawrence Graham's client account and then fled to the US. In his first full interview since Fielding's conviction this month, senior partner Bill Richards tells Donna Sawyer how much it damaged the firm - and why partnerships still have to be based on trust |
29 Nov |
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UK victims of faulty drugs denied payout Claimants caught in legal limbo - Clare Dyer, legal editor One of Britain's leading QCs warned last night of a "serious risk" that people injured by faulty drugs will no longer be able to mount compensation claims in the British courts. |
29 Nov |
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Brief analysis of the complex fraud trials issue. Jubilee line fraud trial collapses at enormous cost Guardian, 23 March 2005 Alcohol duties fraud trial collapses. BBC, 26 November 2002 In 1995, the trial of Ian and Kevin Maxwell lasted eight months, cost £25m and resulted in no convictions. in 1994 the Brent Walker trial cost £40m, lasted four months and resulted in only one conviction. "The public no longer believes that the legal system ... is capable of bringing the perpetrators of serious frauds expeditiously and effectively to book. The overwhelming weight of the evidence laid before us suggests that the public is right. In relation to such crimes, and to the skilful and determined criminals who commit them, the present legal system is archaic, cumbersome and unreliable. At every stage ... the present arrangements offer an open invitation to blatant delay and abuse." Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, September 1993 Speech by Lord Roskill In the UK during the 1970's and early 1980's there was considerable public dissatisfaction with the system for investigating and prosecuting serious and complex fraud. Serious Fraud Office Research notes To search Google for relevant pdf documents featuring the 1986 "Roskill Report", entitled:"Fraud Trials Committee Report", click here Download the Fraud Bill as introduced in the House of Lords on 25th May 2005 pdf or html |
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27 Nov |
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No-jury trial plan 'presses on' The government is to press on with its plans to allow judges to sit without juries in complex fraud trials, despite opposition from lawyers and barristers. Attorney General Lord Goldsmith told BBC Radio 4's Today programme "it is about justice...making sure serious fraudsters are brought to trial". |
27 Nov |
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Crooked lawyers ordered to pay up A SOLICITOR and his law firm must pay £360,000 to 63 investors involved in a boiler room scam the Court of Appeal ruled today. John Martin and Adrian Sam & Co ("ASC"), the former London-based law firm at which Martin was a partner, were found guilty in December 2004 of being involved in an illegal overseas investment firm's 'boiler room' activities in the UK. |
26 Nov |
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Talks promised on non-jury trials Ministers are to enter
talks on re-thinking plans to allow judges to sit alone in complex fraud
trials. |
25 Nov |
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TSSI 'DISHONEST BRITAIN' SURVEY - WIDESPREAD FRAUD PUTS SECURITY AT RISK Dishonesty and fraud are widespread in the UK, with nearly half of people admitting to forgery and one in ten to low level identity fraud. A quarter of Britons confessed to exaggerating their educational qualifications to gain employment. Worryingly, with the prevalent terrorist threat, 10 per cent had misused ID access control systems by impersonating someone else or had assisted someone else to do so, and 32 per cent admitted conning their way past security personnel. 21 per cent owned up to having used fake identity cards. These are the key findings of the TSSI Dishonest Britain Study 2005, undertaken in November by TSSI Systems, Britain's document and identity security specialist. |
Request the report from TSSI |
25 Nov |
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OAP theft social worker is jailed A social worker who fleeced an elderly woman of her savings, sold her house and stole the proceeds, has been jailed for three years and three months. The Mold Crown Court judge said Glenys Margaret Hardwick, 57, was guilty of a "gross breach of trust" when looking after Dorothy Thomas, 82. |
25 Nov |
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Halifax urged to stop claiming millions back LAWYERS representing people who lost their savings to rogue bank manager Graham Price have urged the Halifax to end its attempts to claw back money from the devastated victims. They say that unless the Halifax - which Price worked for as an agent while stealing millions of pounds - changes its position, they will mount their own legal challenge against the bank. |
25 Nov |
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MPs act on new endowment injustice THOUSANDS of Scots who claim they were mis-sold endowment mortgages by solicitors are now being backed by MPs in their struggle for fair compensation deals. |
25 Nov |
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Legal aid crisis 'in some areas' Parts of the country are "legal aid deserts" where it is hard or impossible to find a publicly-funded solicitor, the legal aid minister has said. Bridget Prentice told the BBC that too much of the legal aid budget was being swallowed up by criminal legal aid. She was keen to redress the balance so that people involved in civil actions could get a solicitor. |
25 Nov |
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Millionaire cleared of tax fraud Ian Suttie, one of Scotland's richest men, has been cleared of tax fraud after a three-day trial. |
24 Nov |
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Govt appoints head to key justice review body The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has installed Lord Justice Moore-Bick as the new chairman of its Legal Services Consultative Panel (LSCP). |
24 Nov |
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Law Soc slammed for failure to hit complaints targets The Law Society is still failing to meet the majority of complaints-handling targets set by Legal Services Complaints Commissioner (LSCC) Zahida Manzoor... "Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: "There is a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature and unintended consequences of meeting our complaints-handling targets. In order to hit some of the targets set by Ms Manzoor, we would have to ignore some complaints which have been in the system for over twelve months, which would be a disservice to the consumer."" |
23 Nov |
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The Law Society has started its search for a chief executive to manage its regulatory function when this becomes operational in the New Year. The chief executive will report to Peter Williamson, a former Law Society president who is to head up the new Regulation Board, and will lead the team setting up the regulatory structure..."Williamson said: “The new boards will need to quickly establish a good track record so that we will be able to demonstrate to the Legal Services Board how well our separate governance arrangements are working.”" |
23 Nov |
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Financier guilty of £76m fraud FINANCIER Ian Andrew Leaf was today found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of a £76m fraud, following an eight-year investigation by the Revenue & Customs. |
22 Nov |
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White collar fraud costs firms billions Theft in the workplace has evolved beyond light-fingered staff pinching the odd pen or box of A4 paper into something far more catastrophic for companies..."The floodgates are wide open to fraudsters because too many firms have poor financial controls and inadequate audit procedures, the report said." |
22 Nov |
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Where is Falconer's evidence that juries have stymied fraud trails? Propelled by prejudice and phoney research, the government is removing a right granted by the Magna Carta |
22 Nov |
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Employees' fraud costs companies £2bn a year FRAUD by workers against their employers is costing UK firms more than £2 billion a year, a new report published today has revealed. Convicted fraudsters claimed that lax financial controls make it easy to rip off companies, snatching up to £25 million in cash. |
21 Nov |
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Non-jury trial plans under fire Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs are to try to block controversial plans to allow judges to sit without a jury in serious and complex fraud trials. |
21 Nov |
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CROOKED FINANCE COP CHEATED BANKS A SHAMED detective has been warned he faces jail after he admitted fraud totalling more than £100,000. Disgraced Raymond James Forbes, 42, who was a detective constable in the force's financial crime unit, pleaded guilty to five charges of deception. |
21 Nov |
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Men cleared of cheating pensioner out of house Two men were cleared yesterday of defrauding a partially sighted pensioner out of a house she owned by asking her to sign for a package on her doorstep. |
21 Nov |
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Call for legal refund to miners A Labour MP is calling on legal firms who have charged miners for compensation work to refund the money. Bassetlaw MP John Mann said he has had almost 1,500 complaints from miners in his constituency alone about legal firms charging "twice" for their work. Update: Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
21 Nov |
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Corporate fraud loses UK business £72bn each year Fraud is costing British business £72 billion a year, according to a report out this week. Despite the warning of recent corporate scandals involving Enron, WorldCom, Parmalat and Refco, UK companies are still estimated to be losing 6 per cent of their annual revenue to fraud and corruption, says a study by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and international lawyers Mishcon de Reya. |
20 Nov |
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New crack fraud squad mooted THE Government is mulling over a new national fraud squad to improve its chequered record in cracking down on financial crime. Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said that 'we should consider a national fraud squad' as part of a 'more effective response to fraud'. |
19 Nov |
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Police raid union HQ in claims fraud probe FRAUD squad detectives this week raided the headquarters of the Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM) as part of the police investigation into the miners' compensation scheme. The union's HQ in Mansfield and six other premises in the area were searched by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the raids which took place early on Tuesday morning. |
19 Nov |
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Solicitors spurn new QC selection system The new Queen’s Counsel system has failed to boost the number of solicitors applying, it has emerged. Of the 443 applications received, just 12 were from solicitors, compared to ten of the 394 who applied in the final competition run by the government in 2002/03, before the award’s suspension. (Solicitors might feel intimidated by the Code of Conduct of the Bar of England & Wales. UJ) |
18 Nov |
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Manzoor: commissioner praises
improvement, but more effort needed to avoid penalty. |
18 Nov |
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Bar Council announces new regulatory chief The Bar Council has unveiled Ruth Evans, the former chief executive of the National Consumer Council, as the inaugural chair of its new regulatory body Bar Standards Board (BSB). Evans was selected by an independent panel to head up the board, which will police barristers in line with Sir David Clementi’s package of legal reforms. (Update: Bar appoints new complaints commissioner, May 2006.) |
17 Nov |
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'Mafia' gangs 'inside UK banks' Britain's top financial regulator warned of increasing evidence of sophisticated criminal gangs "placing" their own agents inside banks to carry out large-scale frauds. |
16 Nov |
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Taxman to snoop in your home Council tax inspectors will be able to enter people's homes and take photographs even of their bedrooms, it emerged yesterday. Whitehall documents reveal that they will be allowed to "obtain factual information from internal inspections" as part of the enormous exercise to revalue 22 million properties in England..."Not only will homes face soaring council tax bills but everyone will pay the price for this Orwellian bureaucracy." (Any relation here? UJ) |
15 Nov |
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Iraqi lawyers withdraw from Saddam's defence team Some 1,100 Iraqi lawyers have withdrawn from Saddam Hussein's defence team, citing insufficient protection following the slaying of two of their peers who had defended co-defendants of the ousted Iraqi leader. |
13 Nov |
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Injustice fears over jury measures Imminent plans to curb trial by jury could lead to an increase in miscarriages of justice, a pressure group has warned. The civil rights and law reform organisation Justice said the Government's measures - which have already been passed in legislation, but not yet brought in - could result in wrongful convictions and a rise in the number of appeals. |
13 Nov |
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Corporate identity fraud worsens Corporate identity theft is costing UK industry as much as £50m a year as fraudsters adopt more audacious tactics to rip off companies, a report says. Fraudsters pose as company directors by registering at Companies House so they can appear legitimate to suppliers. |
12 Nov |
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FSA fraud case recovers money LONDON (Reuters) - Two former directors at software firm AIT received fines totalling 981,000 pounds for deceiving investors at a court case on Friday, but the case cost the financial watchdog 1.96 million pounds. |
12 Nov |
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The Law Society in England & Wales is attempting to rewrite history, revealing exactly how corrupt is has become. See Special items, above. |
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11 Nov |
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The Great Phone Call Con
When Sallyann Taylor got a phone call from BT in August last year, a
nightmare began. |
11 Nov |
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Mixed fortunes for lawyers in libel battles A solicitor was awarded £19,000 in damages for defamation and harassment last week from the husband of a former client who falsely branded him a ‘greedy, incompetent tosspot’. Meanwhile, a London practitioner who won £96,000 for libel and malicious falsehood this week saw his award overturned by the Court of Appeal. |
11 Nov |
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Fraudster ran £2m phone line scam A fraudster who masterminded a £2m premium phone line scam, distributing thousands of scratchcards and letters telling people they had won a luxury prize, was yesterday ordered to do 200 hours of community service. (This is England - still a fraudsters' paradise. UJ) |
11 Nov |
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BBC film exposes phone scam misery The shady world of rogue diallers and premium rate phone scams comes under the spotlight today following an investigation by the BBC's Money Programme. |
11 Nov |
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How Scargill's NUM pocketed millions from his sick miners
A firm of solicitors has made a fortune after ex-pitmen were misled over
their damages claims. |
11 Nov |
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'They told me I had to sign or lose my money' MINERS whose health was shattered by years spent working underground say they feel betrayed by the union they trusted to get them the best deal for their claims. |
11 Nov |
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Watchdog is losing its bite INVESTORS rely on the Financial Services Authority to come down hard on companies and executives who misbehave. That is an unenviable task for the officials at Canary Wharf, considering most big bosses are by definition egotistical and headstrong, and have a battery of expensive legal talent at their disposal. |
10 Nov |
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Halifax says it will pursue fraudster's victims FINANCIAL giant Halifax yesterday warned victims of rogue bank manager Graham Price that it will press ahead with attempts to reclaim money from them. |
10 Nov |
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Why should I foot the bill for crime? "When I pick up a local newspaper, there are several sections I always look at first: wedding photos, the obituaries and birth announcements and then I go straight to the comedy section, or to give it its official name, the court section." Writes Amanda Morton in a BBC opinion survey |
09 Nov |
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Strange case of man who stole dead baby's identity to lead fantasy life A BOGUS aristocrat who used a dead baby's name for 23 years and has refused to reveal his true identity even to his own ex-wife and children was jailed for 21 months yesterday. The man, who called himself Lord Buckingham, assumed the identity of Christopher Edward Buckingham, a nine-month-old boy who died in 1963. |
09 Nov |
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Worries remain for fraud victims Victims of Graham Price's theft have expressed their "satisfaction" at his 12 year jail sentence but said their financial worries were not over. Graham Price, 58, of Llansamlet was jailed for 12 years for stealing £10ms from investors and the Halifax Bank for whom he was an agent. |
09 Nov |
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Metropolitan Police seeks a Director of Legal Services |
As advertised in The Times |
08 Nov |
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'Betrayal' over 500 defence jobs The loss of 500 south Wales defence repair jobs has been widely criticised, with Labour MPs condemning their own government's decision. |
08 Nov |
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'Uproar' looming over salary divide in legal profession FEMALE lawyers in Scotland are earning substantially less than men for doing the same job, a landmark report will reveal this week. |
08 Nov |
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Direct bar access under threat as Law Soc challenges Bar Council The Bar Council and the Law Society were at loggerheads in the Court of Appeal last week in a case that could determine the future of the bar's direct access scheme. |
08 Nov |
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Doctor in drug scam pocketed £150,000 DODGY doctor Ranchhod
Patel has been jailed for two years for fiddling the NHS out of £150,000.
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07 Nov |
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Victims 'destroyed' by bank thief People who lost large sums after a former financial consultant stole £10m from 85 investors and the Halifax Bank say their lives have been "destroyed". Graham Price, 58, was being sentenced on Monday at Swansea Crown Court after admitting 43 charges of theft. |
07 Nov |
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Author of Fish Sunday Thinking quits the law Paul Wragg, the former Hammonds assistant who made waves this summer with his novel depicting sex and scandal in a solicitors' firm, has quit the law to become a full-time author. |
07 Nov |
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Employers urged to give staff time to sit as JPs Employers will be encouraged to give staff more time off to serve as magistrates under plans to be published today. Lord Falconer, the lord chancellor, aims to introduce clearer statutory provisions explaining when companies should allow "reasonable" time off for workers to sit as junior members of the judiciary. |
07 Nov |
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Society focusing on equality and diversity THE Law Society of Scotland has launched a three-year equality and diversity strategy which will govern its operations and dealings with members and the general public, while also supporting similar policies in member firms. |
07 Nov |
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‘Middle-class, middle-aged’ magistrates set for makeover THOUSANDS of younger and more ethnically diverse magistrates will be recruited as part of a drive by the Lord Chancellor to boost the standing of magistrates’ courts. |
07 Nov |
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Thousands of minor court cases to be settled by post People who admit evading council tax or watching television without a licence will be sentenced by post rather than in the magistrates' courts under government proposals outlined today. |
07 Nov |
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Judges ready to take legal action over pensions tax JUDGES are considering unprecedented legal action against the Government in a row over changes to their pension rights. A working group of senior judges has instructed leading counsel to advise on the legal options, including suing the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, QC. |
07 Nov |
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NRI to head UK's judicial commission Britain's judges will, henceforth, be appointed by a judicial commission chaired by a person of Indian origin. |
07 Nov |
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Lawyers uncertain over plans for fraud trials Prosecutors are considering negotiating with defence lawyers in an effort to delay charges in some serious fraud cases as they grapple with the uncertainty created by the government's plan to ask parliament to approve non-jury trials in certain circumstances. |
07 Nov |
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£27m of our money wasted as legal aid cases ditched A STAGGERING £27m of public money was paid out in legal aid over 12 months to pursue civil cases that were abandoned before reaching court, we can reveal. Details of the scale of payments have emerged following the case of a Cardiff architect and property developer who was declared bankrupt after the Legal Services Commission (LSC) withdrew funding for a professional negligence case he was bringing against a solicitor after £500,000 had been spent on legal aid. |
07 Nov |
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The fraud buster A BALL-BREAKING fraud tsar has
begun an investigation into the biggest local government social housing
fraud of all time. Chief Reporter GREG TRUSCOTT looks into it... |
05 Nov |
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Immigrant jailed for £1m benefit fraud A Nigerian immigrant who used at least 19 false identities has been jailed for three years for defrauding the benefits system out of £1 million. Ominaya Alabi, 31, had been deported twice for similar offences but returned to the UK to continue his scam. |
05 Nov |
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‘Menace’ jailed for 4 years in fraud case AN UNDISCHARGED bankrupt who preyed on struggling businesses as a “white knight” had also ruined dozens of pensioners by stealing £2.9 million from a pension fund. Kevin Sykes, 45, was sentenced this week to four years in prison for fraudulent trading after one of the biggest investigations by the Department of Trade and Industry. He was also disqualified from acting as a director for 15 years. |
05 Nov |
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Solicitor remand on theft charges A former Anglesey solicitor has appeared before magistrates in Wrexham on eight charges of stealing clients' money. |
04 Nov |
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OFT and Nigerian financial crime squad join forces to combat spam fraud The OFT and its law enforcement partners in Nigeria are warning consumers to be wary of unsolicited e-mails asking for help in moving large sums of money in exchange for a share of the spoils. The emails often appear to come from a respected official,such as a bank manager or a government agency. They explain that they have discovered secret funds that must be moved out of their country and ask for your help to move them to the UK. They will offer to deposit large sums in your bank account temporarily and in exchange you will get a share. |
04 Nov |
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Curbs on 'compensation culture' anger lawyers Britain is in the grip of a "compensation culture" that must be curbed, the government's most senior legal figure insisted yesterday, sparking a furious response from lawyers. Unveiling measures aimed at reining in "ambulance-chasing" claims groups, Lord Falconer, the lord chancellor, said: "There is a culture of fear of being sued and it is stopping good activities. |
04 Nov |
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BCCI creditors seek inquiry into liquidator's costly court action The former employees of the collapsed bank BCCI are calling for a government investigation into the conduct of the liquidator Deloitte, after it dropped its £850m damages case against the Bank of England on Wednesday. |
04 Nov |
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Equitable ready to throw in the towel THE battered board of mutual insurer Equitable Life is ready to throw in the towel in its disastrous legal dispute with a number of its former directors. Chairman Vanni Treves has drawn up a blueprint for settling the cases - even though this will mean writing a cheque for around £10m to cover legal bills run up by the former bosses, as well as £30m for Equitable's costs. |
04 Nov |
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Lawyer jailed for stealing 6 mln stg from clients LONDON (Reuters) - A solicitor was jailed for eight years on Thursday for stealing over 6 million pounds from his clients. Michael Fielding, 59, used his position as a partner at law firm Lawrence Graham to fraudulently sign off requests for scores of payments over a 3-year period. "At present, 140 unauthorised withdrawals totalling 6.5 million pounds have been identified," police said after Fielding was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court. |
03 Nov |
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Firm's pensions thief jailed The mastermind behind a plot to systematically fleece more than £2.9 million from the pension fund of a Birmingham lock-makers has been sent to jail for eight years. Kevin Sykes was the main figure behind the scam, which left scores of pensioners who worked at Hockley-based CW Cheney & Son Ltd facing financial ruin. |
03 Nov |
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Female law trainees 'victims of sexual blackmail' Female trainee solicitors are being blackmailed into accepting sexual advances from senior male lawyers in return for being offered jobs, a report into employment practices in law firms has found. |
03 Nov |
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Scots spurn civil justice system due to 'crippling' level of costs THOUSANDS of Scots are being put off pursuing damages and other civil claims because the system is too expensive, too slow and too complex, according to a new report. The Scottish Consumer Council (SCC) says a review of the civil justice system is urgently needed - with "crippling" legal expenses top of the agenda. |
03 Nov |
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Landmark BCCI battle ends as liquidators abandon court fight The most expensive battle in UK legal history has come to an end, with Lovells client, BCCI’s creditors, this morning (2 November) withdrawing its action against the Bank of England. |
02 Nov |
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Falconer urges solicitors to apply for the bench Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer has urged solicitors to become judges in an effort to boost judicial diversity. The government is working with the Law Society and leading law firms on a series of initiatives aimed at promoting solicitors to the judiciary. |
02 Nov |
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Auditors welcome liability reforms Auditors were preparing on Tuesday to welcome safeguards protecting them against negligence claims, but investors were reserving judgment on whether other changes to company law would improve the quality of auditing. |
02 Nov |
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NHS fraud crackdown launched A public drive has been launched to highlight fraud in the NHS in Scotland - estimated to cost as much as £80 million a year. Deputy health minister Lewis Macdonald described it as "a hidden disease" when he launched the NHS's first ever "fraud awareness month". The £80 million figure is based on what NHS chiefs describe as a "conservative" estimate that fraud could cost 1% of the service's annual £8 billion budget. It comes in the form of fraudulent claims by health professionals such as dentists, opticians and pharmacists, and by patients who wrongly claim to be exempt from charges. |
02 Nov |
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Man jailed for eBay phishing fraud LONDON (Reuters) - A man was jailed for four years on Tuesday for masterminding an eBay internet auction swindle which stole computer account details from users and assumed their identities. David Levi led six others in a gang which scooped almost 200,000 pounds through a "phishing" fraud -- the practice of stealing goods after tricking computer users into revealing their bank details. |
02 Nov |
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Bar Council challenges Revenue on costs scheme The Bar Council and Revenue & Customs yesterday opposed each other in a test case that could determine the freedom that professional firms, like accountants, have to instruct barristers directly and cut out solicitors' costs. |
01 Nov |
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Workers offered free advice to keep lawyers away WORKERS sharing a £40 million equal pay package have been offered free, independent legal advice to keep them away from "ambulance-chasing" lawyers. Solicitors offering "no win, no fee" deals are courting 11,000 council employees, most of them women, promising better deals if they reject their individual deals and go to law. |
01 Nov |
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UK Government reforms herald world’s most liberal legal system "The reverberations from the UK Government’s plans for radical reform of its legal services market, the second-largest in the world, will be felt by lawyers far beyond the white cliffs of Dover." |
31 Oct |
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Met and City plan to merge fraud squads The Metropolitan and City of London police forces are backing a plan to merge their economic crime units into one super fraud squad. |
31 Oct |
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Fugitive City lawyer faces jail A top City lawyer, who used to advise the Princess Diana Memorial Trust, is to be sentenced this week after admitting stealing at least £6.5m from his clients. Michael Fielding, a former partner at solicitors Lawrence Graham, was a fugitive from justice for more than four years... |
31 Oct |
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General counsel give law firms the boot Some 40% of general counsel have
sacked a law firm in the past year, research revealed this week. |
28 Oct |
Law Soc regulatory arm seeks
chief