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11 April 2013 Legal aid: further cuts and competitive tendering plans This week the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) issued details of its plan to introduce price-competitive tendering (PCT) for criminal legal aid. The consultation also includes measures to cut a further £220m from the criminal and civil legal aid budget. Richard Miller, the Law Society’s…
4 April 2013 Law Society Council elections 2013 We’re looking for imaginative and energetic solicitors to stand in the upcoming Council elections to help drive the agenda for legal service provision and practice. There are 32 available seats in both geographical and non-geographical constituencies. Find out more and apply Managing a bank account for someone…
Vacancy for a Lord Chancellor appointed member commencing May 2013. The role is voluntary and is expected to last for 3 years. The TPC is an advisory Non-departmental Public Body and is responsible for making rules of procedure in the First-tier and Upper Tribunals. The post holder is required to be someone with experience of…
Week beginning: 25 March My activities this week have very much focused on our Council meeting on Wednesday, where we had some important issues to discuss. Helping the high street Top of the agenda was a debate focusing on helping the high street. We had a presentation setting out the many issues that our members…
5 December 2011 | By Vanessa Wozniak Linklaters capital markets lawyer Paulette Mastin is a leading light in the field of law firm diversity, devoting much of her time to championing the work of black lawyers in the City. And her work has not gone unnoticed. Last month she was named Diversity Champion 2011 at…
21 June 2010 There is something a bit ritualistic about arriving at a law firm’s office. While the ubiquitous security checks can differ in their intensity, the lull between announcing your arrival and being met by your host is always pretty much the same – under cover of checking out the 24-hour news wall or admiring…
The Black Solicitors Network (BSN) is planning to probe law firms about the social backgrounds of their lawyers in its latest survey. The BSN will be sending out questionnaires to the UK’s top law firms and barristers’ chambers next week, inviting them to participate in the research exercise, which will be used to compile its…
Labour’s controversial Planning Bill, which is aimed at speeding up the planning process for big projects such as airports and nuclear power stations, is likely to transform the role of lawyers in the planning process. The bill, which could still be picked apart by the House of Lords, has met with a mixed response from…
Forty black and minority ethnic solicitors from the West Midlands attended a free event in Birmingham yesterday organised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and supported by the Black Solicitors Network. The event ‘Engaging with BME Solicitors’ featured presentations by SRA Chair Peter Williamson and Chief Executive Antony Townsend, and practical workshops for delegates on…
BSN City Group’s latest event “Africa Emerging Markets: Opportunities and Challenges” held on Monday 15th March made the legal press this week. The event featured industry, financial markets and legal specialists speaking on business and economic successes and challenges, prospects for investment growth and managing legal and regulatory risk when investing in Africa. This well…
Thompsons leads the pack, with Allen & Overy, Wedlake Bell and Arnold & Porter, all heading up key areas in the Diversity League Table 2009. In spite of the difficult economic climate, it is clear that diversity and equality of opportunity are still high on the agenda for some of the UK’s leading firms; with…
The Rt Hon the Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC Attorney General SPEECH TO BLACK SOLICITORS’ NETWORK DINNER Firstly can I say what a great privilege it is for me to be here tonight. The association has been in existence since 2003. It is a wonderful thing to see all of you – and to see…
