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International Edition

LSB prepares for brave new world with business plan

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has created its first-ever business plan as it prepares for the Legal Services Act (LSA). The plan, which has received the backing of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), comes into effect in April and will run until March 2010. It includes a number of goals for the coming year, including appointing a consumer panel and issuing a discussion paper on the development of Alternative Business Structures, which are set to come into force in 2011.
1 minute read

International Edition

Northern Rock shares dispute kicks off in court

The Northern Rock shareholder dispute hits the courts today (13 January), with a number of the legal profession's big hitters set to battle it out with the Government. The three-and-a-half day trial, at a specially convened Divisional Court at the Royal Courts of Justice, will see more than 150,000 private shareholders attempting to secure improved compensation following the nationalisation of the crisis-hit lender.The shareholders will not challenge the nationalisation itself but claim the statutory criteria established for the valuation process breach the European Convention on Human Rights.
2 minute read

International Edition

City litigators set to press ahead with judge appraisals

The UK's top judges are to be appraised by court users, with litigators taking the matter into their own hands after plans for non-peer reviews were rejected by the judiciary. The Commercial Litigators Forum (CLF) is pushing ahead with proposals that will see judges subjected to upward reviews, even though the suggestions were snubbed by a working group set up by the Judges Council and overseen by Commercial Court head Mr Justice Andrew Smith earlier this year. The CLF has formed a sub-committee within the last month to come up with a framework for the appraisals, with members including litigation partners Hilton Mervis of SJ Berwin, Lovells' Neil Fagan, Herbert Smith's Tim Parkes, Simon Willis of Mayer Brown and John Reynolds of White & Case.
2 minute read

International Edition

Plans to regulate barristers reach final stages

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is in the final stages of drawing up plans to regulate barristers, in preparation for the next round of reforms under the Legal Services Act (LSA). The BSB is planning to lift a ban in its code of conduct that would prevent barristers from becoming managers alongside solicitors within Legal Disciplinary Partnerships (LDPs), when they come into force in March 2009.Proposals from the Bar will leave entity-based regulation to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), with the BSB opting to monitor barristers only on an individual basis.
2 minute read

International Edition

Behind the veil

On Monday, January 21, 2008, back when extreme stock volatility was still a novelty, world equity markets plunged 6% with no full explanation apparent. Then, on Thursday, the mystery abated when at least a partial explanation for the sell-off appeared. The French bank Societe Generale (Soc Gen) announced that a young trader named Jerome Kerviel had somehow, without the bank noticing, bet A50bn that stock markets would rise. Soc Gen had spent the past few days desperately selling his positions - and set a new standard for rogue trading losses at A6.4bn. Hit by scandal and a potential legal mess, Soc Gen did what plenty of other rich and powerful French institutions would do in such a situation: It hired Jean Veil.
15 minute read

International Edition

New Bar Council chair talks up UK as location of choice for disputes

Incoming Bar Council chairman Desmond Browne QC has hailed the UK as the jurisdiction of choice for resolving disputes arising as a result of the global economic downturn. In his inaugural speech last night (8 December), Browne, who is joint head of chambers at 5 Raymond Buildings, commented: "Our jurisdiction is well-suited to become the choice location for resolving a wide range of international and national disputes, which will arise out of the recession and the global banking crisis, as much by arbitration as by litigation. This can become one of the drivers for a return to growth in the financial services sector."
2 minute read

International Edition

Herbies faces fees cut after Talco case settles

One of the most expensive cases in British legal history - the epic Talco battle in which Herbert Smith advised the Republic of Tajikistan in a dispute with a group of aluminium traders - has settled midway through trial. The settlement, which comes just four weeks into an 18-week trial, means Herbert Smith's fees - expected to hit $100m (£65m) - are likely to be reduced.The firm fielded a team led by disputes partner Simon Bushell, with the estimated total fees also including costs for counsel - Herbert Smith in-house advocate Murray Rosen QC and One Essex Court's Neil Kitchener QC.
2 minute read

International Edition

Bar to open its doors to TV cameras in fly-on-the-wall BBC documentary

The struggle to become a barrister and the everyday issues facing the profession are set to be revealed in a groundbreaking BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary, The Barristers.The four-part series, which will first air on BBC2 tomorrow (14 November), was co-produced by The Open University and gives an insight into all of the aspects of court life - from young people aspiring to join the profession to typical life in chambers for the most senior QCs and judges.Members of the profession taking part in the programme include Bar Council chairman Timothy Dutton QC, Louise McCabe and Alistair MacDonald of Birmingham-based St Philips Chambers, Annie Evans - one of the first Crown Prosecution Service barristers, and a number of students.
2 minute read

International Edition

Stars at the Bar: Future stars at the Bar

Who are the Inns of Court A-listers of the future? Dominic Carman meets 10 up-and-coming young barristers who are being tipped for the top
10 minute read

International Edition

Outer Temple in management structure reshuffle

Outer Temple Chambers has re-jigged its management structure in a move that will see three QCs take on new leadership roles as the set gears up for the Legal Services Act (LSA).Head of Chambers Philip Mott QC has become the set's executive director while former deputy head of chambers, Richard Lissack QC, will stand down from his role to become head of strategic development, in a post that will see him take responsibility for external marketing and public relations.In addition, Michael Bowes QC has taken on the role of head of service delivery in which he will take responsibility for quality assurance, the repackaging of services to take advantage of the LSA, management of contracts and promoting new ways of working.The new leadership structure was agreed at the set's annual general meeting last month (18 October), with each of the leaders to hold their post for four years until 2012, when the structure will come up for further review.The move follows the set's recent hire of Christine Kings, who joined in the newly-created role as chambers commercial director from Doughty Street last year. In addition, former senior clerk Derek Jenkins took on a new role of business development director in 2007 following a five-year plan from management consultants The Strategy House in 2006, which recommended splitting the operational running of the practice and responsibility for its strategy.
2 minute read

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