Government

Relief for English lawyers as Supreme Court backs right to choose arbitrator's nationality

By Suzi Ring | August 3, 2011

London's position as a global centre for arbitration has been reaffirmed following a Supreme Court ruling that nationality and religion can be used as criteria in the selection and appointment of arbitrators. In a landmark judgment handed down last week, the Supreme Court confirmed that arbitrators are not employees and therefore fall outside of UK equality laws.

1 minute read

Does the 'pro-business' US Supreme Court really favour corporations?

By Legal Week | July 27, 2011

The US Supreme Court's recent rulings call into question whether it really favours corporations. Tony Mauro reports

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United fronts - the legal profession needs a more unified voice

By Alex Novarese | July 27, 2011

One of the themes emerging from this week's extended look at the sweeping reform of legal aid currently going through Parliament is that lawyers in general struggle to mount effective campaigns for worthwhile shifts in public policy. In the case of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, it was always going to be an uphill struggle. Lawyers aren't that popular on the Clapham omnibus and that kind of painfully complex reform is very difficult to energise debate with. This political reality is why legal aid, despite being a relatively tiny slice of social provision, has seen its budget already curtailed considerably during the last decade – its current £2.1bn level actually peaked in real terms 10% higher back in 2003-04. All this before the Government gears up to knock another £350m annually off the budget via a huge withdrawal of civil legal aid.

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Under pressure - are the legal aid cuts tough love or political expediency?

By Friederike Heine | July 27, 2011

The statement issued on 21 June by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was headed: 'Clarke: Plans outlined to reduce reoffending'. Those who read the opening paragraphs of the press notice, and indeed followed through to the middle section, would have understood that his announcement related to what the Government billed as a "radical plan to reduce reoffending".

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City lawyers size up US-style success fees – but concern grows over legal aid cuts

By Suzi Ring | June 29, 2011

City law firms are assessing the prospects for using damage-based billing arrangements (DBAs) for complex litigation following the Government's near-wholesale adoption of the Jackson reforms included in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill last week. The bill, which fell in line with previous consultations, is expected to see City law firms experiment with DBAs for high value disputes as demand for alternative billing methods increases.

1 minute read

Review of 48-strong Govt legal panel pushed back by 11 months

By Friederike Heine | June 22, 2011

The Government has pushed back a closely watched review of the panel set up to centralise Whitehall's legal spending for almost a year, it has emerged. Office of Government Commerce agency Buying Solutions has confirmed that the review of its 48-strong legal panel – formerly 
known as Catalist – has been delayed by 11 months after it originally kicked off in September last year.

1 minute read

The Vickers report - a very British compromise

By Sofia Lind | April 21, 2011

Officially, the Vickers report on UK banking reform was met with the cold shoulder by City lawyers last week but, in many ways, the initial proposals seemed an ideal outcome for banking advisers. The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) was set up by the coalition Government last year to examine reforms to reduce systemic risk in the banking system and "to investigate the complex issue of separating retail and investment banking in a sustainable way". Despite being billed as considering radical steps to tackle the excesses of banking, the ICB's initial recommendations were widely viewed as modest, leading the share price of a number of large UK banks to rise on the day of their announcement on 11 April.

1 minute read

MoJ cost savings spark fears of widespread job losses

By Claire Ruckin | August 11, 2010

A third of the Ministry of Justice's (MoJ) 80,000 staff could see their jobs at risk under plans to cut £2bn from the department's annual budget, a union has warned. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has expressed fears that £2bn of the MoJ's £9bn budget will be axed within the first two years of the next spending review, which will be announced on 20 October. The union fears that 15,000 of the MoJ's 80,000 staff could be at risk of losing their jobs under the cuts, which it says are the equivalent of the entire budget for prisons.

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The public life

By Legal Week | July 13, 2009

The public sector is enjoying a spell of popularity - both among out-of-work City lawyers looking for jobs and partners hoping to drum up business from a sector still with some money to spend.

1 minute read

Public and regulatory law: At your service

By Legal Week | June 18, 2009

As City law firms cut jobs and freeze pay levels, the public sector has become an increasingly attractive option to lawyers. Part of the allure is, no doubt, the relative security offered by government employers. But that's not the whole story. City associates who are tired of handling repetitive tasks such as due diligence and document review have long looked enviously at the more challenging work carried out by their peers in government bodies such as the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Treasury Solicitor's Office, but shied away from moving because of the carrot of law firm partnership and higher salaries. However, with uncertainty about future employment prospects – let alone partnership prospects – rife, increasing numbers have begun to consider a move into public service roles.

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New Jersey Law Journal

'This Is Unfair to Our Citizens': County Bar Presidents Issue Open Letter Protesting Judicial Vacancies

By Colleen Murphy | June 8, 2023

"Justice should not, and does not, depend on where you live," the letter said.

4 minute read

Law.com

Constitutionality of Idaho Law Banning Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth Challenged in Federal Court

By Colleen Murphy | June 8, 2023

"It violates the right to equal protection of transgender adolescents by singling out for prohibition only medical treatments that affirm a patient's gender if inconsistent with that patient's 'biological sex'—thus prohibiting those treatments only for transgender minors," stated the complaint. "The law is subject to heightened scrutiny because it classifies based on sex and because classifications based on transgender status are at least quasi-suspect."

4 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

RFQ for Special Counsel to NJ Treasury Department Opens For Applications

By Colleen Murphy | June 8, 2023

The New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety has issued a Request for Qualifications for special counsel to the Department of the Treasury in the Division of Investment Appointment to the Alternative Investments Pool.

2 minute read

The Legal Intelligencer

Battle for Pennsylvania: Joe Khan Enters Election Race for Attorney General

By Aleeza Furman | June 7, 2023

Former Bucks County solicitor Joe Khan's announcement comes about a week after ex-auditor general Eugene DePasquale said he would run for the office.

3 minute read

National Law Journal

Reed Smith Expands Life Sciences Practice With Manatt Partner-Counsel Duo

By Abigail Adcox | June 7, 2023

Reed Smith has added Brian Bewley and Kaitlyn Dunn to its roster amid rising regulatory scrutiny in the health care and life sciences space.

3 minute read

Daily Business Review

SEC Lawsuit Clears Way for Attorney's Federal Class Action in Miami Against Binance

By Michael A. Mora | June 7, 2023

The class action lawsuit in which a Florida attorney alleged that his "hundreds of clients" sustained damages that amounted to "hundreds of millions of dollars," is one result from the fallout of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's lawsuit against Binance.

4 minute read

Law.com

Protection of LGBTQ+ Rights, Religious Exercise: Maryland Supreme Court Asked to Interpret Statutes in Federal Employment Suit

By Allison Dunn | June 7, 2023

"The role for this court today in these limited, narrow certified question proceedings is to clarify and confirm what the Maryland General Assembly decided. In so doing, the court will uphold the deliberate balance that the Maryland General Assembly struck for better or for worse, whatever the court may think of that balance between two very important policy goals: one being the protection of LGBTQ rights, the other being the protection of religious exercise in Maryland," the counsel for Catholic Relief Services, Joseph C. Dugan, an associate at Gallagher Evelius & Jones, argued before the justices June 2.

5 minute read

Corporate Counsel

NASA Taps Judicial Nominee, Career Prosecutor as General Counsel

By Maria Dinzeo | June 6, 2023

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Iris Lan will lead a team of attorneys and professionals who "are critical to NASA fulfilling our mission to explore the unknown in air and space, innovate for the benefit of humanity, and inspire the world through discovery."

2 minute read

Daily Business Review

Florida Supreme Court to Rule on Discipline for Broward Circuit Judge

By Michael A. Mora | June 5, 2023

Now, it will be up to the Florida Supreme Court to either accept or deny the stipulation of public reprimand that the judge has agreed to despite that she has less than a month before her resignation takes effect.

3 minute read

National Law Journal

Near-Shoring Push Expected to Boost Growth for Global Law Firms in Mexico

By Amy Guthrie | June 4, 2023

Global firms Baker McKenzie and Hogan Lovells are fielding tons of inquiries, although there's plenty of inbound work to go around as manufacturing shifts from Asia back to North America.

6 minute read