March 2008 Archives
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17th April "A Question of Sport"
Posted by Joseph Walsh on March 31, 2008 3:49 PM
Hey how’s it going?
It’s been a while since my last blog because I haven’t had a minute to myself. My first seat is now over and the first six months of my training contract spent in employment has now finished. I loved every minute of my time in Employment, from really enjoyed working with all the people to the varied workload.
Continue reading "17th April "A Question of Sport""
New recruit for Bootle firm
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 31, 2008 6:45 AM
JAMES Murray Solicitors has strengthened its 'no win no fee' department with the appointment of a new personal injury specialist.
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Collaborative law a "realistic alternative"
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 31, 2008 6:45 AM
A NORTH West collaborative lawyer believes that the recent high profile divorce of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills has further highlighted the need for an alternative to the traditional approach.
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Blog: It’s not just Dragons Den - Innovation and entrepreneurialism alive in Liverpool
Posted by Philip Gray on March 28, 2008 5:20 PM
Recent headlines reporting the sale of online networking site Bebo for around £290M show just how profitable a good idea can be. Inventing and entrepreneurialism in general has become ingrained in popular culture in recent years thanks largely to TV shows such as Dragons Den. The resurgence in entrepreneurialism is particularly evident in Liverpool thanks to the growth of organisations providing support and advice to budding entrepreneurs and inventors.
However, the fact remains that the vast majority of ideas never get off the drawing board. There are two hurdles facing an entrepreneur/inventor, and both can only be overcome by securing funding, and usually a lot of it. The first problem is getting a good idea on paper off the drawing board to produce a working prototype. The second is to obtain legal protection for the idea whether that be a patent or registered design right. Neither come cheap.
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Award for Stobart advisors
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 28, 2008 6:45 AM
WHILE advising Stobart Group, the Warrington-based transport and logistics provider, on a hat trick of £85m transactions last week, Halliwells corporate partners Jonathan Brown and Craig Scott were forced to leave negotiations for a short while to collect an award for their role in helping Eddie Stobert onto the stock Mmarket in a range of transactions last year.
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Weightmans announces CSR ambitions
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 27, 2008 6:50 AM
WEIGHTMANS has celebrated the corporat social responsibility efforts of its staff over the last 12 months and announced its ambitions for 2008.
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Launch of new commercial property forum
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 27, 2008 6:45 AM
TWO of Liverpool’s leading property players have joined forces to launch Liverpool Commercial. Gregory Abrams Davidson solicitors and Venmore Commercial launched the forum earlier this month to provide a series of free seminars on commercial property, the buy-to-let market and landlord/ tenant issues.
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BLOG: Tony Wilson, senior partner, Hill Dickinson
Posted by Legal Week Administrator on March 26, 2008 7:24 PM
Kathy Perrin in our Liverpool office has enjoyed an experience few lawyers ever do - a case heard in the House of Lords. And she only qualified two years ago. The case of Young vs Catholic Care (the latter our clients) is actually the second we have had in the Lords in a short space of time.
Most cases stop at the Court of Appeal and it's rare for them to be given leave to appeal to the Lords. For any litigation lawyer it is a dream come true. She did a great job and was even quoted in The Times on the implications of the law around compensation for child abuse victims. What with the grim news emerging from Jersey, this will be an area likely to stay high profile.
Continue reading "BLOG: Tony Wilson, senior partner, Hill Dickinson"
Liverpool judge hits back at Hogan-Howe gun comments
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 26, 2008 11:25 AM
LIVERPOOL’S top judge has defended his colleagues against criticism from Merseyside’s police chief that they are failing to deter gun crime.
The recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe QC added the chief constable’s claims that judges were ignoring sentencing guidelines were “potentially damaging” for Liverpool crown court.
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Divorce advice from Law Society
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 26, 2008 6:45 AM
FOLLOWING the high profile Mills-McCartney divorce this week the Law Society is advising anyone considering divorce to seek good legal advice from a solicitor.
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Barrister publishes legal handbook
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 26, 2008 6:45 AM
A LIVERPOOL barrister has published his first book.
Family law specialist Jonathan Butler of India Buildings Chambers is the author of the new Community Care Law and Local Authority Handbook, out this month.
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Mersey police chief hits out at judges
Posted by David Higgerson on March 25, 2008 6:22 PM
A police chief today accused judges of ignoring mandatory sentences for gun possession.
Bernard Hogan-Howe, chief constable of Merseyside, said offenders are getting the wrong message because judges are inconsistent in sentencing.
He said: “There is no excuse for carrying a firearm and the mandatory five-year sentence should be implemented consistently.”
The mandatory term was introduced in 2004 amid public concern over gun crime.
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Liverpool lawyer to chair national family group
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 25, 2008 6:50 AM
GODFREY Freeman, a senior partner at Morecrofts, will be made the new chairman of family law association Resolution at its national conference in Brighton next week.
It is the second success of its kind for the firm so far this year, as his appointment follows that of colleague Anne Heseltine to Liverpool Law Society president.
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McCann defamation apologies "a first"
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 25, 2008 6:45 AM
DEFAMATION specialists in the region have commented on the outcome of a case bought by the parents of Madeline McCann which resulted in four national newspapers issuing front page apologies for their coverage of the toddler’s disappearance.
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OPINION: Fiona Davidson
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 25, 2008 6:40 AM
Mace & Jones's family law associate solicitor on the McCartney divorce
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Record year for Barnetts
Posted by David Higgerson on March 20, 2008 2:23 AM
BARNETTS Solicitors, one of the top five conveyancers in England & Wales, has announced record turnover and mortgage transaction figures.
The high volume conveyancing firm’s current turnover is at £12 million and mortgage transactions banked in 2007 came to £7 billion.
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Securing Liverpool's economic future
Posted by Clive Bleasdale on March 19, 2008 3:42 PM
In Capital of Culture year, it was fantastic to see the City of Liverpool so well represented by both the public and private sectors, all pulling together and playing their vital parts in helping to secure Liverpool's economic future.
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Corporate specialists prepare for tax changes
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 19, 2008 6:50 AM
LIVERPOOL’S corporate lawyers are experiencing double the usual volume of transactions due to changes in capital gains tax soon to take effect.
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Firm warns on phoney expenses
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 19, 2008 6:45 AM
EMPLOYERS are being urged to manage expenses systems more efficiently, after it was revealed that staff are claiming £1bn in phoney or incorrect expenses each year.
Law firm Mace & Jones issued its plea after research by Globalexpense found that almost a quarter of the total paid out by companies last year is false.
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City verdict on the Mills-McCartney divorce
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 18, 2008 6:45 AM
LIVERPOOL'S divorce lawyers have given their verdict on the £24.3m McCartney settlement, with many in agreement that the ruling was fair.
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OPINION: Clare Trenholm
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 18, 2008 6:40 AM
Kenyon Fraser's PR director discusses ways of promoting your firm
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Uni seeks volunteers for mentoring scheme
Posted by Vicky Anderson on March 18, 2008 6:30 AM
LIVERPOOL John Moores University’s Legal Practice Course is appealing for volunteers for its solicitor mentor scheme.
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Brabners hailed as one of the best law firms to work for in UK
Posted by David Higgerson on March 13, 2008 2:02 AM
Brabners Chaffe Street is one of the best firms to work for in the UK, according to the annual Best Companies review.
The firm was one of the list’s highest climbers, leaping 40 places to be named number 27.
It was only one of two law firms in the UK in the top 30, the other being Manchester-based Pannone at number five.
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Liverpool barrister hailed a hero after M-way drama
Posted by David Higgerson on March 13, 2008 1:57 AM
A BARRISTER from Liverpool has been credited with saving a girl’s life after intervening in a suicide attempt from a motorway bridge.
Sue Sherman, a barrister at Chavasse Court Chambers, could not drive past when she saw a 15-year-old straddling a motorway bridge on the M60.
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Brabners select charity for 2008 - and ask staff to swim with sharks
Posted by David Higgerson on March 12, 2008 7:13 AM
Brabners Chaffe Street teamed up with Everton Football Club’s Phil Neville to launch its support for The New Children’s Hospital Appeal in Manchester.
The Liverpool head-quartered firm selected the charity as the leading beneficiary of its fundraising work during 2008 following a poll of staff and is planning a series of ‘extreme’ fundraising events.
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Court fee hike could deny children chance of justice, say lawyers
Posted by David Higgerson on March 11, 2008 7:52 AM
LIVERPOOL specialists in family law have expressed their concerns over proposals to increase court fees in care proceedings by more than 2,500%.
A number of bodies, including The Law Society and the NSPCC, have also spoken out, warning that plans could deny vulnerable children access to justice and expose them to serious risk.
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Regeneration plays key role in DLA Piper staff careers
Posted by David Higgerson on March 11, 2008 7:50 AM
A STRING of high-profile regeneration projects across Merseyside have helped a group of Liverpool lawyers make the next career step.
DLA Piper, whose clients include Kings Waterfront, the Mersey Gateway and the planned new Liverpool FC stadium, has strengthened its team with seven internal promotions.
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Blog: Back in the Office
Posted by Philip Gray on March 10, 2008 5:38 PM
I’ve been away for a while (from the blog pages, not the desk), but the most interesting events of the past month have come, to a large extent, outside the office, or at least outside of Kirwans’ offices.
The most exciting of which was a trip down to London to attend a mediation at one of the large City firms, on one of our most demanding cases.
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Warrington law firms to merge in bid to take on city rivals
Posted by David Higgerson on March 10, 2008 7:59 AM
WARRINGTON'S two largest law firms are to merge - Forshaws and Davies Ridgway - are to join forces from July, creating an £8m-turnover practice with 150 staff.
The combined firm will be called FDR Solicitors.
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Liverpool law firm in empty buildings warning
Posted by David Higgerson on March 10, 2008 6:36 AM
FIRMS with empty buildings in their portfolio are being warned by Merseyside law firm Stephensons Solicitors about tax rises in new legislation from next month.
The Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007 comes into force from April 1. It means commercial property owners who currently enjoy a 50% reduction on business rates for empty properties will now be forced to pay the full amount, even though they have no income from the property.
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Musical offering on our doorstep: i'd just like to say well done mr clive bleasdale
Have you got news for us?: DSE who store archives and files for a number of p
Atlantic Chambers on hand for mentoring scheme: Dear Vicky, thank you for sharing the good news ab
Legal aid fight for campaigner: I do agree very much with what Mrs campbell says h
Resolution's Liverpool chair backs Judge: Hasn't Mr. Justice Coleridge forgotten that part o