October 2008 Archives

A LIVERPOOL solicitor who siphoned company funds to bankroll a "lavish" lifestyle has been struck off the profession's roll.

Denis Whalley used thousands of pounds that were owed to an expert witness company to buy luxury cruise holidays, a chalet in France and a BMW 7 series.

Now the Daily Post can also reveal Mr Whalley is working in Liverpool for a firm run by the brother of the former Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith.

A LEADING clinical negligence solicitor has welcomed the news that revalidation and checks for all doctors, which will lead to improved patient care and safety, are one step closer.

The Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, has confirmed the formation of the implementation team for England and £1million of funding to support it.

The team will comprise a panel of senior doctors to provide professionally informed leadership, support and advice to the NHS, patients and doctors' representatives for the design and delivery of the process, ensuring that all doctors meet the standards expected of them.

CASES in magistrates' courts are being dealt with in less than half the time they were a year ago, new figures show.

The estimated average time between a suspect being charged by police to a case being concluded fell from 91 to 37 days last March.

The Ministry of Justice are crediting the faster progress of cases to an initiative known as Criminal Justice: Simple, Speed Summary (CJSSS).

Rex Makin says Lay Magistrates' days may be numbered.

THE office of Justice of the Peace goes back hundreds of years, but how long will it last? Magistrates' courts are drying up with business, apart from the Family Courts.

The reason is two-fold: first of all, instead of cases being filtered before they are sent to a higher court, they are dispensed with an alacrity which is the speed of Mercury. The old practice of having oral committals has virtually been abolished and accused people are dispatched to the Crown court. While this has the advantage of speeding up justice, it is also justice denied.

Under the old procedure of oral committals, witnesses were tested and many a charge was dismissed.
The magistrate who heard the committal proceedings was known as the examining magistrate. Now cautions and fixed penalties have dramatically reduced the criminal business of the courts.

THE head of a Liverpool law firm is lacing up his running shoes for charity.

Mark Shipley, managing director of intellectual property law specialists Shipley Solicitors, will be taking part in this year's New York Marathon to raise money for Claire House Children's Hospice.

The solicitor has bought his flight, accommodation and race fee himself, so every penny he raises will go direct to the Bebington charity.

Liverpool Civil Law has launched a costs department - the first in the city to offer a specialist service of its kind.

Barristers Chris Jackson and David Pilling will work as a team providing services to solicitors acting both for claimants and defendant insurers.

The pair hope the new department will be welcomed as an important addition to the Merseyside legal community, handling cases from the city, across the North West and the rest of England and Wales.

DLA Piper is one of the founding law firms of the Legal Sector Alliance, an organisation which wants to work collaboratively to help law firms across the UK commit to environmental sustainability.

Results from a recent survey by the LSA suggests many firms have not begun to measure their carbon footprint as they do not know where to begin. Now the body is developing the LSA Carbon Footprint Protocol in collaboration with the sector to encourage more legal practices to consider the issue. The protocol, launched in July, included a document outlining scope and methodology, a spreadsheet measurement tool and practical guidance addressing common issues faced by law firms. The LSA believes it is essential for firms to measure their carbon impact before making efforts to reduce it.

For further information, visit http://www.legalsectoralliance.com/

"A recent pro.manchester and NWDA survey claims that although there is no shortage of commercially qualified solicitors in the region, there is a lack of good quality candidates with two to five years of corporate experience and high calibre lawyers with niche expertise.

That's generally quite accurate in our view. Yet in the current marketplace, there are still plenty of opportunities for young lawyers to develop their careers.

The report also showed that despite the fact there are more women entering the profession than men, there is still a perceived "ceiling" for females which stops them achieving partnership.

As part of DLA Piper's Global Sustainability Initiative, a firm wide TravelSMART campaign is running from Monday October 6, through to Friday October 31 2008.

The aim of the campaign is to encourage alternatives to travel and promote technology solutions - such as web and videoconferencing - which are less damaging to the environment, less time consuming, less stressful on participants and more cost effective. The campaign will also promote more environmentally friendly forms of travel, such as public transportation, when travel is required.

A LEADING Lancashire law firm has announced the retirement of a founding partner who was among the first to recognise the benefits of a "technology driven" legal practice.

Peter Scott, 63, has formally retired from Scott Rees & Co Solicitors in Skelmersdale which he co-founded with Daniel Rees in 1992.

Today, the firm handles thousands of personal injury claims from across the UK with more than 170 members of staff.