law society
- Posted on June 19, 2012 by Louise RestellLawyers, it has to be said, aren’t known to be the most tech savvy of professions. I say this as someone who likes to pretend they know what I am doing but as soon as someone starts talking about Ethernets, malware or RAM my eyes glaze over and I start to think about what to cook for dinner.Read more...
- Posted on February 16, 2012 by Louise RestellI doubt there was much of ‘that lovin’ feeling’ at the Law Society on Valentine’s Day. Despite all its efforts to woo the prime minister and his henchmen from the Ministry of Justice, it was defiantly excluded from the much-publicised whiplash love-in at Downing Street on Tuesday. Only very special chosen ones, all insurers, were invited to gaze misty eyed at ministers as they played footsie under the table and pledged to join together to make their world a lovelier place.Read more...
- Posted on December 28, 2011 by Louise RestellSo this will (probably) be my last blog post of 2011, just over a year since I wrote my first one on the Legal Futures website (which you should read if you don’t, the website that is, not my post). I was inspired to write because I was fed up with just sighing loudly and shaking my head at the absurd reporting of a survey suggesting most, if not all, high street law firms would come out of the ABS mangle alive. One year on, sadly, not much has changed with the way many lawyers think about the changes taking place in the legal market. Lots else has though.Read more...
- Posted on November 30, 2011 by Louise RestellI apologise in advance for this post. This is meant to be a legal blog, even if only in the very loosest sense of the word, but I’ve struggled to find an obvious legal link (or even a not-very-obvious one) with today’s national public sector strike. I could have given you a blow-by-blow account of the history of industrial action and it’s legality or otherwise, but then you would probably stop reading about here. You may stop reading anyway, but if you are at all intrigued about the link I’ve come up with, keep going.Read more...
- Posted on October 6, 2011 by Louise RestellSo this morning when I woke up, still in the fog of sleep, I thought I must have stepped back in time. Coming from my radio, without, it seemed, a hint of irony, was a discussion about whether lawyers should be allowed to operate for profit . Actually, it was more of a parallel-universe feeling than a going-back-in-time one because I’m pretty sure lawyers have been parting people from their cash since advocates in ancient Rome realised there was money in winning arguments.Read more...
- Posted on September 19, 2011 by Louise RestellBeing in power so you can implement party policy is the whole point of politics. At least, that’s what I have spent the last 20 odd years thinking. But, after just one evening at the Liberal Democrat conference, I have realised that actually the whole point of being in power is just that, being in power.Read more...
- Posted on September 12, 2011 by Louise RestellSince the government’s wholly unsurprising announcement that it is banning referral fees I have been wondering what I can write about this that hasn’t already been said (including by me in an earlier post). I’m certainly not going to attempt to explain the impact it will have on personal injury lawyers and claimants because I am not sure I really know.Read more...
- Posted on August 31, 2011 by Louise RestellWhen I was at school I very distinctly remember being told that ‘the world was my oyster’ and I could be whatever and whoever I wanted to be. I imagine that similar messages intended to inspire young women are given out today – I will certainly be encouraging my daughter to reach for the stars (not necessarily literally). What they didn’t tell me, as possibilities raced through my mind, was that I could do whatever I wanted, but I shouldn’t expect to get paid as much as a man.Read more...
- Posted on August 19, 2011 by Louise RestellLawyers don’t always get the best press, but every so often even I have to concede they deserve some good PR. This week the Law Society launched a national pro bono helpline for victims of the recent riots. To those of you who aren’t lawyers (and I’m not, but I spend an awful lot of time around them) that means free help and advice. This is undeniably a good deed and a far more useful response to the riots than anything the government has so far come up with.Read more...
- Posted on August 16, 2011 by Louise RestellI've spent quite a lot of time being not very nice about solicitors. Over the years I've been working in the legal sector, first at Which?, then at a national law firm and for the Law Society, I've branded them arrogant, patronising, out-of-touch and overpriced. However, despite this general antipathy towards the profession, I have never been a fan of the Solicitors from Hell website. Not surprisingly, neither is the Law Society. So at least that's one thing we agree on.Read more...
- Posted on August 1, 2011 by Louise RestellSo, surprisingly, it turns out Amanda Holden is the key to the future of legal services in the high street. Ok, so I exaggerate, but, as reported on Legal Futures, she was positively glowing with enthusiasm about the QualitySolicitors tie-up with WH Smith on ITV1's This Morning last week. She told the presenters “You can walk into WH Smith… there is a list that is now recommended by the public, for the public, of solicitors who are kosher, who are not going to rip you off and who can help you. And it’s completely free, you get advice free and then you can get any information you need.”Read more...