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The Polyamorous Paralegal

Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:08:18 +0000

The age of the internet has given plenty of people the opportunity to tell the world about their lives. Whether its celebrity twitterers like Stephen Fry or anonymous lawyers, there’s something for everyone. We’ve had solicitors diarising tough days in the office and trainee barristers letting the world know what its really like to undergo the trial of a pupillage.

So how does the idea of someone sending in their after-hours exploits to the New York Magazine grab you? A ...

Posties Strike One Against Driving Laws

Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:19:54 +0000

There’s not a lot to thank striking postal workers for but there’s always an exception…

Lord Justice Elias has quashed the conviction of a speeding driver in the High Court because a statutory police letter failed to arrive within the 14-day legal deadline. Thousands like him could avoid a fine and three points on their licence as the backlog of post continues to suffer long delays.

Although upstanding citizens generally like to see the laws of the land adhered ...

Are Law Firm Partners Overpaid?

Editor — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:44:05 +0000

Not in the sense that they are paid too much because they get more than the average worker; or more to the point, more than me. But in the sense of business economics. According to Professor Stephen Mayson, director of the Legal Services Policy Institute, they are and this will be detrimental when it comes to attracting external investment. The Gazette refers to extracts of a speech considering potential business models for the Legal Services Act 2007, in which ...

Which lawyer said that the best way to win new business is the work on your desk…?

Editor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:05:59 +0000

Whoever it was, not everyone was listening.

Ambulance chasing TV ads are about as bad as it gets over here for lawyers pimping out their services. Oh, and the odd bit of dodgy website marketing.

But when it comes to excess our American cousins know how to supersize most things. Including stimulating the the cringe reflex.

If you feel yours hasn’t had a work out for a while click here to visit Stephen L. Snyder’s site and press play.

Courtesy of ATL

Associate Advances at Clifford Chance and Reed Smith

Editor — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:12:44 +0000

The last year has seen major changes for junior-level lawyers. Mainly because they have either been booted out or have been kept on whilst colleagues have vanished around them. That’s not all however. Firms have taken the opportunity to revisit their strategy going forward and implement new structural ideas in the wake of the economic crisis.

Clifford Chance is to ask its senior associates to choose one of 13 nominated industry sectors for their career path rather than just choosing ...

Solicitor steals £43k from charitable trust

Editor — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:30:27 +0000

Grubby, very grubby.

Alan Benstock, 51, a former deputy coroner for West Yorkshire and former vice-chairman of the Law Society’s probate section, was sentenced to 22 months for thefts that occurred while he was working at Wakefield firm Lister Croft between March and April 2006.

Benstock set up a charitable trust on the sly under the name of Lister Croft, into which he deposited funds from the estates of three of his dead clients. He ...

Harper Macleod wins European Practice Management Awards

Editor — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:14:36 +0000

More award excitement, this time for Scottish law firm Harper Macleod.

The firm won Best Managed Firm Award and the People Management Award and was also a runner up in the Client Focus category at the Managing Partners Forum European Practice Management Awards.

Professor Lorne Crerar, chairman of Harper Macleod, said in The Journal Online : “We are extremely proud to have received these awards, which recognise the efforts we make to develop and manage our people. Our approach has enabled ...

French court hands Church of Scientology a beating

Editor — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:04:04 +0000

The controversial organisation favoured by stars such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise has been dealt a blow by the French legal system. The Church of Scientology was convicted of fraud and fined more than €500,000 by a Paris court on Tuesday. France has always regarded Scientology as a sect and refused to recognise it as a religion. Unlike the US tax authorities which state that it is "operated exclusively for religious and charitable purposes", the French courts take ...

'Secretary with Benefits'

Editor — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:21:41 +0000

It’s well know that online classifieds are not just used for selling cars and advertising spare bedrooms. Even social networking sites have had their ‘innocent’ intentions led astray by those wishing to meet more than friends via broadband. Some of SolicitR’s most popular posts come from the US online classifieds site Craigslist where a host of purported lawyers advertise their need for secretaries , PA’s , gold diggers and companionship . For the most part any respondent will be ...

Legal Dynamite – Facebook Friending with the Boss

Editor — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:17:52 +0000

When it comes to finding your career mentor and sticking close to them to enhance your prospects, Facebook could provide a useful bit of cement. On the other hand, it could be an unwelcome loss of personal privacy. So what to do when you get that friend request dilemma? Obviously, if you really must spend a quality nauseating amount of time hanging out with your boss and being all buddy buddy then jump right in. But if you wan’t ...