Did Constitutional conventions take a hammering this week?

When Carter-Ruck, representing Trafigura, obtained an injunction against the Guardian from reporting a Parliamentary question tabled by Labour MP Paul Farrelly, they didn’t quite get the silence they wanted. The facts have been widely reported and the shitstorm in the press won’t leave Carter Ruck or Trafigura smelling of roses (not that they did before). The Guardian edged around the legal obstacle on Tuesday by reporting that it had been banned from …

There are big changes afoot in the legal world today. The credit crisis and ensuing recession have forced law firms up and down the profession to take a critical look at themselves and the challenge of Legal Services Act reforms lie in wait.

As turnover has stalled, headcount has been slashed, costs cut and some firms have even done an bit of restructuring. But whilst the downturn may have precipitated fundamental change and a proactive re-think for a few, Linklaters …

Generally the economic message appears pretty mixed at the moment; green shoots one day, dire forecastst the next. In legal circles the results dribbling out over the last few weeks have provided some surprisingly positive notes particularly following the redundancy bloodbath earlier in the year. However, layoffs have crept back in this week as Nabarro looks to further slash headcount, reawakening that sinking feeing.

Nabarro has launched a second redundancy programme set to affect 19 fee earners and business support …

A mixed picture continues to be painted as more firms release their financial results; it’s not as bleak as you’d expect…

Ince & Co saw turnover for 2008-09 grow by 23.5% to hit £79.4m, up from £64.3m last year. The firm’s London office brought in the bulk of the fee income, breaking through the £50m barrier. Asia and Europe brought in £14.9m and £11.7m respectively. The firm attributed the increase in revenues to its ligitation-focused practice. Profits per equity partner …

Despite a 5% increase in turnover from £421.8m to £444m this year,  Herbies is likely to see PEP drop by between 12 and 22 per cent compared to last year. At the end of the 2007-08 financial year PEP stood at just over the £1m mark for the first time.

Few firms are expecting to better last year’s results but the change in fortunes is made more stark in this case as both revenue and pep increased by 25% for …

The saga continues…

There is a rule in litigation which says that clients must entrust the retrieval of their documents to their most feckless office junior; provide him with no guidance as to which ones are relevant, but instruct him to throw everything into a dog-eared cardboard box and deliver them to us with absolutely no discernible way of identifying them.   It is common to all forms of litigation, except, it seems, employment claims……

Two weeks after her request Amelia’s documents are sent by recorded …

CMS Cameron McKenna was the first of the major London law firms to announce its 2008-09 results. Revenue was up by a slither at 2% but profits were down around 15%. So in real terms PEP has dropped from last year’s figure of £655,000 to £554,000 and total profits were down 14%, from £84m to £72m.

Lovells has managed double-digit turnover growth at 11% thanks in large part to the decline of sterling against the dollar and the euro. Results …

A new report published by the Fawcett Society’s Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System has found widespread discrimination in practices and attitudes towards women across the criminal justice system. The Fawcett Society , founded in 1866, is the UK’s leading campaign for equality between women and men. Its Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System was launched in 2002 to look at the way women are treated as victims, offenders and practitioners in the system.

Despite much …

Continuing the theme from last week’s Anonymous Assistant , Helen Bailey, junior litigation lawyer at CWS (Craven Wiley & Sharpe) looks to further her ‘double agent’ style shenanigans. Be a fly on the wall as she is dragged further into the dilemma of defending a client firm from a sacked employee despite her sympathy for the claimant…

Jane is both astonished and envious of my new-found status as: “Workers’ Champion”.

“You used to be such a goody-two-shoes,” she sneers. “You would …

We know times are hard at the moment but you’d think even ruthless super-geeks would be willing to lookafter their own. Not so – US law firm K&L Gates, Gates as in Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates’ father, William H. Gates Sr, has been dropped as one of Microsoft’s preferred legal providers.

Microsoft solicited bids in January for its preferred-provider program and notified firms that made the cut last week. Ten were selected, but K&L Gates’ status was not renewed.

Heartless? Not …

The current deluge of exclusive deals between law firms and professional course providers reflects the obvious benefits to both sides. Also, with the recession in full swing, it’s no surprise to see the law schools competing particularly hard to secure their pipelines of future students. According to the Lawyer , Kaplan has just signed up Manches for the exclusive provision of the LPC.

Kaplan has been steadily adding firms to its list which also includes Trowers & Hamlins, Bird & …

The downturn in the economy has exacerbated many of the problems faced by working men and women, not least the threat of redundancy and associated stress. Another issue that already exists in many working environments is also thought to be getting worse as the pressure mounts – bullying.

Although it is understood that men normally make up the majority of the aggressors, research shows that they take a fairly ‘egalitarian approach’ to choosing their targets i.e. they aren’t choosy if …

At a time when many businesses are clinging on for survival, BPP’s shareholders could be about to see the true value of education. BPP Holdings, which owns BPP Law School, has announced that it has received a buyout-approach from US education provider Apollo Global. Many of you will already have experienced first hand the professional services training at BPP. Their legal education business is very highly regarded in the UK and they consistently compete with the College of Law …

A Freedom of Information request by Jane’s Police Review found that 8 police officers serving with Strathclyde Police, Scotland’s largest force, recorded their religion as Jedi in voluntary diversity forms.

Strathclyde Police said the officers and two of its civilian staff claimed to follow the faith, which comes from the Star Wars movies. A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police confirmed: "At the time of the request, 10 (eight police officers and two police staff) had recorded their religion as Jedi."

As …

Just as we are expecting new legislation relating to alcohol limits, here is a demonstration of what not to do if you do happen to get pulled over one day.

So the rules of the road may become more draconian under new laws proposed by the Government yesterday. The default speed limit on rural single carriageway roads is likely to be reduced from 60mph to 50mph, with councils obliged to give good reasons for retaining the higher limit speed limit. There will also be more limits of 20mph in residential zones, random breath tests and tougher fixed penalties under the plans. The Home Office would approve …

Taylor Wessing has begun a redundancy consultation with ten associates and ten support and secretarial staff. Associate pay bands have been frozen for 2009 and trainees for the firm’s 2009 and 2010 intake have been asked to defer training contract start dates on a voluntary basis. A cash payment of £7,500 will be made to those that take up the offer.

Despite the apparent need for a reduction in headcount, the firm has asked its staff to accept a number of unconventional …

This subject of diversity crops up frequently in relation to the legal profession and things have improved greatly over the years. Close tabs are kept on this important equality issue but now there is a now a new kid on the block. We covered the rise of the ’social mobility in the professions issue’ into the political consciousness in January when Ed Balls, the Education Secretary stated, “No child should be held back by their background, so we will now …

City firm Hextalls traces its roots back to 1899 and is a key adviser to failed insurance giant AIG. However, it has lost a number of partners in recent months, including a liability team to Kennedys and it has been facing cash flow difficulties and problems with historic debt. It is the first City law firm to have reached the brink and it is now in a desperate battle to stave off its own collapse.

The Lawyer reported that Hextalls …

North West firm, Brabners Chaffe Street, finalised cuts in its Liverpool and Manchester offices last week following a consultation launched in February. The redundancies have affected fee earners and support staff. The firm offered the statutory minimum redundancy package.

DLA Piper also ended last week with cuts – eight associates in Dubai were axed, approximately 8% of the office’s fee earners – these cuts follow redundancies in the UK, US and Asian practices.

Clifford Chance has followed up cuts in London, …