Law News from Times Online

'I survived so please let Baby RB live too'

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:40:32 GMT

When Vicky Rhodes was born suffering from the same condition as a baby at the centre of a right-to-life case, doctors told her parents she might become a “physical and mental vegetable”.

The law is on trial for closed shop

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

As an Asian woman who uses a wheelchair, Husnara Begum laughs that she ticked every minority box when she applied for law school.

Mike Pullen: From the fairground to on top of the legal world

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Mike Pullen was born under a wandering star. The leading international trade lawyer grew up in a family of fairground people, attending school — until he was 12 — only for three months in winter.

Allen & Overy income falls as law firms continue to suffer

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:28 GMT

Allen & Overy reported a 7 per cent fall in half-year revenues yesterday and Clifford Chance said that it was cutting more lawyers as law firms continue to suffer from the economic downturn.

Setback for Lehman creditors as court blocks PwC plan

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:45:03 GMT

Creditors of Lehman Brothers are facing further delay after a radical plan designed to speed up the investment bank’s administration was shot down for a second time this morning.

Tom Wise, former MEP, facing jail for £30,000 expenses fraud

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:04 GMT

An MEP who fiddled tens of thousands of pounds in expenses to buy fine wines and a car faces jail after he confessed during his trial.

Prosecutors charge 14 in Galleon insider trading case

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

United States prosecutors charged a further 14 people on Thursday over an alleged $53 million ($£32 million) web of insider trading surrounding Galleon, the New York hedge fund group, in a case that could come straight from the pages of a crime thriller.

FSA condemns weak controls at UBS

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined UBS £8 million for weak controls that allowed staff in its private bank to make thousands of unauthorised trades with clients’ money and then hide the losses. It is the third-largest fine awarded by the FSA.

Potential judges will not have to declare if they are Freemasons

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Would-be judges will no longer have to declare if they are Freemasons, the Government said yesterday.

Watchdogs: UK should retain right to reject faulty goods

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:07:09 GMT

The right of consumers to reject faulty goods must be retained in the UK despite European plans to abolish it, legal watchdogs said yesterday.

UBS fined £8 million by City watchdog

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:30:46 GMT

UBS has been fined £8 million by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the City regulator, for having weak controls that allowed staff in its private bank to make unauthorised trades on client accounts and hide the losses for almost two years.

Lynne Frederick inherited £4million as Peter Sellers died before final divorce

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:05:45 GMT

Peter Sellers had reached a final divorce settlement with his fourth wife that would have deprived her of any claim on his estate — but he died before the document became binding, according to legal papers that have come to light.

CWU v Royal Mail: a hollow victory?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:50 GMT

It is widely reported that the Communication Workers Union will appear in the High Court on Friday seeking an injunction preventing Royal Mail from hiring temporary workers to help to break the postal strikes. Even if the CWU succeeds, though, its victory is likely to prove pyrrhic.

£30m payout to victims of toxic waste ‘at risk of theft’

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:43 GMT

The £30 million paid by the oil traders Trafigura to compensate African victims of toxic waste is in danger of being stolen because of corruption in the Ivory Coast, it was claimed last night.

Clarification

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:26 GMT

Because of a major computer failure last Friday evening, a report in Saturday’s printed editions ("Bonuses for lawyers who seize criminal assets 'threaten to undermine justice'") did not include a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service in which the CPS strongly denied any link between asset recovery and bonuses and said: “Bonuses are not paid to senior staff solely on the basis of the amount of money realised through the Proceeds of Crime Act but for meeting a wide range of 18 targets, of which POCA is just one.”

Father and son are found guilty of £110,000 insider trading scam

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:18 GMT

A dentist and his former City intern son were facing jail last night after being convicted of a £110,000 insider dealing scam.

Intel accused of ‘coercion and bribery’ in lawsuit

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:17 GMT

Intel’s antitrust legal battles escalated sharply yesterday when New York’s attorney-general accused the company of using “illegal threats and collusion” to dominate the market for computer microprocessors.

Plumber Charlie Mullins sues rival for 'tapping up' rich clients

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

It is a battle of the ballcocks, a fight to the death over the U-bends of the rich and famous. The weapon of choice, however, is not the monkey wrench, or even the sink plunger, but the High Court writ.

Should the Financial Services Authority be a private individual?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT

A jury at Southwark Crown Court yesterday convicted Neel and Matthew Uberoi, a dentist and his son, of offences of insider dealing. The case was been brought by the Financial Services Authority. The case is one of a number that raise important questions about how many prosecution agencies we should have and to what extent the powers of such prosecutors should be limited or regulated.

Lolita: how a lawyer's cunning plan paid off for Vladimir Nabokov

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:19 GMT

With all the brouhaha over Carter-Ruck allegedly stifling free speech it is intriguing to note that it was the very founder of the firm who struck a blow for freedom of expression 60 years ago. In 1959, almost to the day, Vladimir Nabokov, the Russian émigré novelist, may have been feeling anxious about rather more than the critical reception of his latest novel.

Desmond Browne: We are heading for two standards of access to justice

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:08 GMT

What is the point of the Bar? As several hundred barristers meet in London this Saturday for their annual conference, it is a question they — as well as the public — might well ask. In the present recession their profession looks like becoming an enclave for the rich, both for those joining it and those using its services.

Lawyer of the Week: Anna Mills

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:08 GMT

Anna Mills, an associate solicitor in the contentious construction group at Lovells, acted under a conditional fee agreement for a rape complainant who was sued for £300,000 by her alleged rapist after his conviction was quashed. The Court of Appeal, in a landmark decision, ruled that the woman should not be exposed to such an unprecedented legal attack.

Barristers deny love triangle with clerk made them blind to her racism

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A senior barrister and part-time judge denied yesterday that his affair with a senior clerk was a “smouldering fire” that led him to overlook a “racist culture” at his chambers.

Neel Uberoi and son Matthew face jail for insider trading

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:54:20 GMT

A dentist and his work experience stockbroker son were facing jail today for a £110,000 insider trading scam.

'BGC poaching was industry norm'

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:55:14 GMT

BGC Partners, the interdealer broker, was following the established customs of a “tough” and “tribal” industry when it tried to hire several staff from rival Tullett Prebon, the High Court heard today.