Legal Features

Articles

Think local

Legal departments in local authorities are taking back in house the work they were once told to outsource and are even offering services to new 'clients', but will the new generation of lawyers have the requisite skills, ask Suzanne Bond and John Emms

Update: professional negligence

Spike Charlwood and Alice Nash review the latest cases on limitation for loss claims, the standard of care expected of barristers and solicitors, and liability for future trading losses

Update: police and criminal evidence

Robert Buckland reviews a recent case on confiscation of the proceeds of crime, some of the less discussed parts of the new Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and the most recent changes to the PACE Codes of Practice

Hidden extras

Be upfront with clients about expenses and you will be more likely to survive scrutiny by the SRA, says Tony Guise

Down under, but not out

“I can't possibly go, it is much too soon. I can't. I can't. Anyway, we can't afford it.” This to my wife who wanted so much to see her doctor daughter in Australia after a six-month separation. Her to me (still in a state of turmoil after losing my job): “But you must. You've not had a proper holiday for well over a year and if you don't come I will go alone.”

Are you still wealthy?

As asset values deflate and tax relief rates hang in the balance, asking the right questions and thinking outside the box will help to ensure wealth preservation, says Peter Nellist

Your wish is my command

Earlier this month the High Court took a radical new approach to the determination of 'best interests' under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 but will the outcome in individual cases be so different, asks Barbara Rich

Last throw of the dice

The final judgment in Mubarak has resolved the debate over variation of Jersey trusts but this is not the end of the story for principle of comity, says Emma Jordan