News in brief: week beginning 1 September 2014

COURT

Litigant in person: The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from a litigant in person who sued her solicitors, Hextalls with Castles & Co, for negligence. Giving notice of its decision to refuse permission to appeal, the Supreme Court said the case "did not raise an arguable point of law". Susan Mulcahy also claimed that a trial judge had discriminated against as she suffered from Asperger's Syndrome. The Supreme Court said Mulcahy's undiagnosed Asperger's "would have made no difference" to the solicitors' liability, nor would it have affected the outcome of the trial.

TRAINING

Legal aptitude: The University of Law is to launch a new aptitude test to restrict entry onto its Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). Candidates for the 2015 intake will also be assessed on their prior academic achievements, with graduates who have obtained 2:2 excluded from the course.

LITIGATION

Funding opportunity: Bentham Europe, the world's first litigation funding company to be publicly listed will open for business in the UK in September. Bentham has funded 150 cases since its foundation and is currently funding more than 30 claims in various international jurisdictions, with estimated damages exceeding £1.12bn.

REGULATOR

Tweeting society: The Law Society has launched its first dedicated hour on Twitter where members get to engage with the public, peers, colleagues and professional bodies. #SolicitorHour will initially take place twice a week from 13:00 to 14:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays but users can post with the hashtag at any time to keep the conversation going. The new legal hashtag is being launched by the Law Society as part of its new campaign, 'Use a Professional. Use a Solicitor', to promote the legal profession across England and Wales this autumn and winter.

SOLICITORS

Training academy: Yorkshire's largest residential conveyancer, Beaumont Legal, is opening a second office in Wakefield. As well as giving the firm the potential to expand beyond 200 employees, the new office will also be home to Beaumont Legal's £150,000 training academy, created to help all its staff, at all levels, improve their skills.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Trade visit: The UK government's first trade delegation to China focused on issues involving intellectual property (IP) has begun a five-day visit to the country aimed at boosting confidence for British firms doing business in China. According to the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO), issues to be addressed will include "working more closely with the Chinese authorities to tackle IP crime and reduce the amount of counterfeit goods exported from China". The IPO said 70 per cent of counterfeit goods seized at EU borders originate from China.

SOLICITORS

Increased demand: The demand for corporate and commercial lawyers over the last 12 months has increased by 300 per cent as the UK industry continues to recover according to legal recruiter, Douglas Scott. The recruitment consultancy reports that is has 90 per cent more corporate and commercial candidates on its books than it did have during the same period 12 months ago.

TRAINING

Alternative qualifications: The Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL) has received an 'unprecedented' number of applications for its new training course. The new training regime, which has been approved by the Legal Services Board (LSB), is designed to ensure that the next generation of costs lawyers are up to the demands of legal practice in the post-Jackson era.

REGULATOR

Global lead: Speaking at Policy Exchange's 'Future of the City' conference, Law Society deputy vice-president, Robert Bourns, told an audience of City lawyers, financial services firms and think-tanks that for every 100 jobs in the legal services sector, 67 are supported in other areas of the economy.

CONDUCT

Director disqualification: Seven former members of limited liability partnership Wolstenholmes have now been disqualified from being directors after they were found to have been involved in fraudulent trading and failed to keep proper books and records, following an investigation managed by the Insolvency Service.

MARKETING

Profession promotion: The Law Society has launched a consumer campaign to remind the public to use a solicitor for legal advice instead of unregulated providers. The campaign, entitled 'Use a Professional. Use a Solicitor', aims to encourage the public to use the expert knowledge provided by regulated and insured Law Society members.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

New chief: Former City solicitor, David Grossman, has been appointed to lead the development of the newly created Simplify Group, of which Quality Solicitors is a subsidiary. The announcement follows the recent news of an investment by Palamon Capital Partners in the group of legal companies including conveyancing brands Move with Us, DC Law and probate specialist Chorus Law, as part of its strategy to build the UK's largest legal service provider.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Copyright disputes: The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued its ruling in Deckmyn v Vandersteen that leaves the door open for the UK creative industries and publishers to parody work previously protected by copyright. The parody exception to copyright will affect films, TV programmes, books, songs, plays and/or computer games.

CRIME

Money laundering: Companies face the risk of prosecution for failing to prevent white collar crimes such as fraud and money laundering, in new government proposals. Lawyers have also been warned that they may face investigation for "enabling" organised crime with their services.

EMPLOYMENT

Talking helps: Acas has published its first quarterly update on Early Conciliation which shows that 17,145 people have used the new service between 6 April and the end of June 2014. The statistics suggest that the service has had a successful start following a change in the law that required anyone thinking of making an Employment Tribunal claim to contact Acas in the first instance.

CRIME

Flyposting lawyer: Millionaire ex-solicitor, Gary Stocker, who gave up an apparent six-figure salary to become the human cannonball leader of a travelling circus says Tring Town Council may have destroyed his business. He was speaking out after the local authority removed posters he had stuck up all over the area to advertise his show at Pendley Manor. Tring Town Council clerk Michael Corry said: "We have always taken down things which are flyposting and we will not make exceptions for the circus. "At the moment, I am not convinced we have done anything wrong."

PROPERTY

Land Registry: Ed Lester, the chief land registrar and chief executive of HM Land Registry, has announced his intention to leave both roles. A qualified accountant, Lester joined the registry in 2013 from the Student Loans Company. The agency said he has been 'responsible for conducting a major review of Land Registry's commercial structure and for driving forward an ambitious transformation agenda'.

ABS

Profit warning: Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) lost £5.1m in the 26 weeks ended 5 July, compared with £3m over the same period last year. Sales for the first half of 2014 were down by 28 per cent, from £18m to £13m. CLS's financial statement said CLS remains a 'fledgling business' that is 'moving towards the right size and shape for the future'. The business cut 60 members of staff from its personal injury department in 2013 and ended the year with losses totalling £9.1m. In its 2013 financial results, CLS said it expected to be profitable in 2015. SJ

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