Legal News

MF Global hit by $141m rogue trader scandal$

Posted on February 28, 2008
MF Global, the broker spun off from Man Group last year, has become the latest trading group to fall victim to a rogue trader after it admitted today that one of its staff had lost $141.5 million ($£71 million) from unsuccessful bets on the direction of wheat futures.

QCs battle against the Law Society

Posted on February 28, 2008
The delicious spectacle of dog eat dog — two QCs pitched against the Law Society in the courts — looks as if it will settle, thus avoid an embarrassing dispute.

Woman about to give birth was left to drown in bath by hospital staff

Posted on February 27, 2008
The husband of a pregnant woman who was left to drown in a hospital bath after going into labour is to take legal action against the local NHS trust.

Wealthy Germans settle €28m in unpaid tax amid Liechtenstein row

Posted on February 27, 2008
German authorities are claiming that the spectacular investigation into the Liechtenstein tax evasion scandal has been highly successful and is likely to retrieve hundreds of millions of euros in lost taxes.

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Jack Straw scraps reform of prostitute law to avoid prison officer strike

Posted on February 27, 2008
Jack Straw dropped measures to overhaul the law on prostitution yesterday to ensure that a Bill that prevents prison officers from striking is law by May.

Innocent men want DNA records destroyed

Posted on February 27, 2008
Two Britons who were cleared of crimes brought a landmark human rights challenge yesterday to have their DNA samples destroyed.

Widow wins compensation over husband's work-related suicide

Posted on February 27, 2008
The widow of a man who killed himself six years after an industrial accident should be compensated by his former employers, the House of Lords said this morning.

Unilever caught up in French cleaning probe

Posted on February 27, 2008
French competition authorities are investigating allegations of price-fixing on household cleaning products at Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser.

FSA chief Hector Sants says cheap borrowing has ended

Posted on February 27, 2008
The chief executive of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has called the end to an era of cheap borrowing by British banks, predicting that lenders will now avoid complex financial products in favour of old-fashioned relationship banking.

Miss Moneypenny scours files for spooks’ correspondence on Diana, Princess of Wales

Posted on February 26, 2008
Successful spooks don’t need a licence to kill, they need a licence to file. And when the going gets tough it’s not the Walther PPK they reach for; it’s the bottle of Tippex.

Jack Straw forced to back down on early retirement for judges

Posted on February 26, 2008
Hundreds of judges will be allowed to stay in their jobs until the age of 70 after the Lord Chancellor was today forced to back down over making them retire at 65.

OFT sues Foxtons over 'unfair' rental commissions

Posted on February 26, 2008
The way estate agents charge commission on residential property lettings could be dramatically overhauled after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) launched a legal case against Foxtons, claiming the agency's terms and conditions are unfair.

Sacked IVF woman ‘not pregnant’ until eggs implanted

Posted on February 26, 2008
A woman undergoing IVF treatment who was dismissed three days before her fertilised eggs were implanted was not pregnant according to European law, European Union judges ruled today.

In the City: February 26

Posted on February 25, 2008
<b>Where’s the catch?</b>

National Grid handed record £41.6m fine for 'restrictive' contracts

Posted on February 25, 2008
National Grid, the gas and power infrastructure company, has been fined a record £41.6 million by Ofgem, the energy market watchdog, for restricting competition in the market for domestic gas meters.

Lawyer of the Week: Jules Carey

Posted on February 25, 2008
Jules Carey, head of civil liberties (London) at Tuckers Solicitors, acted for Lotfi Raissi, the pilot who was wrongly accused of being the chief instructor and mastermind behind the September 11 hijackers. The Court of Appeal ruled that he is completely exonerated of terror allegations and the Home Secretary is required to reconsider his application for compensation.

Legal Moves

Posted on February 25, 2008
* <b>Jonathan Denny</b> has been re-elected to serve a further five years as managing partner of <b>Cripps Harries Hall</b>, which is based in the South East. The appointment reinforces his status as one of the longest-serving managing partners of a top 100 UK law firm, having first been elected to the post in 1990...

Virgin Media seeks tougher order on Sky's ITV shares

Posted on February 25, 2008
Virgin Media will appeal against the Competition Commission’s decision to force BSkyB to cut its 17.9 per cent shareholding in ITV, arguing that the regulator should have forced Sky to sell all its shares in ITV.

The answer to extreme ideas is more discussion, not less . . .

Posted on February 25, 2008
How best can our society defend itself against the real threat posed by terrorism — without the protective measures being so repressive that they destroy the free society that we are defending against terrorists? This is the central legal issue of our time...

1st place: Ben Zurawel

Posted on February 25, 2008
You could be forgiven for thinking that a snail found in a bottle of ginger beer in 1930s Paisley has little to do with the Northern Rock crisis. But you would be wrong. Both go to the heart of what the law is for, whom it should protect, when it should act and why.

Racist force rejected Sikh officer 12 times

Posted on February 25, 2008
A Sikh policeman is set to receive a five-figure damages award for racial discrimination after a police force rejected a dozen applications from him to join.

Five guilty of fraud that led to AIG chief’s fall

Posted on February 25, 2008
Five former insurance executives whose conduct led to the resignation of Hank Greenberg, the head of American International Group (AIG), were convicted of fraud and conspiracy to defraud by a court in Connecticut yesterday.

HMRC entitled to use stolen Liechtenstein account details

Posted on February 25, 2008
British taxpayers with a bank account in Liechtenstein whose details were sold to HMRC will not be protected from investigation because the data in question was stolen, lawyers said today.

Private investigators: no longer in the shadows

Posted on February 25, 2008
Once it was the murky world of dirty raincoats and skulking in shadows. But the private investigator is now fast becoming a standard aid to divorce.

More women hiring private investigators to spy on cheating husbands

Posted on February 25, 2008
Women are increasingly employing private investigators to check on their cheating husbands, a new survey of divorce lawyers shows today.

How to . . . juggle work and family

Posted on February 25, 2008
<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/How_to_be_a_better_lawyer/">Become a better lawyer: running a case, doing a deal, moving in-house and other tips from the top</a>

National Grid fined £42m for fixing gas meter market

Posted on February 25, 2008
National Grid, the UK gas and power infrastructure operator, has been fined a record £41.6 million by UK energy market watchdog Ofgem for restricting competition in the market for domestic gas meters.

HSH Nordbank sues UBS over exposure to sub-prime danger

Posted on February 24, 2008
UBS, the underfire Swiss bank, yesterday became the first European bank to be sued by an investor over the sale of financial products that collapsed as a result of the meltdown in sub-prime mortgages in the United States.<br/> <br/> HSH Nordbank, one of Germany’s biggest banks, is suing the largest Swiss bank over $500 million ($£254 million) of collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) in what lawyers said was likely to be the first of many such cases in Europe.

Germans accuse UBS of sub-prime ‘mis-selling’

Posted on February 23, 2008
ONE of Germany’s biggest financial institutions is to sue UBS, the Swiss banking giant, claiming it was mis-sold hundreds of millions of pounds worth of sub-prime securities.

Humble pie is just as popular in America

Posted on February 22, 2008
The remorse expressed yesterday by Gary Mulgrew, David Bermingham and Giles Darby is undoubtedly rooted in genuine emotion.

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.