An employment tribunal has found the Law Society guilty of disability discrimination and subsequently it has been ordered to pay damages to a former employee.

The plaintiff, Elizabeth Marshall was awarded an undisclosed compensation following the hearing, which was held in the London Central Employment Tribunal on 16 August 2011.

Marshal, a 44-year-old solicitor who has cerebral palsy, had worked as a policy advisor to the Law Society president and the chief executive, but was made redundant and given the chance to reapply for other job openings within the Society.

The tribunal found that the Law Society had failed to adjust to her needs in a practical assessment stage of her application for a role as a speech writer.

In a quote given to Legal Week, the Law Society chief executive, Des Hudson, said: “The Law Society is committed to equality and diversity both as an employer and as a representative body for solicitors.

“We regularly review our relevant policies and procedures to ensure we can deliver that commitment and are doing so now in the light of the recent tribunal. Like any responsible employer, we do not discuss any individual’s employment issues in public.”

Image by Mike Quinn.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

In London, an administrative clerk faces a charge of requesting and receiving a bribe to influence criminal proceedings, under Section 2 of the Bribery Act 2010.

Mr Munir Yakub Patel, who was working at Redbridge Magistrates’ Court, will be the first person to be prosecuted under the new Act.

Gaon Hart, reviewing lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “It is alleged that Patel promised an individual summonsed for a motoring offence that he could influence the course of criminal proceedings in exchange for £500, on 1 August 2011.”

The case will be heard at Southwark Crown Court in London on 14 October 2011. The maximum sentence for the offence is 10 years’ imprisonment.

Mr Munir Yakub Patel also faces charges of misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice, which relate to other alleged misconduct during his employment.

The Bribery Act 2010 came into effect on the 1st of July, 2011.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The College of Law in London launched a redundancy consultation earlier in the year (the 26th of May) with the aim of reviewing their twenty full-time employees. The review is now finished and the results have been very positive.

There was effectively a “rebalancing” exercise, according to the college, which aimed to minimise or avoid compulsory redundancies. Existing staff members have been relocated according to the review’s findings and some tutors chose to take a voluntary redundancy. Some employees also took a reduction in work hours.

The relocating of staff was made possible because the review found some of the eight centres owned by the college were understaffed, while others were excessively staffed.

A spokesperson for the college said, “The College recently completed the rebalancing of tutor staff across our centres. This was successfully achieved through tutors moving between centres, reductions in hours and voluntary redundancies, and we are pleased that there was no requirement for any compulsory redundancies.”

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

A selection of top British law firms have offered their services to businesses that were victimised by the rioting in earlier this month. Amongst the firms offering pro bono work are Linklaters, Eversheds and DLA Piper.

Twelve of DLA’s London-based partners and legal directors have organised a series of legal surgeries in Ealing, Tottenham, Haringey, Croyden, Peckham and Newham.

Richard Crossfield, real estate partner at DLA, attended a one of these meetings in Ealing. He said, “Attending the surgery brought home to the team the impact that the events have had on small business people. This was evidenced by the DLA team who last night tried to help a man whose restaurant had been burnt down and is facing potential bankruptcy and the loss of his home.”

The president of the Law Society, John Wotton, added, “The Law Society has been calling on the profession to provide pro bono assistance to help meet the demand. I have been hugely impressed by the response of solicitors so far who are demonstrating yet again their commitment to a just and stable society and urge others to join the movement.”

Eversheds made a considerable contribution by donating £5,000 to the helpline and has also pledged pro bono legal advice.

Photo by Tomasz Iwaniec.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Addleshaw Goddard has reported a success for their first ever legal work experience project. It was created for 16 and 17 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds to access law careers.

The programme, named the Legal Access Week, awarded 10 students from two state secondary schools the chance to experience life in a legal career at the firm’s London and Leeds offices.

Addleshaw Goddard’s diversity manager, Mary Gallagher, said, “We wanted to show these young people that a privileged upbringing is not a prerequisite to becoming a lawyer. The students who took part seemed to really enjoy the experience and we would, of course, love to see them enter the legal profession in the future, perhaps even as trainees here.”

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Herbert Smith has taken on a new partner for its lending and acquisition finance practice.

Will Nevin from Linklaters has joined the firm this month as a new partner. He was formerly a senior associate with Linklaters’ City banking group. Nevin has exp3erience working with large financial institutions, including Commerzbank, HSBC, Credit Agricole and Deutsche Bank.

Herbit Smith now has 20 partners in the London lending and acquisition finance practice.

Nevin commented on his move, saying, “When I was approached by Herbert Smith I saw it as a great opportunity to be part of a growing practice. The firm has a clear view of where it wants to take the finance group and a great brand and platform from which to do it, so I thought it was a good time to make the move.”

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

This story goes back to May 2010, when Peter Lloyd-Cooper was suspended due to financial irregularities around client’s money. Later in the same month he was expelled from partnership.

The SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) cleared Kennedys of any responsibility , and the matter has been handed over to the police for further investigation.

As far as the missing money is concerned, Kennedys has fully reimbursed the client. The firm has not commented on the amount of money that went missing.

Senior partner at Kennedys, Nick Thomas, said, “I can confirm with regret that Peter Lloyd-Cooper, a former partner in the corporate and property finance team in London, was expelled from the partnership on 14 May 2010 following the discovery of irregularities in the use of client monies.”

He added that, “The client was immediately reimbursed and the firm has been cooperating with the SRA and the police. The SRA has completed its report on Kennedys and concluded that they have no criticism of any individual but Mr Cooper. The report confirms that they have no criticisms of our systems and that no action will be taken against the firm.”

Bookmark It

Hide Sites