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American dream

A transatlantic adventure, by Geoffrey Bindman

In 1959, as I approached the end of my three years as an articled clerk, I had to decide what to do next. The future was an obvious one for most of us: to become an assistant solicitor in the same firm or another firm, with the expectation in a few years of becoming a partner.

Jobs were not hard to find in an expanding market but the prospect of following the conventional path did not thrill me. The lifestyle of the partners seemed mind-numbing: nice car, house and family, but little else.

 

FELLOWSHIPS

A college friend of mine had been called to the Bar and then spent a year with a fellowship at an American law school. He liked it so much that, as soon as he was able to renew his visa, he returned to take up a post at Yale. A glittering future awaited him and I was envious.

I realised I could apply

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Slater Heelis—Chester office

Slater Heelis—Chester office

North West presence strengthened with Chester office launch

Cooke, Young & Keidan—Elizabeth Meade

Cooke, Young & Keidan—Elizabeth Meade

Firm grows commercial disputes expertise with partner promotion

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

Blake Morgan managing partner appointed chair of CBI South-East Council

NEWS
The House of Lords has set up a select committee to examine assisted dying, which will delay the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
The proposed £11bn redress scheme following the Supreme Court’s motor finance rulings is analysed in this week’s NLJ by Fred Philpott of Gough Square Chambers
In this week's issue, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist and former district judge, surveys another eclectic fortnight in procedure. With humour and humanity, he reminds readers that beneath the procedural dust, the law still changes lives
Generative AI isn’t the villain of the courtroom—it’s the misunderstanding of it that’s dangerous, argues Dr Alan Ma of Birmingham City University and the Birmingham Law Society in this week's NLJ
James Naylor of Naylor Solicitors dissects the government’s plan to outlaw upward-only rent review (UORR) clauses in new commercial leases under Schedule 31 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, in this week's NLJ. The reform, he explains, marks a seismic shift in landlord-tenant power dynamics: rents will no longer rise inexorably, and tenants gain statutory caps and procedural rights
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