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21 October 2010
Issue: 7438 / Categories: Legal News
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National centre opens

The National Pro Bono Centre has formally opened at its Chancery Lane headquarters.

Three of the legal profession’s charities—the Bar Pro Bono Unit, LawWorks (the Solicitors’ Pro Bono Group) and the ILEX Pro Bono Forum—have come together to set up the London centre. Des Hudson, chief executive of the Law Society, says: “I believe that the creation of the National Pro Bono Centre is unique in this country and, more than that, is a world first. 

“It reaffirms the pro bono community in its rightful place at the heart of the mainstream legal community, and we are naturally proud to endorse it.”

The Law Society has entered into a three-year strategic partnership with the charity, LawWorks, the operating name of the Solicitors Pro Bono Group. LawWorks works with member law firms and teams of in-house counsel, as well as mediators, law students and solicitors, and brokers free legal help for individuals and community groups in need who are ineligible for legal aid.
 

Issue: 7438 / Categories: Legal News
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Laytons ETL—Maximilian Kraitt

Laytons ETL—Maximilian Kraitt

Commercial firm strengthens real estate disputes team with associate hire

Switalskis—three appointments

Switalskis—three appointments

Firm appoints three directors to board

Browne Jacobson—seven promotions

Browne Jacobson—seven promotions

Six promoted to partner and one to legal director across UK and Ireland offices

NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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