NEWS IN BRIEF

Lawyers banking on success
The Law Society has stepped in to protect struggling law fi rms as the effects of the recession bite. Chief executive Des Hudson has approached banks and the British Bankers Association to find a way forward on issues affecting legal practices during the credit crunch.

Local legal aid
The government’s decision to open a study of the funding and provision of local legal advice has been welcomed by the Law Centres Federation (LCF) which hopes it will result in better access to legal services. The study, led by Lord Bach, aims to assess how the reforms to legal aid have affected how local agencies are funded and services are provided. Chair of the LCF, Nick Woolf, said: “Our clients are the people least able to help themselves, have complex problems needing specialist legal assistance and who face difficult discrimination and human rights issues.”

Flower power
High street retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) is being sued by Interflora for using its brand name as an internet search term. The US-based company is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction to prevent M&S from bidding on the Interflora brand name as a Google keyword. It is alleged that the use of the brand name to drive hits to the M&S web site are a breach of trade mark law. From May 2008, Google has allowed companies to bid on any word for sponsorship while continuing to maintain control of advert text. Marketing director of Interfl ora, Michael Barringer, said that the action was part of a wider strategy to defend its brand name.