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23 July 2020
Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , Profession
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Reopening the office

Law firm Devonshires has announced it will reopen its London, Leeds and Colchester offices on 3 August to both staff and clients

Law firm Devonshires has announced it will reopen its London, Leeds and Colchester offices on 3 August to both staff and clients

Its announcement, this week, gives employees the option of returning to work or continue working from home. It has installed Perspex screens in reception and socially distanced seating in its offices and meeting rooms.

Chief Operating Officer Duncan Edwards said: ‘There is no requirement to come in… it is a decision for the individual as to whether or not they come into the office and if so, how often.’

The Law Society updated its toolkit for safe return to the office this week.

The toolkit, which reflects government guidance on self-isolation, test and trace, social distancing and managing an outbreak, is available at: www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/coronavirus/safe-return-to-the-office-toolkit-for-firms.

Several firms, reported to include Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett, Linklaters and Slaughter & May, have allowed some employees to return. 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Haynes Boone—Jeremy Cross

Haynes Boone—Jeremy Cross

Firm strengthens global fund finance practice with London partner hire.

DWF—Stephen Webb

DWF—Stephen Webb

Partner and head of national planning team appointed

mfg Solicitors—Nick Little

mfg Solicitors—Nick Little

Corporate team expands in Birmingham with partner hire

NEWS
The High Court’s refusal to recognise a prolific sperm donor as a child’s legal parent has highlighted the risks of informal conception arrangements, according to Liam Hurren, associate at Kingsley Napley, in NLJ this week
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Mazur may have settled questions around litigation supervision, but the profession should not simply ‘move on’, argues Jennifer Coupland, CEO of CILEX, in this week's NLJ
A simple phrase like ‘subject to references’ may not protect employers as much as they think. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, analyses recent employment cases showing how conditional job offers can still create binding contracts

An engagement ring may symbolise romance, but the courts remain decidedly practical about who keeps it after a split, writes Mark Pawlowski, barrister and professor emeritus of property law at the University of Greenwich, in this week's NLJ

Medical reporting organisation fees have become ‘the final battleground’ in modern costs litigation, says Kris Kilsby, costs lawyer at Peak Costs and council member of the Association of Costs Lawyers, in this week's NLJ
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