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Waiting for Superman

10 October 2014 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7625 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession , Wills & Probate
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Jon Robins questions whether all publicity is good publicity

It is probably fair to say of all the extensive superhero family, “Will Power” must surely rank as one of the more forgettable members. For readers who cannot remember or else choose to forget, this was a cartoon character used to promote “Make a Will” week in 1991. A lawyer’s version of the Green Cross Code man, if you will.

Solicitors zipped themselves into turquoise and white Lycra bodysuits and hung around supermarkets in the admirable aim of raising awareness of the dangers of intestacy. An admirable cause. However Will Power proved so detested by the profession that the Law Society’s head of communications received hate mail from mortified probate solicitors.

Media campaigns

It is probably uncontroversial to say that Chancery Lane has a somewhat chequered history when it comes to media campaigns to promote the services of its members. That its latest campaign (“Use a Professional. Use a Solicitor”) has not provoked controversy within its membership or derision on the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Pillsbury—Lord Garnier KC

Pillsbury—Lord Garnier KC

Appointment of former Solicitor General bolsters corporate investigations and white collar practice

Hall & Wilcox—Nigel Clark

Hall & Wilcox—Nigel Clark

Firm strengthens international strategy with hire of global relations consultant

Slater Heelis—Sylviane Kokouendo & Shazia Ashraf

Slater Heelis—Sylviane Kokouendo & Shazia Ashraf

Partner and associate join employment practice

NEWS
The government’s plan to introduce a Single Professional Services Supervisor could erode vital legal-sector expertise, warns Mark Evans, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, in NLJ this week
Writing in NLJ this week, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers argues that the ‘failure to prevent’ model of corporate criminal responsibility—covering bribery, tax evasion, and fraud—should be embraced, not resisted
Professor Graham Zellick KC argues in NLJ this week that, despite Buckingham Palace’s statement stripping Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of his styles, titles and honours, he remains legally a duke
Writing in NLJ this week, Sophie Ashcroft and Miranda Joseph of Stevens & Bolton dissect the Privy Council’s landmark ruling in Jardine Strategic Ltd v Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd (No 2), which abolishes the long-standing 'shareholder rule'
In NLJ this week, Sailesh Mehta and Theo Burges of Red Lion Chambers examine the government’s first-ever 'Afghan leak' super-injunction—used to block reporting of data exposing Afghans who aided UK forces and over 100 British officials. Unlike celebrity privacy cases, this injunction centred on national security. Its use, the authors argue, signals the rise of a vast new body of national security law spanning civil, criminal, and media domains
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