Lord Hunt's Review on the Regulation of Legal Services

(T shirt available here)

Monday 5 October 17:30 GMT: Lord Hunt of Wirral's review on the regulation of legal services is published. It can be downloaded here.

The review appears, according to Legal Week, to advocate greater self-regulation through "Authorised Internal Regulation" (AIR). This would initially apply to larger firms then extended to all firms. This should mean cheaper practising certificates.

The status of reserved areas could be extended to include claims handling, which would be one way of tackling the cowboys in this area.

In some ways the review harks back to earlier times of regulation. I wonder if that's realistic. Or if the time for this approach hasn't passed.

It should be an interesting debate.

Lord Hunt's Review on the Regulation of Legal Services

Nine-year Old Injuncts Mining Company in Goa

My colleague, Radha D'Souza (see post below), brought this story in the MANDGoa blog to my attention.

A nine-year old village boy took a mining company to the High Court where he was successful in securing an injunction to stop the mining which could have destroyed the village.

Here is a brief extract from the interview with Aakash Naik, the boy:

GT: What do you feel will happen if the mining continues unhindered?

AN (Aakash Naik): The mining project, which has been stayed, would have destroyed Advalpal village, its fauna, natural heritage, water reservoirs like springs, wells, etc. However, had this project continued the entire village would have not have survived. So, in order to avoid this ill-effect it was my duty to stand against mining.

Nine-year Old Injuncts Mining Company in Goa

Radha D'Souza Discusses India's Maoists on Inside Story

Dr Radha D'Souza appears on Al Jazeera's Inside Story (29 September 2009) to discuss India's struggle with its Maoist insurgents.

Radha D'Souza Discusses India's Maoists on Inside Story

The Impact of Our Students' Research

(Thanks to politics.co.uk)

James Surowiecki, in the New Yorker, writes on business, the markets, and the economy. His article for September 21, 2009, concentrates on the power of credit rating agencies and the ways they are entangled in the financial regulatory system.

Of especial concern is the impact of a ratings downgrade. Surowiecki refers to a 2007 article in Business Week which describes how two mortgage-backed bonds were downgraded from AAA to CCC in a single day--a cataclysmic fall from top quality to junk.

Surowiecki goes on to say

As I mention in my column, one of the more curious aspects of the rating-agency controversy is that big investors, many of whom were arguably burned by the recent performance of the agencies, remain supportive of keeping them as regulatory gatekeepers. This study by academic Viktoria Baklanova explains why so many investors think the current system is superior to any that could replace it, and argues that the investors are right.

Viktoria is one our research students being supervised by Joe Tanega and myself. I'm sure her research on credit rating agencies will continue to have an impact and add to the discourse on their role in financial markets.

The Impact of Our Students' Research

How Lawyers Work?

(Thanks to the New Yorker)

How Lawyers Work?

Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance - 31st Weekly Meeting

Dear all

You are kindly invited to the 31st research seminar on the Philosophical Foundations of Law & Finance this Friday, 2 October, at 6:00-8:00pm, in room 501, 309 Regent Street (University of Westminster).

Vincenzo Magagna will enchant us with a presentation on “Talent and Birth as Causes of Economic Advantage: Some Thoughts from Rawls’s Theory of Justice”. Vincenzo is an alumnus from the MA Philosophy of the University of London, formerly graduated at Bocconi in Economics. Thoughts of distributional justice shall offer a stimulating contrast to the rationality of finance, the efficiency-seeking management of funds… The forum is open for debate.

Joe shall also brief us about his formidable ventures in New York. You may have gotten a taste by perusing the posts published in the Blog below.

Of course the best tradition will be honoured: at 8:00pm we will reconvene at Vapiano (19-21 Great Portland Street, W1W 8QB) for refreshments.

I hope to see you then!

Best

Laura

Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance - 31st Weekly Meeting

Joe Tanega teams up with the Professional Risk Manager International Association

On Tuesday, September 22, 2009 Joe moderated a discussion panel at the meeting of the Professional Risk Manager International Association (PRMIA) "Risk Management in the Era of Global Turmoil.". The panel included high-profile risk professionals and financial industry experts.

David Rowe, EVP for Risk Management at SunGard-Adaptive and a member of PRMIA Board of Directors presented his view of the lessons learned through the crisis. His presentation followed by Marcus Cree of the same organization discussing the role of social media in promoting the best practices and establishing thought leadership in the risk management profession. In addition to David and Marcus, the event agenda featured a panel of distinguished speakers including Dean Christiansen, Principal at Acacia Capital and Joseph Langsam, Managing Director, from Morgan Stanley.

PRMIA (www.prmia.org) is a non-profit professional association of more than 62,000 members in 192 countries. PRMIA is represented globally by 60 chapters in major cities around the world, led by Regional Directors appointed by PRMIA's Board. Established in 2002 by a volunteer group of risk industry professionals, PRMIA's mission is to provide a free and open forum for the promotion of sound risk management standards and practices globally.

Joe Tanega teams up with the Professional Risk Manager International Association