Law briefs

Cost of charity:

The proposed accounting framework for charities is too onerous for small organisations, says the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants. In its response to a Home Office consultative paper on the application of the 1993 Charities Act, it says charities may have difficulty meeting the costs of compliance and finding accountants to do the work for a modest fee.

Fraud figures rise:

The loss from cheque fraud in Britain, including forged, counterfeit and altered cheques, rose from pounds 11.4m in 1993 to pounds 12.76m last year, according to a report in the latest issue of Touche Ross's Inside Fraud bulletin. The increase for forged cheques is particularly significant - up 74 per cent to pounds 9.06m.

Oswald-Elias merger;

Oswald Hickson Collier, the City of London firm best known for its media law and insurance litigation work, has merged with Elias Freeman, which specialises in providing advice on immigration and tax issues for clients relocating to and from Britain.

War crimes seminar:

Nicholas Stewart QC, chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee, will chair a seminar on the Hague War Crimes Tribunal tomorrow evening at the Inns of Court School of Law.

Leading lawyers:

Joint winners of the "My Favourite Solicitor" competition, organised by Solicitors Journal to mark the 150th anniversary of the Law Society's charter, are Stephen Nunn and Peter Maughan. Both Mr Nunn, who has spent eight years fighting what he believes is a miscarriage of justice, and Mr Maughan, a medical negligence specialist, were nominated by clients.

RT

Sharon Wallach is

consulting editor

to the Law pages