briefs

Out-of-house advice

In-house lawyers are increasingly asking more of their external legal advisers, according to a survey by the national law firm Eversheds. External lawyers are now expected to deliver a high-speed service, have a grasp of the issues facing clients, a record of industry experience and, inevitably, offer value for money.

Grinding to a halt

The legal process is in danger of becoming too slow and too costly to serve the best interests of British commerce and industry, Sir Colin Marshall, chairman of British Airways and incoming president of the Confederation of British Industry, said in his spring lecture to the Chancery Bar Association at Lincoln's Inn in London last week.

Keep ahead of the criminals

Delegates to a one-day seminar on corporate security and fraud on 31 May will be shown how to identify and assess a wide range of commercial and personal risks - from theft and bugging to computer crime and kidnap. The event, masterminded by Spymaster, the retailer of surveillance, communications and personal protection systems, will be held at the Churchill Hotel, Portman Square, London.

Newcastle neighbours

Dickinson Dees, which claims to be the North-east's biggest law firm, is to join KPMG, the Industrial Tribunal Service and other commercial organisations in the pounds 170m Quayside complex in Newcastle upon Tyne, which is being developed by the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation in partnership with Amec Developments.

ROGER TRAPP