briefs

Lord Woolf, the law lord heading the review of civil justice, and Peter Goldsmith, the former chairman of the Bar Council, will join Labour legal affairs spokesman Paul Boateng at a seminar on controlling legal costs to be held at the Law Society next Tuesday. The event, hosted by solicitors Davies Arnold Cooper, will focus on the key issues associated with the subject facing company secretaries, in-house legal counsel and other specialists.

Butterworths, the legal publisher, is introducing Butterworths Environmental Regulation, a new work covering the new legal framework, to coincide with the coming into force of the Environment Agency on 1 April. The book will explain how the agency will bring together the existing regulators and the role of local authorities.

A recruitment and career planning service for in-house lawyers opens this month in London, Birmingham and Manchester. Besides recruiting for a variety of organisations, the company In-House Legal will offer a "career support programme" as well as regular events and publications designed to keep both employers and job seekers up to date.

A seminar investigating whether pension funds should invest in property is to be hosted by City solicitors Cameron Markby Hewitt on 7 March. The event is aimed at fund managers, investment managers and trustees, whose new duties require a thorough understanding of property investment issues.