The patent blogs – yes, there are such things – have been buzzing this week with the opinion given by the advocates-general of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) on the legality of the proposed scheme to make the patent process more competitive in the EU. And thank goodness for the blogosphere, because without it the opinion might have remained hidden.
In my experience, sole practitioners who have not yet taken steps to renew their professional indemnity insurance could be somewhat misled by your lead news item of 19 August, ‘Insurance boost for sole practitioners’
In defence of its decisions affecting family practitioners, the Legal Services Commission states that it will commission the same level of help as last year. However, in the low-volume categories, it is clear that the LSC has deliberately reduced the numbers of matter starts nationally, to the detriment of the rights of vulnerable clients.
The successful applicant will be the firm’s housing law ‘authorised litigator’ meeting its responsibilities and contractual requirements under Legal Services Commission contracts, along with the development of certificated work.
