Last 3 months headlines – Page 1133
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Legal confusion outer Mongolia
Grumbling at the chore of CPD? Spare a thought for our colleagues in the Gobi desert. In the footsteps of, if not Marco Polo, then at least Clyde & Co, Obiter popped along to a breakfast seminar organised by the Law Society’s international division on new markets in Mongolia. ...
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Freedom of information
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI) does not just require public authorities to disclose information they hold but also information that is held on their behalf (section 3(2)). Local authorities are increasingly outsourcing management of services to the private sector. Such arrangements are often scrutinised by interested parties making ...
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Employment
'Worker' – Part-time workers O'Brien v Ministry of Justice (Council of Immigration Judges intervening): Supreme Court: 6 February 2013 The Supreme Court held that the claimant, a retired part-time recorder, ...
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Ministers tight-lipped on EU opt-out
The home secretary and lord chancellor were tight-lipped this week on details of the government’s plan to opt out of more than 130 EU crime and justice measures. In evidence to a Lords committee, Theresa May said the government had indicated its ‘direction of travel’, signalling its intention to exercise ...
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Two law firms on Cameron’s Indian mission
National firm DLA Piper and southern England firm Dutton Gregory have joined David Cameron’s business delegation to India. They are among 100 businesses on the delegation, which aims to present the UK as the ‘global partner of choice’. One of the key messages the prime ...
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Wales says no to separation – for now
Wales will not have a separate legal jurisdiction for at least a decade, the country’s first minister confirmed today. Carwyn Jones (pictured) said the estimated £1.2bn cost of devolving the entire criminal justice system would put too much pressure on the Welsh budget. ...
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Welsh law-making powers
by Theo Huckle QC, counsel general for Wales An event of considerable constitutional significance took place in the Supreme Court recently. It may have passed largely unnoticed outside Wales (and, to some extent, within Wales), but its implications for the law in Wales and England, as ...
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Find-A-Lawyer, EU-style
The European budget discussions which ended just over a week ago might have left you puzzled as to whether EU funds impact lawyers. Do you benefit, and if so how? Here is a little insight into how a tiny part of the cash has been used to help the legal ...
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Status quo is best for Wales
Sometimes, no matter what the Scouts say, it’s best not to be prepared. I spent much of my journey to Wales this morning writing a brilliant piece on why Wales was making a mistake going it legally alone by setting up a separate jurisdiction. As it ...
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Fears grow for missing Syrian lawyer
Fears are mounting for Syrian human rights lawyer Khalil Matouk, who has been held incommunicado at an unknown location since his arrest last October, an independent human rights organisation has told the Gazette.
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LETR report not expected until May
Publication of the final Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) report, originally due at the end of last year, is now not expected until May, the Gazette has learned. The LETR report, commissioned by the Bar Standards Board, ILEX Professional Standards and the Solicitors Regulation ...
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Neuberger speaks out on judicial review
The president of the Supreme Court has expressed concern about the government’s plans to limit the number of judicial reviews. Giving evidence to the House of Lords constitution committee last week, Lord Neuberger said: ‘Any attack on judicial review, or any attempt to limit it, ...
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Firms warming to outcomes-focused regulation, says the SRA
Firms believe outcomes-focused regulation (OFR) ‘costs too much money and takes too much time’ – but they are warming to it, the Solicitors Regulation Authority reports today. A survey of 1,000 firms on the impact of the first year of OFR shows that half of respondents ...
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Society council should reflect profession’s diversity
By Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, president of the Law Society I introduced a debate at the 6 February Law Society Council meeting on how the council can better represent the profession.
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Lawyers slam Theresa May’s ‘populism’ on immigration
Immigration lawyers have rejected Theresa May’s ‘populist’ assertion that judges are misinterpreting the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and wrongfully allowing overseas offenders to escape deportation. The home secretary (pictured) has claimed that the courts are wilfully going against parliament’s wishes by refusing to ...
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QS firms poised for ABS status
Several QualitySolicitors firms are considering moving to alternative business structure status, the group revealed today. Midlands firm QS Parkinson Wright today became the second of its stable to be licensed as an ABS by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It joined four other ...
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Cable hails unified patent court boost
Business secretary Vince Cable today finalised the deal for a new London-based unified patent court, which he said will deliver a £200m-a-year boost to Britain’s legal sector. The new court and patent system creates a one-stop shop for pharmaceutical, medical technology, hygiene and chemicals companies wanting ...
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Bar reviews conduct regime over ethnic disparities
The Bar Standards Board has commissioned a review of its professional conduct complaints processes, to examine if there is any bias in the way that black and minority ethnic (BME) barristers are treated. The move follows an internal report that showed BME barristers were over-represented ...
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Cobbetts’ demise and resurrection – the full story
Unsecured creditors of Cobbetts are likely to recover just 2p in the pound following the ‘pre-pack’ deal that saw the collapsed firm acquired by DWF, the Gazette can reveal. Owed an estimated £41m, creditors are not expected to receive any money for some years. According ...