Last 3 months headlines – Page 1223

  • News

    Enterprise bill v LASPO?

    Archive

    by Julie Carlisle, an associate at Henmans LLP The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill is going through its second reading in the House of Lords and Labour peers have raised a poignant question - does the government know what it is doing?

  • News

    Committee warns on cameras in court

    Archive

    A parliamentary committee has voiced ‘serious concerns’ over government plans to broadcast court proceedings and called for a more cautious approach. In its report published today, the joint parliamentary human rights committee says that it agrees with the government’s objective of making justice as transparent and ...

  • News

    Mis-selling fear as SRA moves to relax rules on financial advice

    Archive

    Solicitors are to be allowed to refer clients onto any financial adviser, regardless of whether they are independent or not. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set this week to relax the rule insisting lawyers’ clients can be referred only to independent advisers. ...

  • News

    Isle of Man funder to boost investment in litigation

    Archive

    A litigation funder backed by a private equity investor says it may increase its £100m investment next year due to high demand. Vannin Capital, based on the Isle of Man, announced in May it would quadruple its investment facility over six months with backing from private ...

  • News

    Are lawyers an easy target for hackers?

    Archive

    At the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s conference for international legal regulators earlier this autumn, one of the most interesting sessions dealt with the ‘hot topics’ currently bothering regulators across the globe. There was quite a range: bullying within the profession is a big issue in Australia, for ...

  • News

    Restorative justice can play a big part

    Archive

    by Lord McNally, justice minister When I joined the Ministry of Justice the first thing I was told by many people is how victims feel they are left out by the criminal justice system.

  • News

    Society welcomes College of Law metamorphosis

    Archive

    Leading legal figures have welcomed the metamorphosis of private equity-owned College of Law into Britain’s first for-profit university. The college announced yesterday that ministers had granted it permission to be known as The University of Law.

  • News

    Write clearer judgments, Neuberger urges judges

    Archive

    Judgments must be clearer and more concise if the public is to retain confidence in the justice system, according to president of the Supreme Court Lord Neuberger. In the annual Bailii lecture this week, Neuberger said the increasing appearance of the self-represented litigant has accelerated the ...

  • News

    European Union

    Archive

    Value added tax – Refund of tax – Latvian tax authority declining to refund Mednis SIA v Valsts ienemumu dienests: Court of Justice of the European Union (Third Chamber) (Judges Lenaerts (Rapporteur acting as President)), Juhasz, Arestis, von Danwitz ...

  • News

    Sentence

    Archive

    Confiscation order – Realisable property – Defendant being convicted of drug offence R v Harriott: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division (Lord Justice Rafferty, Mr Justice Thirlwall and Judge Gilbart QC): 7 November 2012 ...

  • News

    Shipping

    Archive

    Bill of lading – Condition of cargo – Representation as to condition of cargo Breffka & Hehnke GMBH & Co KG and others v Navire Shipping Co Ltd and others: Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Simon): 7 ...

  • News

    Eviction

    Archive

    Heritable property and conveyancing – Warrandice Morris v Rae: Supreme Court (Lords Hope DP, Walker, Sumption, Reed and Carnwath SCJJ): 7 November 2012 The claimant brought a claim for breach ...

  • News

    Merger threat to Whitehall lawyers

    Archive

    Government lawyers fear cost-cutting consolidation plans will lead to big job losses and attacks on their employment conditions. The merger of legal functions appears set to incorporate cuts deeper than envisaged in the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review. Correspondence seen by the ...

  • News

    ‘Traditional’ law firm numbers plummet

    Archive

    The number of sole practitioners and traditional partnerships has fallen dramatically over the past three years, according to new figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Providing an insight into a profession in the midst of unprecedented change, the figures show that since October 2009, the ...

  • News

    High Court judge to visit law firms

    Archive

    The only solicitor High Court judge is to visit legal firms to find out why the number of solicitors applying for judicial appointment is so ‘disappointingly low’, in a bid to improve diversity. Mr Justice Hickinbottom, who is also joint senior liaison judge for diversity, will ...

  • News

    Care parents tested for alcohol

    Archive

    Parents with alcohol problems involved in care proceedings may be fitted with ankle bracelets that continuously monitor their drinking following a trial that began this week at a London family court. The SCRAMx continuous alcohol monitoring device tests for alcohol secretions on the skin ...

  • News

    Judges’ pension cut threat to City's dispute resolution status

    Archive

    Reform of the judicial pension scheme will threaten the UK’s position as a centre for high-quality dispute resolution, a City lobby group warned this week. TheCityUK, which promotes London around the world, said including the judiciary in a one-size-fits-all plan for civil service pensions would have ...

  • News

    Chancery Lane signs Korea concord

    Archive

    Closer links between the jurisdictions of Korea, and England and Wales will follow the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the Law Society’s president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff and the president of the Korean Bar Association Dr Young-Moo Shin in Seoul last week. The move follows ...

  • News

    Asia: following the money

    Archive

    For those corporate lawyers wanting to take on a challenge, a move to Asia might be just the ticket. Where law firms in the UK and Europe are struggling to find new work and grow revenues, Asia’s economies are booming, and the demand for legal services in areas such as ...

  • News

    Access denied

    Archive

    Is the deskilling and downgrading of our legal system a threat to democracy itself? The question is posed in a week that has seen another full-frontal assault on the fundamental right of citizens to hold the powerful to account: restricting access to judicial reviews.