Last 3 months headlines – Page 1225
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Access denied
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.
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The challenges of establishing a separate Welsh legal jurisdiction
by Theo Huckle QC, counsel general for Wales, Welsh Government Since 1998, devolution in Wales has evolved progressively. The changes have been dynamic and extensive.
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The Legal Services Commission should not punish all expert witnesses
As a delegate to the recent Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference, I was concerned to hear Lord Justice Goldring use the device of the ‘very concerning rumour’ he had heard, to warn expert witnesses of ‘fee padding’. Put bluntly, apparently some expert witnesses are fraudulently increasing the hours worked per ...
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Overdue merger
The merger of Solicitors in Local Government and the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors is long overdue and enables local government’s top legal talent to come together in one organisation and speak with one voice. This is a positive development many years in the making and bodes well for ...
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Private contribution
Another article in the Gazette about the reduction in pro bono work by solicitors. It is a sad indictment of the profession that, at a time when legal aid and funding for voluntary sector advice agencies are being slashed, denying access to justice to vast numbers, some firms feel justified ...
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Working for nothing
I read the Gazette front page of 8 November, ‘Pro bono hours dip as funding cuts loom’, with interest and, as an old-fashioned professional, a degree of concern. I do some pro bono even in my tiny firm but it did provoke a question. In the modern competitive world where ...
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What government legal service mergers mean
Should the merger of government legal functions – the so-called ‘shared services’ model – be of concern to the lawyers affected? It isn’t scare-mongering to say that for many it should, even though the immediate effect may be minimal. The shared services programme is separate ...
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Fears LETR may lead to ‘misguided reform’
A forthcoming report on the case for reforming legal education and training may be ‘unbalanced or worse’, the UK’s senior judge said in a lecture last week. According to Lord Neuberger, ‘misguided reform’ initiated by the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) may ‘undermine the rule of law and our ...
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Everybody needs good neighbours
London is a melting pot all right, and no one knows that better than Solicitors Regulation Authority board member Sara Nathan. The one-time editor of Channel 4 News, who is an observant Jew, knows the value of neighbourliness in a city where – as archetypal Londoner and Madness frontman Suggs ...
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Plane fury
I sit at my desk reading the latest Gazette with my blood pressure at boiling point due to the article about the former aviation director suggesting the legal profession does more to help self-represented people.
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Pilot fright
So Peter Elliott, former aviation director, was ‘utterly frightened’ when appearing in person in the High Court. We must sympathise. How would a lawyer feel if, on arriving at the airport, he was told that without any training he must fly the aeroplane himself with only ...
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The right judgment call
I do not agree that the judgment in Petrodel v Prest is a ‘cheat’s charter’. The judgment, although by a majority, is a refreshing example of the application of the rule of law and the correct statutory interpretation of section 24(1)(a) of MCA 1973. May it long continue.
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Discrimination
Sex discrimination – Discrimination on ground of sexual orientation Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) v Charity Commission for England and Wales: Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber): 2 November 2012 ...
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Silverbeck to double workforce following acquisition
National firm Silverbeck Rymer has announced plans to more than double its size over the next year. The personal injury firm, bought by listed brand extension company Quindell Portfolio for £19.3m in January, will recruit 300 people to add to its current staff of 250. Around ...
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Existing sanctions sufficient for disclosure failures, judges rule
Senior judges today rejected the creation of additional sanctions for disclosure failures against either the prosecution or defence in criminal cases. A review of sanctions, requested by former lord chancellor Kenneth Clarke and carried out by Lord Justice Gross and Lord Justice Treacy, instead advocates updates ...
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Grayling ponders legal aid ban over prisoner votes
Prisoners may be refused legal aid to sue the government if parliament decides to defy the European Court of Human Rights over voting rights, the justice secretary said today. In a debate following a statement announcing a draft bill on the issue, Chris Grayling said ...
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Solicitors miss a beat
A rum lot, the new police and crime commissioners elected on record low turnouts last week. In terms of diversity of race and gender they make the senior judiciary look positively heterogeneous; but at least there is some variety in professional qualifications for the new post.
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Roll up for Stones gig
Not fade away – Obiter is old enough to remember when (pace the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) talk of the Rolling Stones and the law would involve lurid tales of confectionery bars and butterflies broken upon wheels.
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Memory lane
The Law Society’s Gazette, November 1952The service of the law by Sir Hartley Shawcross It was one of those first-class Pullman cars they have on these trains to Eastbourne. It was a crowded carriage as first-class carriages always are in these difficult times. Why is it ...
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Publicity order
Claimant submitting defendant failing to comply with publicity notice – Claimant applying for further order Samsung Electronics (UK) Ltd v Apple Inc: Court of Appeal, Civil Division (Mr Justice Longmore, Kitchin and Sir Robin Jacob): 9 November 2012 ...