Last 3 months headlines – Page 1244
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My priorities for Chris Grayling
by Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, Law Society president When Chris Grayling was appointed lord chancellor and justice secretary, much was made of the fact he was not a lawyer.
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No case to answer? Private prosecutions and prospects of conviction
When should you be allowed to bring a private prosecution? The very idea that a private individual may be able to initiate the state’s powers to prosecute and punish offenders may strike some people as strange. Isn’t that the job of public prosecutors, such as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)?
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Missed moments
Lord Denning suffers a moment of self-doubt. An event which, along with Black Bess turning king’s evidence and DH Lawrence rewriting ...
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Car crash coverage
Obiter was intrigued to read the Daily Telegraph’s advertisement feature on 'what to do if you're in a car accident' last week. Sponsored by personal injury firm Lawyers4U, the article sympathises that being in an accident ‘can be a huge shock and it can often ...
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Happy feet
Senior members of Liverpool’s legal community led 19 teams and over 100 walkers on the city’s first legal walk. The Honorary Recorder of Liverpool, HHJ Clement Goldstone QC, and Steve Cornforth, president of Liverpool Law Society, took part in the three-mile walk from the Pier Head. The event was in ...
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PC lessons have been learned
Ensuring that the 2012 round of practising certificate (PC) renewals is a smoother and more reliable experience than last year’s has been top of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s agenda. We recognise that the last renewals round caused serious inconvenience for many who engaged in the process and this was not ...
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Unhappy consumers ‘intimidated by jargon’
Legal services consumers feel intimidated by jargon when they make complaints to law firms and for that reason are more likely to take their complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, research has found. A survey published today of more than 1,000 people who had complained to the ...
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Civil procedure rules
A previous article summarised the new Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) Part 81. This article summarises the further changes effected by the Civil Procedure (Amendment No 2) Rules 2012 (SI No. 2208) and Update 59 which came into force on 1 October. ...
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What’s your attitude to complaints?
Confidential research undertaken by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed that there are some bad attitudes towards complaints handling in the profession. But rather than fearing complaints, you should be welcoming them - as they inform you about the client’s experience and help improvements to future service.
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Cell safety
Recent controversy about the safety of solicitors in police stations took me back to my years of being trapped with clients when the gaoler (seemingly wilfully) refused to answer the cell bell. There was no point in complaining. It only meant a longer wait the next ...
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‘Flexible’ court plans unveiled
The creation of a regional virtual court is among plans revealed today by justice minister Damian Green to pilot dozens of ‘flexible’ court models. Five schemes will be trialled in 48 areas. They will include regional virtual courts that will enable preliminary hearings in the ...
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Flexible courts: evidence, please
Are flexible and virtual courts a good idea? No one yet has a clue. Not the ministers who in the white paper Swift and Sure Justice moaned about ‘a cultural tolerance of delay’, nor lawyers who fear the consequences for their businesses. What we do ...
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Breach of confidence
Summary judgment - Entitlement to summary judgment - Duty of servant Devon and Cornwall Autistic Community Trust (t/a Spectrum) v Pyrah and others: PCC (Mr Recorder Douglas Campbell): 24 September 2012 ...
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Society condemns ‘pure gamble’ quality assurance scheme
The Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) will ‘annul the historic rights’ of most solicitors to appear before magistrates’ courts and prompt lawsuits against regulators, the Law Society has warned. In a robust response to the fourth and final consultation on the plans to introduce the ...
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Ten things we learned from the Tory conference
1) Chris Grayling is a popular choice for justice secretary: He wouldn’t exactly be your first choice to enjoy a pint with, but Grayling has the sort of dead-eyed, intransigent attitude to law and order that delights the rank and file. His conference speech granted every ...
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CoA finds for insurers on damages uplift
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a 10% uplift on general damages will not apply to cases begun before 1 April on a conditional fee agreement (CFA). In a ruling made today, the most senior judges in England and Wales overturned an earlier judgment that ...
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Technology in conveyancing - friend or foe?
I read a letter in last week’s Gazette pointing out the problem with the time it takes the Land Registry to deal with electronic discharges and it got me thinking of the other times in my job when technology can become more of a hindrance than a help.
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Win tickets to The Woman in Black
Obiter is so over trick-or-treating after last year’s foray up Chancery Lane harvested only a law firm-branded pen, an empty Ede & Ravenscroft bag and a flea in the ear from the Lincoln’s Inn porter. So this year we will be getting our ghoulish kicks vicariously, by giving away tickets ...