Last 3 months headlines – Page 1281

  • News

    Personal injury interest calculation

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    The standard rate of interest on ­general damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenities in personal injury cases was fixed at 2% a year by the House of Lords in Birkett v Hayes [1982] 1 WLR 816; [1982] 2 All ER 70. This was confirmed as appropriate by ...

  • News

    Criminal law

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Appeal - Appeal against conviction - Respondent appealing against conviction Jude v Her Majesty's Advocate; Hodgson v Her Majesty's Advocate; Birnie v Her Majesty's Advocate: Supreme Court (Lords Hope, Brown, Kerr, Dyson and Hamilton): 23 November 2011 ...

  • News

    Contract

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Construction - Contractual term - Commercial sense Petromec Inc v Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. Petrobras and another company: Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Field): 17 November 2011 The ...

  • News

    Contract

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Breach - Damages for breach Porton Capital Technology Funds and other companies v 3M UK Holdings Ltd and another company: Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Hamblen): 7 November 2011 ...

  • News

    Tax

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Value added tax - Input tax - Claim for deduction of input tax London Clubs Management Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners: Court of Appeal, Civil Division (Lord Justices Ward, Etherton and Pitchford): 18 November 2011 ...

  • News

    Shipping

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Charterparty - Arbitration - Claimant company chartering vessel from defendant owner Pacific Basin IHX Ltd v Bulkhandling Handymax AS: Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Teare): 8 November 2011 ...

  • News

    Sentencing

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Sexual offences - Principles of sentencing R v Hall and other appeals: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division (Lord Judge CJ, Mr Justice Royce, Lady Justice Macur): 24 November 2011 The ...

  • News

    Sentencing

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Imprisonment - Length of sentence - Burglary R v Levesconte: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division (Lord Justice Elias, Mr Justice Maddison and Mr Justice Burnett): 24 November 2011 The Court ...

  • News

    How safe is it to store confidential client data in the cloud?

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    As a freelance journalist, I like the idea of storing all my documents ‘in the cloud’ rather than on whichever of my computers I happen to be using at the time. If I need to check an item urgently, I can download it wherever I happen to be - borrowing ...

  • News

    Jurisdiction

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Conflict of laws - Challenge to jurisdiction Polymer Vision R & D Ltd and others v Van Dooren: Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court: 17 November 2011 The Commercial Court allowed ...

  • News

    Pre-nuptial agreements post-Radmacher

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Mr Justice Moor’s decision in Z v Z [2011] EWHC 2878 (Fam) is believed to be the first contested case in the High Court in which the principles of Radmacher have been considered. As Moor J stated in his judgment, Radmacher ‘changed the position fundamentally’ of pre-nuptial agreements and ...

  • News

    Jurisdiction

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Practice - Service out of the jurisdiction - Alternate forum available Faraday Reinsurance Co Ltd v Howden North America Inc and another company: Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Beatson): 1 November 2011 ...

  • News

    ADR should not be used as a tool to force a defendant to accept unreasonable settlement terms

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    The apparent similarity (in my own mind, at least) between the Courts and Tribunals Service and a lunatic asylum never ceases to amaze me. The latest example is in relation to ‘small-claims mediation’. My understanding of the new (and in my view, necessary) rules was that ...

  • News

    Bach hits the mark

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Insomnia sometimes has its advantages. Many years ago as a newly qualified, hungry, ambitious lawyer, my sleep pattern was destroyed by nightly visits to police stations to assist clients in custody.

  • News

    Employment outcry

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    At the risk of sounding like a liar - sorry, politician - charging fees for employment tribunals really would have a ‘chilling effect’ on access to justice. As a former Citizens Advice Bureau adviser who had begun to specialise in employment cases, I can report that ...

  • News

    Costly T&Cs

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    Further to BK Watkinson’s letter I have seen an expense tucked away in the small print of terms and conditions, charging a client on a conveyance a sum approaching £100 as a contribution to the solicitors’ legal indemnity insurance.

  • News

    All legal services should be regulated

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    The debate about which legal services should be regulated and which should not is not new. Over the years, reserved activities have been added in an ad hoc fashion and the result has been: confusion for consumers; firms being set up to undertake activities that are entirely unregulated with no ...

  • News

    Firms in revolt over CPS ‘paperless’ plan

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    The Crown Prosecution Service’s ambitious plan to go paperless by April could be in peril following a refusal by defence firms to engage with it. In a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the 30 largest criminal firms, accounting for over 10% of the ...

  • News

    Flexible working protocol launched

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    The Law Society has launched a flexible working protocol for legal firms, after research last year identified resistance to the practice is the ‘single most significant obstacle’ to women reaching senior roles. The protocol presents a clear business case for flexible working, including the retention of ...

  • News

    OPG defends spending on fruit and hand gel

    2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

    The body charged with protecting the interests of the mentally incapacitated has defended itself against a blogger’s claim that it spends £26,000 a year on fresh fruit and anti-bacterial hand gel for its 500 staff. Claims of public sector extravagance were published by Susanne Cameron-Blackie, writing ...