Last 3 months headlines – Page 1299
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Spousal maintenance - part two
In my last article I considered the courts’ approach to the quantum of periodical payments (see [2012] Gazette, 24 May, 16). Recent decisions have seen an increased focus on needs as the prevailing factor when quantifying such payments. In a similar vein, and perhaps reflecting a less generous approach to ...
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Rights bill commission seeks second opinion
A right to administrative justice and trial by jury are among measures that may be proposed for a future UK Bill of Rights, the body set up to investigate the need for a bill has suggested. In its second consultation, which opened yesterday, the Commission on ...
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Double Jim and no tonic
Obiter was privileged to be among the guests at the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association annual dinner, aka the Tout’s Ball. It’s the occasion at which, in the words of guest speaker Jim Sturman QC, barristers ‘suck up’ to solicitors to secure work and a future share of the ‘one ...
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Judicial applications up 17%
A record number of candidates applied for judicial appointments last year, the Judicial Appointment Commission’s latest annual report reveals. There were 5,490 applications in 2011-12, of which 746 resulted in the appointment of tribunal chairs, recorders, district judges, deputy district judges, circuit judges and high court ...
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Neuberger gets top job at Supreme Court
Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury will become the second president of the Supreme Court, Downing Street announced today. Currently master of the rolls, Neuberger will succeed Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, who steps down from his post as the UK’s most senior judge on 30 September. ...
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Fraud/confiscation
Sentence - Realisable property - Criminal Justice Act 1988 R v Gangar and another: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division (Lord Justice Hughes, Mr Justice Burnett and Mr Justice Nicol): 21 June 2012 ...
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Intellectual property
EU - Trademarks - Community trademark Fruit of the Loom Inc v Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Markets (Trademarks and Designs): Court of Justice of the European Union (Fifth Chamber) (Judges Papasavvas (president), Vadapalas (rapporteur), O’Higgins): 21 June ...
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There’s a price to pay for slashing costs
You’d have thought that, after writing about legal services for so long, I’d know better than to jump at the cheapest offer when it came to my turn. Sadly not. Recently I completed a housing transaction with a pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap online conveyancer. ...
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Cocktail hour
Talk about one-track minds. Obiter’s offer of free tickets to see Legally Blonde The Musical on tour (28 June) attracted a record number of suggestions for legally themed cocktails - a large proportion on the theme of Sex on the Beach. Several mixes reflected our straitened times, with suggestions including ...
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Final consultation launched on advocacy accreditation
A fourth - and ‘final’ - consultation on the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) published today contains a number of ‘significant’ changes that solicitors’ representative groups have welcomed.
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Age concern
Bad news for the nation’s senior judges last week, with confirmation that the mandatory retirement age of 70 will continue to stand. Justice secretary Ken Clarke (pictured) told the House of Commons that relaxing the compulsory age would mean judges of all kinds might enjoy a job for life. ‘If ...
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Intellectual property
EU - Trademarks - Infringement - Defendant company importing claimant’s goods into UK without consent Oracle America Inc (formerly Sun Microsystems Inc) v M-Tech Data Ltd: SC (Justices of the Supreme Court, Lords Walker, Clarke, Sumption, Reed, Carnwath): ...
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Industrial relations
Injunction - Interlocutory - Acts done in contemplation or furtherance of trade dispute Metroline Travel Ltd and others v Unite: QBD (Mr Justice Supperstone): 27 June 2012 The instant proceedings ...
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Hit and myth
Years ago a north London solicitor told me a story which I have come to believe could be classified as a legal urban myth.
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Don’t cut corners, LeO warns firms
Competition from new market entrants is forcing law firms to offer services and prices they cannot hope to deliver, according to the Legal Ombudsman. In his second annual report, Adam Sampson (pictured) raises concerns that under-pressure firms are cutting corners and making unrealistic promises. He ...
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ABS pioneer condemns ‘over-qualification’ in firms
Law firms have for too long relied upon 'closed clubs of equity partners' to keep fees artificially high, a speaker from one of the first wave of alternative business structures told the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) Symposium in Manchester today.
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LSC improvements fail to satisfy auditor
The National Audit Office has qualified the Legal Services Commission’s accounts for the fourth year running due to overpayments made to providers. The LSC’s annual report, published today, revealed a substantial drop in expenditure in 2011-12, in large part reflecting the fact it funded almost a ...
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World Pride 2012
Photo gallery - New Law Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff was among the marchers at World Pride 2012 in London last weekend. The event saw the legal sector continue its tradition of marching together for equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around ...
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Djanogly: QOCS applies to all
Qualified one-way costs-shifting (QOCS) will apply to all personal injury claimants no matter what their financial means, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed. In a written ministerial statement today, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly (pictured) said there would be no financial test to determine eligibility. The new ...