Last 3 months headlines – Page 1329
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News
Lay conspiracy
While solicitors spend millions of hours getting to grips with the new Solicitors Regulation Authority code (only four years after the last major revision) in the runup to October, they might care to look up the composition of the members of the SRA and the Legal Services Board. ...
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Better odds
Martin Comport explains that ‘sometimes, cynical me thinks that [legal aid] certificates are given on the basis of "let’s say the chances are 50/50 or less but then they will be much greater when the opposition know that we have a certificate"’.
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Forming a queue
Am I first in the queue to respond to Martin Comport’s letter ‘Not in my name’ to say that I feel he is: (i) Out of touch with those who need legal representation; (ii) Some sort of right-wing reactionary; and ...
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Norway’s ministry of justice had the right policies in place
The details that have emerged from Norway of the events on the island of Utoeya are horrific, and would lead any society to ask what could have prevented events unfolding as they did.
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Onus on UK to investigate Iraq torture
by Phil Shiner, a solicitor at Public Interest Lawyers The invasion of Iraq by the UK and US in March 2003 led to hundreds of thousands of egregious human rights violations by the UK: unlawful deaths, acts of torture or arbitrary detention without charge. The UK ...
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Leveson a strong choice to lead phone-hacking inquiry
What’s so striking about the judicial inquiry into phone hacking is how high-powered it all is. I had initially thought that the lord chief justice would recommend a retired judge for appointment as its chairman. But Lord Judge recognised that the task was simply too important for someone nearing the ...
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Not very Appy
No doubt when the accountants at the LSC read about the I Jail App, they will quickly calculate that it is more cost-effective to give the accused an iPhone, than to supply a defence lawyer. Alan England, self-employed locum, ...
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ICO looks into private detective report obtained by Djanogly
The Information Commissioner’s Office has confirmed that it is looking into a complaint concerning information obtained by private detectives instructed by justice minister Jonathan Djanogly. However, a spokeswoman for the ICO said press reports that the minister had been reported to the commission, or that he ...
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News
Linklaters publishes its diversity data
Magic circle firm Linklaters has published anonymised diversity statistics revealing the gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and educational background of its UK lawyers. The statistics come ahead of the Legal Services Board’s requirement that all firms publish this type of research from next year. ...
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LSB to review ‘reserved activities’
The Legal Services Board has outlined plans to modernise regulation and create a consistent approach to ‘reserved’ activities. In a discussion paper launched today, the LSB says the list of legal services that only a qualified lawyer can undertake, including conveyancing, litigation and advocacy, has grown ...
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Bar Council to examine Bribery Act action on referral fees
Bar Council leaders have condemned the Legal Services Board for refusing to ban referral fees, and will look into whether the fees break the terms of the Bribery Act. Writing in an update to members, chair Peter Lodder and vice-chair Michael Todd said they were ‘surprised ...
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News
Legal aid firm Law For All in administration
London and regional not-for-profit advice service Law For All went in administration today, the Gazette can confirm. The organisation provides legal services in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond, as well as in East Anglia and the Midlands. Law ...
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MoJ concession on immigration domestic violence cases
Lawyers have welcomed the justice minister’s concession to put some immigration domestic violence cases back within the scope of legal aid. Jonathan Djanogly told the public bill committee that the government would table an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill to ...
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Innovation in the profession
Lawyers speak in dramatic, almost biblical terms, of threats currently visited on the profession in England and Wales. Momentous change. The changes in regulation and potential ownership are dramatic and will have a significant impact, not on all firms and practitioners at one time ...
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Supreme Court rules on arbitration
The Supreme Court has ruled that arbitrators are not employees for the purposes of employment equality legislation. Handing down judgment in the case of Hashwani v Jivraj, the court reversed the Court of Appeal’s landmark decision, which held that an arbitration agreement that required all arbitrators ...
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Lay judges agree draft charter for European decision-making
Lay judges from across Europe have agreed a draft charter and a declaration seeking to protect and extend lay involvement in judicial decision-making across the continent. At a meeting of the European Lay Judges Forum held over the weekend, 50 lay judges signed the London Declaration, ...
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Lord Judge announces senior appointments
The Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge (pictured) has today announced two senior judicial appointments. Lady Justice Hallett has been appointed vice president of the High Court Queen's Bench Division for a period of four years from 3 October 2011. Her appointment follows ...
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Committee to examine Ministry of Justice
The House of Commons’ justice committee is to undertake an inquiry into the structure and budget of the Ministry of Justice and its associated public bodies. The inquiry will focus on the potential contribution of further structural changes to future efficiency savings and improved performance. ...
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Boris Johnson criticises legal aid proposals on domestic violence
The mayor of London has warned that the majority of women who have suffered domestic violence will find it ‘impossible’ to get legal aid to help divorce their abusive partners, because of the ‘restrictive’ evidence required to prove it. In written evidence to the public bill ...
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Did ‘no win, no fee’ topple the News of the World
I don’t suppose too many lawyers will be mourning the demise of the News of the World. It was often the scourge of the legal profession and the much maligned 'no win, no fee' arrangements which, heaven forbid, gave the less well-off a chance of getting ...