Last 3 months headlines – Page 1381
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US funder buys up Firstassist in ‘aggressive push’
US dispute financier Burford Capital is to acquire UK legal expenses insurer Firstassist in a £10.3m deal to create a firm offering both after-the-event (ATE) insurance and litigation funding. Burford is one of the world’s leading financiers of litigation and arbitration and listed on the ...
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LCJ warns of technology threat to justice system
The lord chief justice has today warned of the need to preserve the integrity of the trial and jury system in the face of risks posed by modern technology. In his foreword to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division’s annual review of the Legal Year, Lord ...
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Justice streamlined – but 175 new offences in government’s first year
The Ministry of Justice insists it is making progress in streamlining the criminal justice system despite adding 175 new offences during its first year in office. In total the fledgling government department passed 33 new pieces of legislation in England and Wales in the 12 ...
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Phillips attacks ‘popular narrative’ on human rights
Much of the ‘nonsense on stilts’ surrounding the Human Rights Act (HRA) in this country is generated by politicians and the media, Britain’s equality chief has said. In an article in The Sunday Times, Trevor Phillips, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, attacks ...
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Personal injury interest calculation
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 ...
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Criminal law
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 ...
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Sentencing
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 ...
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Sentencing
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 ...
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How safe is it to store confidential client data in the cloud?
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 ...
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Jurisdiction
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 ...
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Pre-nuptial agreements post-Radmacher
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 ...
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Jurisdiction
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 ...
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ADR should not be used as a tool to force a defendant to accept unreasonable settlement terms
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 ...
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Bach hits the mark
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.
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Employment outcry
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 ...
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Costly T&Cs
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.