Last 3 months headlines – Page 1382
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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.
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All legal services should be regulated
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 ...
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Firms in revolt over CPS ‘paperless’ plan
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 ...
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Flexible working protocol launched
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 ...
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OPG defends spending on fruit and hand gel
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 ...
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Public order
Appellant charged for using threatening, abusive or insulting words - Public Order Act 1986 Harvey v Director of Public Prosecutions: QBD (Admin) (Mr Justice Bean) (judgment delivered extempore): 17 November 2011 ...
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Mediation push for workplace disputes
The government is to press ahead with its strategy for resolving workplace disputes early, by diverting parties toward mediation and away from employment tribunals. A response to a consultation on resolving workplace disputes, issued jointly by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and HM Courts ...
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Society defends in-house lawyers against EU ruling
The Law Society is to defend the status of in-house lawyers against a controversial Luxembourg ruling barring them from appearing as advocates before the European Union’s top court. The Society is to lodge an application to intervene in an appeal against a 2010 ruling by the ...
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The law on ‘Gangbos’
Recent changes brought about by section 34 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (PCA) now permit the civil courts to make injunctions aimed specifically at preventing (and protecting respondents from) gang-related violence, shifting consideration of a specific criminal activity into the civil arena.
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ICAEW set to regulate ABSs
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has confirmed it is applying to become a licensing authority for alternative business structures.
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Immigration
Leave to remain - Claimants seeking indefinite leave to remain - Claimants convicted of serious offences in the UK R (on the application of Mayaya and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: QBD (Admin) (Mr Justice ...
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More solicitors make the bench
Solicitors outperformed barristers in two selection exercises for the judiciary completed earlier this year, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) has revealed. Eleven solicitors and eight barristers were selected as district judges (magistrates’ court) and 14 solicitors and 11 barristers as lawyer chairmen of the Residential ...
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Legal Ombudsman eyes voluntary jurisdiction
The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has launched a consultation on whether to introduce a voluntary complaints-handling scheme for unreserved work. Its latest business plan discusses the establishment of a ‘voluntary jurisdiction’ for areas of the legal market where providers currently outside its remit may want to offer customers access to redress ...
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US backs non-lawyer investment, but rejects ABSs
The US’s leading legal governance body has taken a step towards allowing non-lawyers to hold a financial stake in law firms, but is rejecting English-style alternative business structures.