Last 3 months headlines – Page 1388
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Supreme Court backing of Twitter reflects badly on mainstream media
Why did the Supreme Court announce last week that it was offering what its president, Lord Phillips, describes as ‘a green light to tweeting and other forms of [text-based] communication’? There have never been any restrictions on sending texts from the Supreme Court or, until recently, ...
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The campaign against proposed legal aid cuts gains public support
Last week’s adjournment debate on legal aid cuts in the House of Commons marked a change in tone among MPs who, before Christmas, had not made much of the Ministry of Justice’s proposed £350m annual cut to the legal aid budget. What became evident in the debate, secured by Labour ...
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Government faces intense pressure over legal aid cuts
The government faced intense lobbying over its legal aid reforms this week, as the Law Society put forward a raft of alternative measures to preserve the legal aid budget, and the shadow legal aid minister warned that the government’s cuts will ‘destroy’ civil legal advice. The ...
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Pro bono thrives in private practice
The value of pro bono work provided by private practice solicitors has reached £475m, according to Law Society research. The figure represents a 19% annual increase and is equivalent to an estimated 2% of the total gross income of private practice. The ...
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Legal services comparison website launched
The latest legal services comparison website to enter the market was launched by a Hertfordshire solicitor last week. Michael Welsh has launched fixed costs comparison site comparelegalcosts.com, which offers consumers a choice of three firms based on their postcode.
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Supreme Court ruling puts children first in immigration cases
A landmark Supreme Court ruling has put the ‘best interests of the child’ at the centre of decision-making in immigration cases involving the deportation or removal of their parents. Giving judgment last week in the case of ZH, a Tanzanian woman who had made three failed ...
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Supreme Court gives green light for courtroom tweeting
The Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for people to ‘tweet’ from inside the courtroom last week. The court issued guidance on the use of live text-based communication from the courtroom by legal teams, journalists and members of the public. Since the guidance ...
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Research highlights gender differences in legal profession
An in-depth study by the Law Society’s strategic research unit has revealed a picture of a profession in which there is a high level of disparity between the sexes; a tendency to remain in the same job; and a high value placed on flexible working. The ...
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QualitySolicitors in settlement over copyright infringements with BPO
Law firm network QualitySolicitors has paid money out of court to settle a copyright infringement dispute with professional services consultancy Best Practice Online (BPO). BPO alleged QualitySolicitors infringed its copyright in relation to more than 100 articles published on the QualitySolicitors website in 2009 and early ...
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Solicitors warned on stamp duty land tax avoidance schemes
Conveyancing solicitors are being pressured to become involved in stamp duty land tax (SDLT) avoidance schemes that cost the public purse around £35m, the Gazette has learned. To protect solicitors and help them challenge requests from clients or third parties to become involved in such schemes, ...
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Free national debt advice service set to close
The Financial Inclusion Fund’s (FIF) free national debt advice service is set to close after the government axed its £25m-a-year funding. Last month, the financial secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban, confirmed that funding for the free face-to-face advice service, which has operated since 2005, will ...
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ProcureCo fears
Thirteen police station cases create 12 charged to court, 11 representation orders in magistrates’ court and one Crown court case. A ProcureCo would have to capture all duty work, and generate its own clients overnight (as that is where most work is) in several courts, not to mention covering police ...
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High Court ruling paves the way for patent attorneys
A High Court ruling has cleared the way for patent attorney litigators to conduct litigation in High Court cases. In what is believed to be the first judgment on the scope of patent attorney litigators’ rights, Mr Justice Lewison clarified that they are entitled to conduct ...
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Easing the burden on employment tribunals
There seems to be a consensus that our employment tribunals are unable to cope with the rise in claims. Much of the weight could be lifted simply by a tightened approach on compliance with directions. Employment lawyers are familiar with tribunal orders that contain references to ...
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Jackson and clinical negligence claims
by Roger Wicks, partner at Gadsby Wicks in Chelmsford As the deadline approaches for responses to the Jackson review, many continue to ask why Lord Justice Jackson and those around him appear so keen to withhold justice from thousands of deserving people.
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Will the profession follow the Supreme Court's endorsement of Twitter?
Twitter is either an indispensable communications tool, perfectly suited to a breathless and urgent age, or akin to ethereal bindweed, adding little or nothing of value and banal in its ubiquity. Take your pick. What seems clear, though, is that lawyers are going to have ...
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Is opposition to legal aid cuts gaining momentum?
There are now five days left before the consultation on the government’s proposed reforms to legal aid closes on 14 February, St Valentine’s Day. It is noticeable that in the last few weeks lobbying against the plans, which would see the scope of legal aid radically ...
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CPS consults over guidance on retracted rape claims
The Crown Prosecution Service has issued a 12-week consultation on its new guidance over when to prosecute people who retract allegations of rape or domestic violence. The interim guidance, which is effective from today, applies in cases where a complainant of rape or domestic violence retracts ...
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Legal services generate £23bn for UK economy
The UK’s top 100 law firms cut their running costs by £500m to help tip themselves into profit last year, research by trade body TheCityUK has found. Profits of the largest 100 UK law firms increased by 1% in 2009/10 to £4.07bn, despite a 4% fall ...
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Family lawyers should adapt to challenging new market
This is going to be a tough year for family lawyers. For many, the recession has already affected their practices, with a decline in divorce figures and a reluctance on the part of clients to engage solicitors as fully as they did beforehand. It is ...