Last 3 months headlines – Page 1397
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European Day of Justice - are you ready to party?
I suspect that you’ve been waiting all year for the anniversary which comes around on 25th October: the European Day of Justice. You are planning to dress up in lawyers’ robes, and dance in the streets.
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Family justice manifesto calls for rethink on cuts
An alliance of groups opposed to the government’s family legal aid cuts has published a Manifesto for Family Justice, urging MPs to reconsider the proposals. The groups are concerned about the impact that provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill removing legal ...
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Human rights, words and lawyers
Last Saturday I attended part of the ‘Fairness, Justice and Human Rights’ conference, which was organised by the University of Essex Human Rights Centre, the Law Society and others. I was struck by a phrase used in passing by one speaker, who referred to the United ...
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Service by email outside the jurisdiction
Can a defendant domiciled out of the jurisdiction be served by email with a claim form issued in England? That was the question before the High Court in the case of Louise Bacon v Automatic Inc and others [2011] EWHC 1072 (QB).
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Private equity buys into QualitySolicitors
QualitySolicitors has agreed a funding deal which marks the first major investment by private equity in the high street legal market, the Gazette can reveal. Pan-European private equity house Palamon Capital Partners has invested a ‘significant’ sum in QS. The agreement will see it gain a ...
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Solicitors From Hell slander action is thrown out
The High Court has thrown out a defamation claim by the founder of the Solicitors from Hell website against Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson. Rick Kordowski began legal proceedings after a blog from Professor John Flood had alleged that Hudson claimed Kordowski was a ‘criminal’. ...
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RTA portal fee fracas
As the Gazette revealed last month, the government’s plans to ban referral fees in personal injury cases have led insurers to start pushing for a cut in the fixed fees payable to claimant lawyers under the RTA portal scheme. The Ministry of Justice itself acknowledged that the fees would need ...
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New revolt on advocacy accreditation
Solicitor advocates have condemned plans to roll out the ‘bar-centric’ and potentially ‘unlawful’ Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) next April. More than 200 attended a meeting in London this week to voice their opposition to the ‘deeply flawed’ scheme, which some claim is ‘designed ...
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Relationship management to be limited to big firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has given more details of its implementation strategy for outcomes-focused regulation. Its Relationship Management approach to risk-based supervision is to be rolled out to larger firms, after a pilot found that small firms did not require interaction with the regulator on ...
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Human rights
Insolvency - Voluntary arrangement - Approval by creditors Kapoor v National Westminster Bank and another: Court of Appeal, Civil Division (Lords Justice Pill, Etherton, Sir Mark Potter): 5 October 2011 ...
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Mental health
Court of Protection - Practice LG v DK: Court of Protection (Sir Nicholas Wall): 5 October 2011 The Court of Protection held that section 21(4) of the Family Law Reform ...
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Contempt of court
Civil Contempt - Committal - Claimant being responsible for motor accident involving defendants' car Lane v Shah: Queen's Bench Division, Divisional Court (Lords Justice Laws and Simon (judgment delivered extempore)): 5 October 2011 ...
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The start of the legal year gives us an opportunity to ponder what the future holds
The formal opening of the legal year (OLY) gives the profession an opportunity to reflect on the fundamental principles of access to justice and the rule of law. For the Law Society, it is not only a time to rededicate ourselves to those principles, but a time to pause, reflect ...
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Financial Services
Financial Services Authority (FSA) - Regulation of financial services - Collapse of hedge fund Visser and another v Financial Services Authority: Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) (Mr Justice Bishopp, Keith Palmer, Terence Carter): 9 August 2011 ...
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Trademark infringement using Google ‘AdWords’
The Court of Justice of the European Union has handed down its long-awaited judgment in Interflora v Marks & Spencer (Case C-323/09). The final outcome remains to be decided by the High Court, but the judgment provides important guidance for businesses using competitors’ trademarks as Google ‘AdWords’. However, some parts ...
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Criminal evidence
Disclosure - Conspiracy to defraud electoral registration officer R v Khan and others: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division (Lord Justice Pitchford, Mr Justice Wilkie, Mr Justice Holroyde): 7 October 2011 ...