Last 3 months headlines – Page 1401
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Peers target third-party capture
Peers debating civil litigation reform have called for a crackdown on the so-called ‘third-party capture’ practice of insurers approaching claimants directly. Four members of the House of Lords tabled amendments on the subject last week during the second reading of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment ...
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Ministers back virtual courts
Justice ministers have made personal appearances to give their backing to virtual courts and ‘live link’ communications between police stations and magistrates’ courts. Nick Herbert (pictured) and Jonathan Djanogly visited a police station in North Kent and a court in Chester last week to see the video technology in use. ...
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'Serious’ privacy breaches over prisoners' letters
Legally privileged correspondence sent to prisoners is being compromised by solicitors failing to comply with procedures for addressing mail. The National Offender Management Service says there have been ‘many instances where correspondence from legal practitioners addressed or marked incorrectly has led to serious breaches of privacy’.
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News focus: Vince Cable’s employment law ‘bonfire’
Business secretary Vince Cable’s speech announcing ‘radical reform to the employment law system’ reads oddly. It contains contradictions of the sort that do not usually make it into the final draft of a minister’s speech.
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Colombia 'anarchy' is risking lawyers’ lives
The ‘black hand’ of drug smuggling, violence and political corruption has penetrated every level of Colombian society and now wields greater influence than the state itself, according to one of the country’s leading human rights lawyers.
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Offshore law firms are reinventing themselves
No man is an island - as we all know from the poet, John Donne; which is why global offshore financial centres such as those in Bermuda and the Channel Islands have felt the effects of the recession as much, if not more, than their onshore counterparts. But it is ...
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The coalition has a clear agenda
Contained in the raft of announcements by business secretary Vince Cable last week was the news that the Ministry of Justice will consult on the introduction of tribunal fees for employees who wish to bring a claim. Critics have argued that this will affect access to justice.
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Strike action disrupts courts nationwide
Courts across England and Wales suffered disruption today as the public sector endured the biggest walkout for a generation. The Ministry of Justice said key services such as family courts and custody proceedings were prioritised following action by the PCS union. Picket lines appeared at ...
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Ken Clarke postpones legal aid reforms and tendering
The government has postponed the implementation of its legal aid reforms by six months and its consultation on price-competitive tendering for crime work by two years. In a written ministerial statement today, justice secretary Kenneth Clarke said the government will push back a consultation on ...
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Family division head seeks ‘immense’ culture change
Family judges need to undergo an ‘immense’ cultural change to help tackle delays in the family justice system, the head of the family division said this week. Giving the Bar Council’s Law Reform Committee lecture, Sir Nicholas Wall (pictured) said that ‘active case management and judicial ...
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Regulator will accept ABS applications from new year
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will begin accepting licence applications for alternative business structures from 3 January, it has announced. The order designating the SRA as licensing authority was laid before parliament today and will come into force on 23 December. The authority ...
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Firms merge to create new £30m practice
City firm Sprecher Grier Halberstam has announced a merger with national firm Martineau after months of talks. The new business - SGH Martineau - will create a team of 360 staff members, of whom 200 are fee earners and 62 are partners. The two firms had ...
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Jury system is under threat from irresponsible press, says Grieve
The press testing the boundaries of reporting in criminal cases could undermine the jury system, the attorney general has warned. In a speech at City University on contempt and balancing the freedom of the press with the fair administration of justice, Dominic Grieve QC said he ...
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Jurisdiction
Conflict of laws - Challenge to jurisdiction - Parties entering into licence agreement Seven Licensing Company Sarl and another company v FFG-Platinum SA and other companies: Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Gloster): 16 November 2011 ...
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Ombudsman can also exonerate
There has been a lot of discussion about the Legal Ombudsman’s recent announcement on publishing the names of lawyers who have given poor service to their clients. The LeO was keen to emphasise that this applies to only a small proportion of lawyers. Inevitably some ...
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Field of dreams
It’s well known that even the dullest and dustiest desk-bound male lawyer has the occasional Walter Mitty fantasy. Here’s a perfect Christmas present for him, from the pen of media lawyer Roger Field.