Thank you for your feedback!

Posted January 16th, 2015 in news by sally

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete our mini survey at the end of last year.

We had a great deal of positive feedback and it is gratifying to know how people use and value the Current Awareness blog in view of the time and effort that goes into running this service.

If you didn’t get a chance to respond, you can always email your comments to smclaren@innertemple.org.uk

A handful of comments drew attention to areas where you would like to see some improvement. We have responded to these below:

EXCELLENT, KEEP GOING. YOU COULD ADD SOME OVERSEAS CONTENT, EG ON HONG KONG.

Unfortunately we are unable to expand the Current Awareness blog beyond the focus of England and Wales because of constraints on staff time. However, we do maintain AccessToLaw www.accesstolaw.com which is a website of annotated links, including lists of resources for other jurisdictions, such as Hong Kong.

Great service! However, the box in the top right-hand corner leads to my mobile device (Samsung S5) struggling to adapt to the size of the actual text column on the left-hand side.

We are currently working on a responsive design for the website and will be introducing a new design for the daily email which we hope will improve readability on mobile devices.

It’s an invaluable resource. I would prefer it if the title link in the email took us to the full story rather than to the listing on the main site (I know that there is also a full story link at the bottom of each listing).

I would like the link in the digest to go straight to the news item page, not the page on the blog (then onwards)

We agree that this would make the blog and the mail-out more user friendly. We will be implementing this in the near future.

The recent cases section would be much easier to benefit from if area of law could be attached in some way

We do attach subject categories to cases from the ICLR site which are posted individually, but it is not possible to do the same for BAILII cases; we have to post these as lists since there are so many of them.

Statutory instruments are included in a way that it hard/irritating to read. Otherwise, find the service really accessible and useful – thank you.

We are looking into improving the formatting of lists in order to make them easy to scan but also less intrusive for people who don’t want to see this material.

EVENT: The Law Society – Delay too often defeats justice

Posted January 16th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta. The values enshrined in the Magna Carta remain as valuable today as they have ever been. Justice, fairness, equality and legitimacy remain central to a strong, democratic legal system. They are lasting values, which will remain as relevant to lawyers today as they will for the next 800 years and beyond.

To celebrate the anniversary, Lord Dyson, the Master of the Rolls will be giving a presentation at the Law Society entitled “Delay too often defeats justice”.’

Date: 22nd April 2015, 6.30-9.00pm

Location: The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

Stop in the Name of Love! The New EU Regulation 606/2013 on Protection Measures – Family Law Week

Posted January 16th, 2015 in children, confidentiality, EC law, families, harassment, injunctions, news by sally

‘Sarah Lucy Cooper, barrister of Thomas More Chambers, explains the details and effect of this recently implemented EU personal protection law.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 15th January 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Grayling’s legal aid reforms ‘irrational’, Law Society argues – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 16th, 2015 in contracts, judicial review, Law Society, legal aid, news, tenders by sally

‘The lord chancellor’s decision to start a tender process for legal aid crime duty contracts is unlawful because it is “irrational”, “disproportionate” and based on a “manifest error”, the Law Society will argue in the High Court.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 15th January 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

EVENT: IALS – Whistleblowers: Better Off in the UK or Elsewhere in the EU?

Posted January 16th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 is currently subject to a Government Consultation. Sections 17-20 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 have introduced a series of changes. Meanwhile, the European Ombudsman has asked “what are the EU Institutions doing to protect whistleblowers?” We ask whether whistleblowing legislation is working here and in Europe and what more needs to be done to encourage, support and protect those who disclose information in the public interest.’

Date: 2nd February 2015, 2.00-6.00pm

Location: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Charles Clore House, 17 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DR

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.

Preacher Allan Cundick jailed for child sex attacks – BBC News

Posted January 16th, 2015 in child abuse, news, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

‘A preacher found guilty of indecently assaulting two girls aged between nine and 16 has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.’

Full story

BBC News, 15th January 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Law Society wins groundbreaking injunction against struck-off solicitor – Legal Futures

Posted January 16th, 2015 in disciplinary procedures, injunctions, Law Society, news, solicitors by sally

‘The Law Society has obtained a groundbreaking injunction that prevents a struck-off solicitor from holding himself out as a solicitor or being involved in a law firm without its approval.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 16th January 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Website operators can prohibit ‘screen scraping’ of unprotected data via terms and conditions, says EU court in Ryanair case – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 16th, 2015 in airlines, database right, EC law, electronic commerce, internet, news by sally

‘Online aggregators that engage in ‘screen scraping’ face a threat to their business models following a ruling by the EU’s highest court, an expert has said.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 15th January 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Proportionality rule bites as High Court slashes costs claim by more than half – Litigation Futures

Posted January 16th, 2015 in barristers, fees, news, proportionality, solicitors by sally

‘The High Court has more than halved a successful party’s costs on summary assessment on the basis of proportionality, with the fees charged by the partner running the case hit particularly hard.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 16th January 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

How to apply the DPA – Panopticon

Posted January 16th, 2015 in data protection, disclosure, freedom of information, necessity, news by sally

‘Section 40 of FOIA is where the Freedom of Information Act (mantra: disclose, please) intersects with the Data Protection Act 1998 (mantra: be careful how you process/disclose, please).’

Full story

Panopticon, 15th January 2015

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Is there a maximum award for general damages arising under contract? – NearlyLegal

Posted January 16th, 2015 in damages, defective premises, news, repairs, representative actions by sally

‘The case of Rendlesham Estates Plc v Barr Ltd [2014] EWHC 3968 (TCC) is a bit off the housing law beaten track and as a result I have only recently got round to reading it properly. It concerned s.1, Defective Premises Act 1974, which is the statutory provision that enables any person with an interest in a dwelling to sue the person responsible for building the dwelling, or carrying out any work in connection with the dwelling, where the dwelling is not fit for human habitation when the work is completed.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 15th January 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

EVENT: IALS – The (I)legitimacy of the Duty of Loyalty for Corporate Boards

Posted January 16th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘The reformulated duty of loyalty now found in section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 has generated debate about what is the best reading of the duty, the most fundamental aspect of which is whether this behavioural standard obliges a narrow focus on financial capital or a broader notion of well-being and inclusiveness amongst non-shareholder interests. This research argues that the law as a privileged and constitutive way of society-making can only be understood within a broader conceptual framework rather than the more traditional expository analysis of law. The context in which such an analysis takes place is that of the anti-collectivist, market-based political project of neoliberalsm. When viewed through this explanatory lens we see very clearly that English legal doctrine entrenches a relationship between managers and shareholders. In doing so the research shows that the extraction of private benefits of control by shareholders is not an inevitable occurrence, but a decades-long, human created, and contingent phenomena. While non-shareholder language is introduced into the duty, this precatory element is merely a potential source of legitimacy to the ideology of the company as a private, exclusively shareholder-oriented enterprise.’

Date: 19th February 2015, 12.30-1.30pm

Location: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Charles Clore House, 17 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DR

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.

Criminal Acts and Compensation – Zenith PI Blog

Posted January 16th, 2015 in compensation, ex turpi causa, news, personal injuries by sally

‘The recent case of AB v Chief Constable of X Constabulary provided the High Court with an opportunity to review the doctrine of ex turpi causa and its application in personal injury cases.’

Full story

Zenith PI Blog, 15th January 2015

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Primary school caretaker found with over 600 child abuse images walks free from court – The Independent

Posted January 16th, 2015 in community service, indecent photographs of children, news, sentencing by sally

‘A 55-year-old primary school caretaker walked free from Cardiff Crown court, claiming possessing over 600 child abuse images was “just a morbid curiosity.”’

Full story

The Independent, 15th January 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Men jailed after man lost eye in Birmingham belt attack – BBC News

Posted January 16th, 2015 in grievous bodily harm, news, sentencing by sally

‘Two men who attacked a man with his own belt in a “savage” street assault in which he lost an eye have been jailed.’

Full story

BBC News, 15th January 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

EVENT: IALS – “Does privacy matter?”

Posted January 16th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘This Public Lecture, followed by a reception, marks the launch the new Centre for Law and Information Policy at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.’

Date: 24th February 2015, 6.00-8.00pm

Location: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Charles Clore House, 17 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DR

Charge: See website for details

More information can be found here.

Sikh wins compensation over prison turban challenge – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 16th, 2015 in compensation, news, prisons, religious discrimination, Sikhism, solicitors by sally

‘A Sikh solicitor has won undisclosed compensation after being barred from entering a prison to visit a client because he had pins in his turban.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 15th January 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Fake Help for Heroes collection ‘soldier’ Liam O’Brien jailed – BBC News

Posted January 16th, 2015 in armed forces, charities, fraud, handling stolen goods, news, sentencing by sally

‘A Wiltshire man who posed as a serving soldier and falsely claimed to be collecting money for the charity Help for Heroes has been jailed.’

Full story

BBC News, 15th January 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Attorney general unable to review teacher-pupil sex sentence – The Guardian

‘A judge who gave a teacher a suspended sentence after suggesting he had been “groomed” by a pupil he was convicted of having sex with is to face an official investigation. Stuart Kerner, 44, was found guilty last month of two counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. But on Wednesday, he was given a suspended 18-month sentence by Joanna Greenberg QC, who said it was clear that his 16-year-old victim was obsessed with him.’

Full story

The Guardian, 15th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk