National minimum wage naming scheme suspended – OUT-LAW.com

‘A scheme for the naming of employers found to be in breach of the UK’s national minimum wage (NMW) has been suspended while the government reviews the scheme.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 12th June 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

Court refuses to increase budget for costs party brought on himself – Litigation Futures

Posted June 12th, 2019 in budgets, costs, disclosure, dispute resolution, documents, news by tracey

‘The High Court has rejected a defendant’s request to revise his costs budget upwards, saying that the extra costs came from matters he either should have anticipated or brought on himself.’

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Litigation Futures, 12th June 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Carbon credits fraud trial collapses after expert witness found to have no expertise – The Independent

‘A carbon credits trial collapsed after an expert witness was found to be unqualified, and more than 20 fraud trials could be declared unsafe.’

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The Independent, 30th May 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Firm right to withhold privileged information, High Court rules – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 24th, 2019 in disclosure, law firms, news, privilege, trusts by tracey

‘The High Court has backed international firm Taylor Wessing over its refusal to disclose privileged information to the beneficiary of a Bahamian trust. Taylor Wessing was acting for the trustee of the Glennfinnan Settlement when a beneficiary of the trust requested personal data about parties to litigation in the Bahamas.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 23rd May 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Judge ‘misled court in case against paedophile teacher’ – Daily telegraph

‘A judge has been accused of misleading a court and denying justice to victims of a paedophile headmaster.’

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Daily Telegraph, 23rd May 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Secret ‘Torture Loophole’ Raises Serious Questions For Government, MP David Davis And Barrister Say – Rights Info

‘The government must be asked “serious questions” on how a secret policy allowing ministers to approve actions that could lead to torture was signed off, a leading QC and Tory MP have said.’

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Rights Info, 20th May 2019

Source: rightsinfo.org

Judge reprimands solicitors for “imbeclic request” comment – Litigation Futures

‘A judge has criticised solicitors in a copyright infringement claim for describing a disclosure request made by the opposing side as “imbecilic”.’

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Litigation Futures, 20th May 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge “bullied” litigant in person, Court of Appeal rules – Litigation Futures

‘A High Court judge “seriously transgressed” the core principle that he remain neutral during the evidence and used bullying language against a litigant in person, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 20th May 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Employment lawyers acknowledge place for further regulation of confidentiality agreements but express concern over lack of regulatory clarity – Local Government Lawyer

‘There is a place for further review and regulation of confidentiality agreements (or NDAs), particularly in settlement agreements, to reduce the risk that such agreements prevent proper reporting of sexual misconduct at work, the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th May 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Church rejects report which says clergy should be allowed to go to police with sex abuse confessions – Daily Telegraph

‘The Church of England is ignoring abuse victims, survivors claim, after it rejected a report saying that clergy should report sex abuse confessions to police.’

Full Church of England report

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Daily Telegraph, 8th May 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

This week’s round up – Williamson fired over Huawei and the courts return after Easter – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Despite the return of the courts on Monday, it was another relatively light week in terms of decisions in the fields of public law and human rights. However, the High Court decided a number of interesting clinical negligence cases, whilst the Court of Appeal gave judgement in the case of TM (Kenya), R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 784.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 7th May 2019

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Grenfell Tower inquiry ‘failing to deliver’ as survivors and bereaved families ‘lose faith’, lawyers warn – The Independent

‘The Grenfell Tower inquiry is “failing to deliver” on promises it made to traumatised survivors and the families of victims, who have “lost faith” in the process, lawyers have warned.’

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The Independent, 6th May 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Law firms “willing to draw up NDAs” that breach SRA guidance – Legal Futures

‘Law firms are willing to draw up non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that clearly breach Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) guidance, according to the woman whose own NDA threw the spotlight on the issue.’

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Legla Futures, 2nd May 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Tribunal rejects law firm’s bid to strike out disability claim – Legal Futures

‘An employment tribunal has said it would be “wholly inappropriate” to strike out a disability discrimination claim against a law firm from a legal secretary suffering from depression.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd May 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Undercover police to have fake identities hidden at inquiry – The Guardian

‘The retired judge leading a public inquiry into the conduct of undercover officers who infiltrated political groups has granted anonymity to two-thirds of the police spies who requested it.’

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The Guardian, 29th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rape cases ‘could fail’ if victims refuse to give police access to phones – The Guardian

‘Victims of rape and serious sexual assault who refuse to give police access to their mobile phone contents could allow suspects to avoid charges, two top officials have said.’

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The Guardian, 29th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

NHS non-disclosure agreements to end, vows Matt Hancock – The Guardian

Posted April 23rd, 2019 in disclosure, health, news, non-disclosure agreements, whistleblowers by sally

‘The health secretary has vowed to end the use of non-disclosure agreements that prevent would-be NHS whistleblowers speaking out.’

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The Guardian, 22nd April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Criminals could keep records from employers under review by home secretary Sajid Javid – The Independent

Posted April 17th, 2019 in criminal records, disclosure, employment, news by tracey

‘Employers could be kept in the dark about the criminal records of some job applicants under a review of rules by the home secretary. Sajid Javid said the government needs to “look again” at how much is revealed about people who have committed certain crimes when they apply for jobs.’

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The Independent, 17th April 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK universities pay out £90m on staff ‘gagging orders’ in past two years – The Guardian

Posted April 17th, 2019 in bullying, disclosure, harassment, news, non-disclosure agreements, universities by tracey

‘UK universities have spent nearly £90m on payoffs to staff that come with “gagging orders” in two years, raising fears that victims of misconduct at higher education institutions are being silenced.’

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The Guardian, 17th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The White Book is wrong’ – Vos offers clarity on disclosure rules – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 16th, 2019 in civil procedure rules, disclosure, news, pilot schemes by tracey

‘The chancellor of the High Court has made clear all existing cases must be subject to new disclosure procedures – and not as advised in the lawyers’ bible on litigation.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 16th April 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk