Tribunal rejects claims from ‘partner’ who sued as employee – Legal Futures

‘A former salaried partner, permitted by an employment tribunal earlier this year to sue her law firm as an employee, has lost all but one of her claims.’

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Legal Futures, 9th October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law firm “positively invited” client to end retainer – Litigation Futures

Posted October 7th, 2019 in appeals, documents, law firms, legal representation, news by tracey

‘A law firm that gave a client seven days’ notice of its intention to end its retainer, but effectively forced the client to do it after a day, was the party responsible for the termination, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 7th October 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Legal advice privilege “survives” company’s dissolution – Legal Futures

‘Legal advice privilege (LAP) attaching to communications between a company and its lawyers survives the dissolution of the company, even if the Crown has disclaimed all interest in its former property, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 7th October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Open justice ‘victory’ revisited – Family Law

‘Laws governing the release of court material to non-parties in civil cases post Cape Intermediate are clear, but has the decision moved transparency laws forward for family proceedings? David Burrows reports.’

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Family Law, 19th September 2019

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

CA quashes paralegal’s “unfair” contempt sentence – Legal Futures

‘It was “manifestly unfair” for a circuit judge to issue a paralegal with a suspended six-month prison sentence for inadvertently breaching the Family Procedure Rules, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 17th September 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Electronic signatures are valid, confirms Law Commission – Law Commission

‘Electronic signatures can be used to execute documents, including where there is a statutory requirement for a signature, the Law Commission has today confirmed. This means that, in most cases, electronic signatures can be used as a viable alternative to handwritten ones.’

Full press release

Law Commission, 4th September 2019

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring (Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK) [2019] UKSC 38 – Hardwicke Chambers

‘In this case, the UKSC held that courts have an inherent jurisdiction independent of the CPR to order non-party access to court documents under the constitutional principle of open justice. This, however, is to be balanced against both any countervailing interests in refusing access, and the principle of practicality and proportionality.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 28th August 2019

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Home Office ad telling EU citizens how to stay in UK after Brexit banned for being ‘misleading’ – The Independent

‘A Home Office campaign informing EU nationals how to confirm their UK status after Brexit has been banned by the advertising watchdog for being “misleading”.’

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The Independent, 27th August 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Supreme Court rules that all courts and tribunals are subject to the open justice principle – 4 KBW

‘The Supreme Court has ruled in the case of Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring (Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK) [2019] that all courts and tribunals that exercise the judicial power of the state are subject to the ‘open justice’ principle.’

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4 KBW, 6th August 2019

Source: www.4kbw.net

Court proceedings pack change “renders portal offer void” – Litigation Futures

Posted August 19th, 2019 in appeals, civil procedure rules, damages, documents, insurance, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘A circuit judge has ruled that a failure in a portal case to include the same damages figure in the stage 3 court proceedings pack (CPP) as in the stage 2 settlement pack form renders the offer void.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th August 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

CA orders retrial after High Court judge’s “inadequate” ruling – Litigation Futures

Posted August 13th, 2019 in appeals, Commercial Court, documents, evidence, judges, news, retrials by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal has “reluctantly” ordered the retrial of a Commercial Court case after finding that the judge failed to address all the evidence before him.’

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Litigation Futures, 13th August 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Case Comment: Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring (for and on behalf of Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK) [2019] UKSC 38 – UKSC Blog

Posted August 8th, 2019 in civil procedure rules, documents, news, Supreme Court, third parties by tracey

‘In a decision described as a “victory for open justice”, the Supreme Court has held that non-parties to litigation are entitled to access certain documents from a trial to which it was not a party.’

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UKSC Blog, 5th August 2019

Source: ukscblog.com

Supreme Court backs third party access to court documents – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 2nd, 2019 in civil procedure rules, courts, documents, news, Supreme Court, third parties by tracey

‘Campaigners, the media and others who are not parties to court proceedings should be permitted to access court documents as “the default position”, the UK’s highest court has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 1st August 2019

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Supreme Court backs public access to court documents – Litigation Futures

‘Non-parties to litigation should generally have access to all written submissions and documents which have been placed before the court and referred to during the hearing, the Supreme Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 29th July 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Discovery assessments: the Court of Appeal in Tooth – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 24th, 2019 in appeals, documents, HM Revenue & Customs, news, tax evasion, taxation, time limits by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal decided in the Tooth case that finding a different reason for under assessment or a different mechanism for assessing an insufficiency of tax HMRC already knew about was not enough to enable HMRC to issue a discovery assessment.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st June 2019

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Defective service and “technical game playing”: Woodward & Ors v Phoenix Healthcare Distribution Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 985 – Zenith PI

‘Woodward & Ors v Phoenix Healthcare Distribution Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 985 is the latest procedural skirmish in the ongoing battle between Claimants and Defendants. Following on from the Supreme Court’s judgment in Barton v Wright Hassall LLP [2018] UKSC 12, it is an important reminder – if any were needed – that Claimants must be familiar with the rules on service of claim forms, and with the other side’s procedural stance.’

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Zenith PI, 17th June 2019

Source: zenithpi.wordpress.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

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

Home Office faces investigation over Windrush scandal from equalities watchdog – The Independent

‘The Home Office has been referred to the equalities watchdog over the Windrush scandal and the wider “hostile environment”. More than 80 MPs from six political parties have called on the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to investigate whether the department unlawfully discriminated against the Windrush generation and continues to discriminate against ethnic minority Britons as a “direct result” of its immigration policies.’

Full Story

The Independent, 1st May 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

I’m still at a loss’: Windrush victims who were forced into homelessness and debt due to scandal still living in anguish and destitution a year on – The Independent

‘On 16 April 2018, Amber Rudd – then home secretary – stood up in the House of Commons to formally acknowledge the Windrush scandal for the first time. The treatment of immigrants by her department’s “hostile environment” was appalling, she said, vowing to deal with cases within two weeks and put things right. But exactly one year later, the suffering goes on. Many are yet to receive a response to their application to the taskforce, leaving them in a “state of limbo” with little or no information about how their case is progressing.’

Full Story

The Independent, 16th April 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk