Hodge worries about impact of pandemic on young lawyers – Litigation Futures

‘The deputy president of the Supreme Court has expressed fears that young lawyers have been unable to train properly during the pandemic and urged the profession to ensure there is no lasting damage to their education.’

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Litigation Futures, 12th November 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Court of Appeal orders fresh welfare hearing over failure of judge to sufficiently examine risk of harm to children when making placement order – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Appeal has ordered a fresh welfare hearing in a case where a Family Division judge decided that three children should be placed for adoption after he found, amongst other things, a major stumbling block to be the parents’ irrational and extreme over-reaction to the involvement of professionals in their lives and those of their children, most especially social workers.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th November 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Was Lockdown Lawful? Thoughts of a former Supreme Court Judge. – 33 Bedford Row

‘Lord Sumption has this evening [27 October] in his lecture entitled “Government by decree – Covid-19 and the Constitution” issued a scathing indictment not only of the political motivations and processes behind lockdown measures, but also the underlying legality of the measures, and their impact upon the long term health of our parliamentary democracy.’

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33 Bedford Row, 27th October 2020

Source: www.33bedfordrow.co.uk

A ruling delivered in open court or in writing is capable of amounting to a confiscation order (R v Westbrook) – 5SAH

‘The Court of Appeal ruled that, as with other orders, the judge’s solemn pronouncement in court was the order and a failure to draw up a formal written document within the prescribed two-year period from the date of sentence did not invalidate it. In any event, the judge had provided written reasons, findings and figures which satisfied the statutory requirements of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002). The Court of Appeal ruled that in the absence of prejudice or unfairness resulting from an administrative or procedural breach, it could not be argued that a failure to draw up the order rendered it invalid. The second ground of appeal (that the judge had wrongly concluded that there were hidden assets) was unarguable and leave to appeal was refused.’

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5SAH, 20th October 2020

Source: www.5sah.co.uk

Court of Appeal identifies lessons on out of hours applications after disabled man sees human rights breached – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Appeal has set out seven lessons for judges and practitioners in cases where urgent applications without notice are made, after concluding that a disabled man had his human rights breached.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 29th October 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Covid measures will be seen as ‘monument of collective hysteria and folly’ says ex-judge – The Guardian

‘The government has deliberately stoked fear over coronavirus while behaving like an authoritarian regime relying on police state tactics, according to the former supreme court justice Jonathan Sumption.’

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The Guardian, 27th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge: Disclosure pilot demands co-operation, not unilateral action – Litigation Futures

Posted October 28th, 2020 in disclosure, judges, news, pilot schemes by sally

‘Parties in disagreement over how to proceed with disclosure under the pilot should not stop talking or engage in “point-scoring correspondence”, a judge has warned.’

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Litigation Futures, 28th October 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

The Perils of Zoom: the Court allows an appeal against a judge’s refusal to recuse herself after she was inadvertently overheard making negative comments about a party during a Zoom hearing – 1 GC: Family Law

Posted October 27th, 2020 in appeals, internet, judges, news, recusal, remote hearings by sally

‘The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal against a judge’s refusal to recuse herself after she was overheard making pejorative comments about a party during a break in a Zoom hearing, and brings the perils of a remote hearing into sharp focus. Tahmina Rahman, barrister at 1 GC Family Law, examines the issues.’

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1 GC: Family Law, 21st October 2020

Source: 1gc.com

Ministers must end their attacks on lawyers – The Guardian

‘Barristers, solicitors, legal academics and retired judges call for the home secretary and the prime minister to apologise for past remarks and refrain from using hostile language.’

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The Guardian, 25th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lawyers call for apology from Johnson and Patel for endangering colleagues – The Guardian

‘The UK prime minister and the home secretary are accused of endangering the personal safety of lawyers through their abusive attacks on the profession and should apologise, more than 800 former judges and senior legal figures have said in a letter sent to the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 25th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK needs judges to limit government power, says Lord Kerr – The Guardian

‘The last thing the country needs is a government in which ministers exercise “unbridled power”, the UK’s longest serving supreme court justice has said.’

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The Guardian, 19th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Remote hearings “can bring horror into your home”, says judge – Legal Futures

Posted October 19th, 2020 in coronavirus, families, family courts, judges, news, remote hearings by sally

‘A particularly unwelcome issue for judges hearing cases remotely is that some of the most disturbing elements of serious family cases are being heard at home, a High Court judge reported last week.’

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Legal Futures, 19th October 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Nicholas Reed Langen: Is the Supreme Court more interventionist? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted October 19th, 2020 in constitutional law, judges, judiciary, news, parliament, Supreme Court by sally

‘The global outpouring of grief upon the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September showed how complete her transfer from justice of the Supreme Court to international icon was. Notorious enough to just be known by her initials, RBG was a judge celebrated in popular culture like no other. Hollywood A-lister Felicity Jones portrayed her in the Hollywood biopic, On the Basis of Sex, the antihero Deadpool considered drafting her for the X-Force, a team of superhero mutants, in Deadpool 2, and even Lego got in on the act, creating a mini-figure of her after the release of The Lego Movie 2.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 14th October 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Brexit strategy risks UK ‘dictatorship’, says ex-president of supreme court – The Guardian

Posted October 8th, 2020 in bills, brexit, judges, ministers' powers and duties, news, parliament by tracey

‘Lord Neuberger condemns internal market bill for exempting some of its powers from legal challenge.’

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The Guardian, 7th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legal profession hits back at Johnson over ‘lefty lawyers’ speech – The Guardian

“Lawyers say government’s hostility risks stirring up hatred and undermining rule of law.’

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The Guardian, 6th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Boris Johnson undermining courts to consolidate power, retired Supreme Court judge warns – The Independent

‘A former Supreme Court judge has accused Boris Johnson of trying to undermine the courts and legal system in a bid to solidify government power and push through his programme. Lord Sumption, who retired from the court in 2018, told at parliamentary select committee that the government was intent on “doing down the courts as potential sources of impediments for the government’s programme”.’

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The Independent, 6th October 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Vos: ‘lawyers face steep learning curve on tech’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘All lawyers will need to become familiar with the concepts and workings of distributed ledger technology, smart legal contracts and cryptoassets, according to the next master of the rolls. In a foreword to a landmark report on the regulation of blockchain technology, Sir Geoffrey Vos says that the pandemic “has only emphasised our need to understand the ways in which technology is affecting our professional lives. Lawyers face a steep learning curve.” ’

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th October 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lord Sumption: justice faces digital trade-off – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The court system faces a trade-off between the quality of justice and the cost of delivering it, former Supreme Court justice Lord Sumption has said in a biting assessment of virtual hearings. Speaking at the Commercial Litigators’ Forum, Lord Sumption (Jonathan Sumption QC) said if quality of justice was the only concern “we would go back to ordinary oral hearings.” ‘

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th October 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Supreme Court President Lord Reed wants more diversity in Supreme Court – BBC News

‘The new Supreme Court president says he hopes a justice from an ethnic minority background will be appointed before his retirement in six years’ time. Lord Reed said the lack of diversity among the 12 Supreme Court justices was a situation “which cannot be allowed to become shameful if it persists”.’

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BBC News, 5th October 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Keep part 36 offers simple by using form, judge urges – Litigation Futures

Posted September 30th, 2020 in civil procedure rules, interpretation, judges, news, part 36 offers, service, time limits by sally

‘A High Court judge has told parties making part 36 offers that if they simply used form N242A “much of the difficulty” the scheme has caused litigants over the years would be avoided.’

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Litigation Futures, 28th September 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com