The Times Law100 2009 – The Times
“Who are Britain’s most powerful lawyers? The debate this year was lengthy and sometimes fiery, but here are our picks.”
The Times, 23rd July 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Category: legal profession
Improve schools to give poor children a chance at professional jobs, report says – The Guardian
“Generations of poorer children will miss out on jobs in law and medicine unless Britain does more to give them a better education, a report on social mobility said today.”
The Guardian, 21st July 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Cross-Party Group to Hear Concerns Over Future of Lawyers Doing Publicly Funded Work – The Bar Council
“An influential all-party group of MPs and Peers will today hear wide-ranging concerns voiced regarding the future supply of lawyers with the skills to do publicly funded work in the justice system.”
The Bar Council, 6th July 2009
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
Lawyers revolt over auction of legal aid work – The Times
“Ministers are facing a growing revolt over plans to hold a ‘reverse auction’ to award legal aid contracts to the lowest bidders. Nearly 2,500 lawyers who say the scheme will cause ‘irreparable damage’ to the quality of the justice system have already signed a Downing Street online petition urging the plans be scrapped.”
The Times, 18th June 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Solicitors believe judicial appointments ‘not for me’, JAC research finds – Law Society’s Gazette
“Official research published today reveals a ‘widespread and underlying perception’ of ‘inherent prejudice’ in the judicial application process and suggests that solicitors still see the bench as a career for ‘other people’.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 4th June 2009
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Judge selection still perceived as unfair – The Times
“Perceptions of unfairnness and prejudice in the selection of judges still widely persist, three years after a new body was set up to modernise the system.”
The Times, 4th June 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Failure to gag Private Eye clears the way to publication of rulings against lawyers – The Times
“Thousands of disciplinary rulings against lawyers accused of misconduct can be publicised after one of Britain’s leading solicitors lost a battle in the Court of Appeal to keep his own case under wraps.”
The Times, 21st May 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Legal aid payments – Ministry of Justice
“The annual list of the highest paid solicitors firms and barristers from legal aid in 2007/08 has been published on the Ministry of Justice website.”
Ministry of Justice, 30th April 2009
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
It is time to scrap lawyers’ success fees? – The Times
“Next week Lord Justice Jackson, the Court of Appeal judge, will outline provisional proposals of his review on the costs of litigation. Among other things he is likely to urge a look at a new way to fund civil cases that could substantially replace no-win, no-fee cases for a large range of civil actions.”
The Times, 23rd April 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
How can ethnic minorities reach the top of the profession? – The Times
“Baroness Scotland of Asthal could be forgiven if she saw no problem. Britain’s first black, first woman holder of the post of Attorney-General is a living example of diversity in the legal profession. But, as with women political leaders, is she a one-off?”
The Times, 23rd April 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
UK legal sector becoming more ‘socially exclusive’ – Legal Week
“The UK legal sector has been highlighted by the Government as one of a number of professions becoming increasingly socially exclusive.”
Legal Week, 23rd April 2009
Source: www.legalweek.com
Actually, the public do trust lawyers . . . – The Times
“Lawyers can draw some comfort from a survey this week showing that they are not quite the figures of mistrust or contempt that mythology would suggest.”
The Times, 31st March 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Lawyer-client privilege can’t stop surveillance, says House of Lords – OUT-LAW.com
“The state is allowed to bug communication between lawyers and their clients, the House of Lords has said. The UK’s highest court ruled that spy law the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) allows lawyers’ conversations to be bugged.”
OUT-LAW.com, 23rd March 2009
Source: www.out-law.com
McE v Prison Service of Northern Ireland; C and A v Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland; M v Same – WLR Daily
McE v Prison Service of Northern Ireland; C and A v Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland; M v Same [2009] UKHL 15; [2009] WLR(D) 90
“The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (‘RIPA’) permitted covert surveillance of communications between lawyers and their clients covered by legal professional privilege and notwithstanding any statutory rights of persons in custody to consult privately with their lawyers.”
WLR Daily, 12th March 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
McE v Prison Service of Northern Ireland and Another; C and A v Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland; M v Same – Times Law Reports
House of Lords
“Covert surveillance of communications between lawyers and their clients, covered by legal professional privilege, was permitted under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, notwithstanding any statutory rights of persons in custody to consult their lawyers in private.”
The Times, 12th March 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Clive Stafford Smith: ‘If I had my time all over again, I’d defend paedophiles’ – The Times
“He battled for years to save death-row convicts in the US, and now represents terror suspects. But what fires a lawyer who acts only for the poor and universally hated?”
The Times, 10th March 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Army victims’ lawyer ‘had death threats’ – The Independent
“MoD accused of waging ‘black propaganda’ campaign against human rights activists.”
The Independent, 7th February 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Will the profession finally add class to its diversity stats? – The Lawyer
“New Research commissioned for The Lawyer has exposed the extent to which the legal profession is dominated by the wealthy, just as the Government unveils a new campaign to drive elitism out of the profession.”
The Lawyer, 2nd February 2009
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Legal profession’s elitism gap gets wider – The Lawyer
“The legal profession is even more elitist than other professions – and the gap has widened in the last decade.”
The Lawyer, 2nd February 2009
Source: www.thelawyer.com
