Police demands for potential rape victims’ data spark privacy fears – The Guardian

Posted September 26th, 2018 in data protection, news, police, privacy, rape, victims by sally

‘Police are demanding almost unfettered access to highly personal records and data from potential rape victims before pressing ahead with their cases, the Guardian can reveal.’

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The Guardian, 25th September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Coercive abuse and how a private client lawyer can help – Family Law

‘Coercive abuse became a criminal offence under the Serious Crimes Act in 2015. We define coercive abuse as the act of coercive or controlling behaviour in an intimate or family relationship.’

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Family Law, 25th September 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

BSB urged to take over ‘fit and proper person’ tests from inns – Legal Futures

Posted September 26th, 2018 in barristers, inns of court, news, vetting by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has been urged to take control from the Inns of Court of deciding whether someone is ‘fit and proper’ to be called to the Bar.’

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Legal Futures, 26th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The forensic pathologist who got PTSD: ‘Cutting up 23,000 dead bodies is not normal’ – The Guardian

Posted September 26th, 2018 in forensic science, news, pathologists, post-traumatic stress disorder by sally

‘Richard Shepherd’s career saw him work on some of the most high-profile cases of the past 30 years, such as Harold Shipman and Stephen Lawrence. But it came at a terrible personal cost, he says.’

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The Guardian, 26th September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Council criticised over decision on care home costs and deprivation of capital – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 25th, 2018 in care homes, costs, local government, news by sally

‘A council failed to take into consideration all relevant facts when deciding that an elderly couple had deliberately deprived themselves of capital in order to reduce the husband’s care costs, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) has concluded.’

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Local Government Lawyer, September 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Law Commission publishes leasehold reform proposals – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 25th, 2018 in consultations, enfranchisement, Law Commission, leases, news by sally

‘Detailed proposals to reform the leasehold enfranchisement process and make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders in England and Wales to purchase the freehold of their house or flat have been published by the Law Commission.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th September 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Court delivers warning blow to parties seeking to rely on force majeure clauses – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 25th, 2018 in contracts, news, ships by sally

‘The English High Court has ruled that a charter company was in breach of contract when it failed to provide cargoes to a ship owner – but that the contract’s ‘force majeure’ clause means it escapes paying damages.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th September 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Disciplined solicitor blames failings on legal aid cuts – Legal Futures

Posted September 25th, 2018 in costs, disciplinary procedures, expert witnesses, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

‘A criminal sole practitioner has been fined for offences including failure to distribute legal aid payments for professional disbursements, which he blamed on having laid off a manager after the firm suffered from government cutbacks.’

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Legal Futures, 25th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Colin Murray: Brexit and the “Constitutional Integrity” of the United Kingdom – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted September 25th, 2018 in constitutional law, news, Northern Ireland, treaties by sally

‘The Foreign Office records regarding the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 must be amongst the most regularly requested papers held at the National Archives. One file, FO 608/65, is part of the herculean effort to redraw the map of Europe after the First World War. It recounts the efforts of officials and ministers to work out how to provide Poland with meaningful access to the Baltic. The focus of this attention was the port city of Danzig. The two options before the Council of Ten were to include the city as part of Poland, but place limits on how Poland exercised its national sovereignty over this part of its territory, or to create a “free city”, administered by a League of Nations High Commissioner, which was tied into a customs union with Poland. In late March 1919 Lloyd George expressed the UK’s support for the former option in the Council. Behind the scenes, however, the Foreign Office was preparing the alternate plans for a free city, which Lloyd George backed to decisive effect in April 1919. Concerns that this reversal might destabilise the fledgling Polish state were summarily dismissed.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 25th September 2018

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Defendant lawyer hits out at £730k costs claim for £13k holiday sickness case – Litigation Futures

Posted September 25th, 2018 in costs, holidays, news by sally

‘A senior defendant lawyer has hit out at solicitors who claimed £730,000 in costs for a “straightforward” holiday sickness claim in a case with damages of only £13,000.’

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Litigation Futures, 24th September 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Insufficient oversight and inadequate controls “allowed £2m fraud at joint venture” – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 25th, 2018 in compulsory purchase, fraud, joint ventures, local government, news by sally

‘Insufficient oversight by Barnet Council together with inadequate controls allowed a former member of staff to commit a £2m fraud at a joint venture, a report by auditors Grant Thornton has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th September 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

“Prenup, postnup, catnup, dognup, petnup” – why? – Family Law

Posted September 25th, 2018 in enforcement, marriage, news, prenuptial agreements by sally

‘Behind the scenes there are many considerations for couples and their families. With the preparation of the happy joining of lives of two people with marriage, also comes financial considerations going forward.’

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Family Law, 24th September 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Prosecutors urged to ditch ‘weak’ rape cases to improve figures – The Guardian

Posted September 25th, 2018 in Crown Prosecution Service, news, prosecutions, rape, statistics by sally

‘Prosecutors in England and Wales have been urged to take a more risk-averse approach in rape cases to help stem widespread criticism of the service’s low conviction rates, the Guardian can reveal.’

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The Guardian, 24th September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

High Court finds oral agreement to pay solicitor’s fees – Legal Futures

Posted September 25th, 2018 in agreements, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘The High Court has found there was an oral agreement between a solicitor and the son-in-law of a client that the latter would cover his fees, which in the end totalled £330,000.’

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Legal Futures, 25th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge slams decision to house paedophile near children’s home – BBC News

‘A judge has ordered a police force and council to pay £52,000 to a sex abuse victim after a convicted paedophile was housed near his children’s home.’

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BBC News, 24th September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Celebrity Big Brother to be investigated by Ofcom – BBC News

Posted September 25th, 2018 in assault, complaints, media, news by sally

‘Ofcom is to launch an inquiry into Celebrity Big Brother after it received more than 25,000 complaints about Roxanne Pallett’s allegation she was physically abused by Ryan Thomas.’

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BBC News, 24th September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Private probation firms ‘put victims of abuse at risk’ – The Guardian

Posted September 25th, 2018 in contracting out, domestic violence, news, probation, rehabilitation, victims by sally

‘Tens of thousands of victims of domestic abuse and children are being put at further risk of harm by privatised offender supervision companies whose staff lack the skills, experience and time to supervise perpetrators, according to a new report.’

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The Guardian, 25th September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge calls airport’s drop-off charge a “disgrace” as teacher avoids jail for driving into worker – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 24th, 2018 in airports, dangerous driving, guilty pleas, news, sentencing, suspended sentences by sally

‘A teacher who drove into an airport worker following a row over a new £3 drop-off charge has been spared jail after a judge said he agreed the levy was an “absolute disgrace”.’

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Daily Telegraph, 21st September 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

How familial DNA trapped a murderer for the first time – BBC News

Posted September 24th, 2018 in DNA, forensic science, murder, news by sally

‘The pioneering technique used to identify a British widow’s sadistic killer has led to hundreds of crimes being solved around the world. How was familial DNA searching used to catch a murderer for the first time, 15 years ago, and more recently the suspected Golden State Killer?’

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BBC News, 23rd September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

NHS sued for failure to help transgender patients with fertility – The Guardian

Posted September 24th, 2018 in assisted reproduction, news, transgender persons by sally

‘NHS England is to be taken to court by the UK’s equality watchdog for failing to offer fertility services to transgender patients.’

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The Guardian 22nd, September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com