Category: news

“Mandatory” mediation – not mandatory enough! – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted February 10th, 2014 in bills, case management, dispute resolution, divorce, domestic violence, legal aid, news by sally

‘In recent weeks there has been widespread reporting of government measures to introduce “mandatory mediation” for separating couples. This will be brought in under the Children and Families Bill, which is due to come into force in April. So, what exactly will the proposals mean? Will they actually result in couples moving away courts, and resolving their disputes through mediation, as the government wants?’

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Halsburys Law Exchange, 10th February 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Tube strikes – should the law be changed? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted February 10th, 2014 in bills, data protection, industrial action, international law, news, trade unions, transport by sally

‘We asked the business lobbying group CBI, the Institute of Directors (IOD) and Trade Union lawyer Richard Arthur for their views on reform of this prickly area of law.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 7th February 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Mental capacity ruling over retainer – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 10th, 2014 in appeals, contracts, costs, Court of Protection, fees, medical treatment, negligence, news, solicitors by sally

‘The High Court has ruled that the loss of a client’s mental capacity should not automatically terminate the solicitor’s retainer.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 10th February 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Claimant faces record costs after tribunal – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 10th, 2014 in costs, disclosure, employment tribunals, equality, local government, news by sally

‘An employment tribunal has ordered a claimant who unsuccessfully took a local authority to tribunal to pay record costs for an individual.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 10th February 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Apollo Theatre ceiling collapse family seeks payout – BBC News

Posted February 10th, 2014 in accidents, compensation, health & safety, insurance, news, theatre by sally

‘A family injured when the Apollo Theatre ceiling collapsed is suing the theatre’s owners for compensation.’

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BBC News, 7th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ex-soldier sues Ministry of Defence for alleged failure to tackle bullying – The Guardian

Posted February 10th, 2014 in armed forces, bullying, compensation, complaints, harassment, news, ombudsmen, standards, statistics by sally

‘A former British private is suing the Ministry of Defence over allegations the army allowed severe bullying which led to him attempting to take his own life five times.’

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The Guardian, 8th February 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Number of sex offenders in England and Wales rises by more than third in five years – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 10th, 2014 in budgets, news, probation, rehabilitation, sexual offences, statistics by sally

‘The number of registered sex offenders in England and Wales has risen by more than a third in the past five years. More than 40,000 registered sex offenders, including 2,700 judged to pose a serious risk to the public, are living in the community and being monitored by probation services.’

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Daily Telegraph, 9th February 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Derby human traffickers jailed for more than seven years – BBC News

Posted February 7th, 2014 in news, sentencing, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘Two brothers have been jailed for trafficking 12 Czech and Slovak men into the UK to exploit them for wages and benefits.’

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BBC News, 7th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

England-wide heroin and crack cocaine drugs gang jailed – BBC News

Posted February 7th, 2014 in conspiracy, drug trafficking, news, sentencing by sally

‘Nine people have been sent to prison for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs across England.’

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BBC News, 7th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Loss of capacity does not terminate solicitor’s retainer, High Court rules – Litigation Futures

Posted February 7th, 2014 in contracts, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘A client’s loss of mental capacity in the course of proceedings does not automatically terminate their solicitor’s retainer, the High Court ruled yesterday.’

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Litigation Futures, 6th February 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

High Court quashes “irrational” LeO decision against barrister but upholds record SDT fine – Legal Futures

Posted February 7th, 2014 in appeals, barristers, complaints, disciplinary procedures, legal ombudsman, news, solicitors by sally

‘A High Court judge has overturned a Legal Ombudsman (LeO) decision that a barrister had not earned his fee, but separately upheld a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) decision to hand out a record fine.’

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Legal Futures, 7th February 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

“Unfair advantage” under the Trade Marks Directive – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted February 7th, 2014 in consumer protection, news, trade marks by sally

‘Readers over the age of 24 do not fall into Jack Wills’ core target market, and may therefore be unfamiliar with the clothing brand’s “Mr Wills” pheasant logo. On the other hand, those readers who are Jack Wills devotees may want to check when you get home that you have not got confused and accidentally purchased, for about the same price, a House of Fraser product adorned with this equally delightful but nonetheless different bird. If you did get confused, it is perfectly understandable. After all, they’re both silhouettes of birds “equipped with accessories associated with an English gentleman”, as Mr Justice Arnold explained last week in Jack Wills Ltd v House of Fraser (Stores) Ltd [2014] EWHC 110 (Ch).’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 4th February 2014

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Barrister who intentionally misled client over appeal to be disbarred – Bar Standards Board

Posted February 7th, 2014 in appeals, barristers, disciplinary procedures, drafting, news, professional conduct by sally

‘A public disciplinary tribunal has this week ordered the disbarment of a barrister for intentionally misleading his client by drafting false grounds of appeal – despite knowing there were none.’

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Bar Standards Board, 5th February 2014

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

‘War crimes’ defence against Israel company protest convictions fails in Supreme Court – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 7th, 2014 in defences, demonstrations, news, public order, trespass by sally

‘Richardson v Director of Public Prosecutions [2014] UKSC 8. The tactics of protesters engaging in demonstrations, or acts of civil disobedience, frequently raise interesting questions of law. A demonstration by two activists opposed to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories, who entered a shop in Covent Garden which sold produce from the Dead Sea, produced on an Israeli settlement, recently resulted in the Supreme Court addressing two such questions.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 7th February 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Ben Jaffey and Tom Hickman: Loading the Dice in Judicial Review: The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2014 – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted February 7th, 2014 in bills, criminal justice, judicial review, legal aid, news by sally

‘Public lawyers across the country are anxiously scrutinising yesterday’s response by the Lord Chancellor, Chris Grayling, to the Judicial Review consultation and the associated Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. They are seeking to ascertain the extent to which access to judicial review will be restricted and, in the case of many firms with legal aid contracts in public law, to see if whether their business will remain financially viable at all.’

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 6th February 2014

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Supreme Court allows removal of incorrectly-registered land from village greens register despite delays – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 7th, 2014 in commons, delay, land registration, news, rectification by sally

‘The Supreme Court has allowed the removal of two pieces of land, that were incorrectly registered as town or village greens (TVGs), from the register preventing their redevelopment, despite the landowners’ lengthy delays in applying for the rectifications.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 7th February 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Government JR reforms ‘take a sledgehammer to the rule of law’ – LegalVoice

Posted February 7th, 2014 in consultations, judicial review, legal aid, news, protective costs orders by sally

‘Controversial proposals to restrict judicial review will go ahead by way of a “a tough package of reform”, the government confirmed yesterday. Publishing its response to the consultation, Judicial Review: Proposals for further reform, the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, said: “I believe in protecting judicial review as a check on unlawful executive action, but I am equally clear that it should not be abused, to act as a brake on growth.”

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LegalVoice, 6th February 2014

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Wills “mix-up” case – no reason for a flood of litigation – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted February 7th, 2014 in mistake, news, rectification, solicitors, wills by sally

‘Would it be a fantasy too far to imagine that the ghost of the late Lord Denning has been whispering in the ears of their Lordships Neuberger, Clarke, Sumption, Carnwath and Hodge? Possibly not, given the Denning-esque outcome in the wills “mix-up” case of Marley v Rawlings and another. The facts of the case were simple. Mr and Mrs Rawlings wanted mirror wills leaving everything to each other and thereafter to Terry Marley who they treated as a son. On 17 May 1999 their solicitor visited them with drafted wills for the purpose of execution. However, Mr Rawlings executed Mrs Rawlings’ will and vice versa. Both wrongly executed wills were witnessed by their solicitor and a secretary. Each will correctly used such relevant words as “his”, “her”, “testator” and “testatrix”.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 6th February 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Staff restructuring and efficiency savings – Education Law Blog

Posted February 7th, 2014 in education, employment tribunals, news, transfer of undertakings, unfair dismissal by sally

‘In Hazel and Huggins v Manchester College [2014] EWCA Civ 72 the Court of Appeal has dismissed the College’s appeal against a majority Employment Tribunal decision that the dismissals of two lecturers at HMP Elmley in Kent, Mrs Hazel and Mrs Huggins (“H&H”) were not for an “economic technical or organisational” (ETO) reason that entailed a change in the workforce, but were because they refused to agree to new, reduced terms, and this was connected to a TUPE transfer, making their dismissals automatically unfair.’

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Education Law Blog, 7th February 2014

Source: www.education11kbw.com

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority v First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) and another – WLR Daily

Posted February 7th, 2014 in criminal injuries compensation, dogs, law reports, news, violence by sally

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority v First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) and another [2014] EWCA Civ 65;  [2014] WLR (D)  45

‘In order to determine whether conduct which amounted to an offence contrary to section 3(1) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 of being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control in a public place was a “crime of violence”, for the purposes of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, it was necessary to have regard to the nature of the offence rather than its consequences. Negligently to allow a dog to escape, even a dog known to be aggressive, did not constitute a crime of violence.’

WLR Daily, 3rd February 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk