Part-time partners: why the legal profession is changing – The Guardian
“Only 9.4% of equity partners in law firms are women, despite equal numbers of men and women entering the profession.”
The Guardian, 18th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Category: news
Watching You, Watching Me: The Admissibility of Covertly Obtained Evidence in Employment Tribunals – No. 5 Chambers
“Should employees – or employers – be able to use secretly taped recordings as evidence when bringing or defending claims in the Employment Tribunal? In the recent case of Vaughan v London Borough of Lewisham & Others [2013] UKEAT 0534_12_0102 the Employment Appeal Tribunal confirmed the long established position that the method in which the evidence has been obtained does not affect its relevance; and relevance is the guiding principle when determining whether evidence is admissible.”
No. 5 Chambers, 6th June 2013
Source: www.no5.com
Directors’ duties – A practical guide for insolvency practitioners – 11 Stone Buildings
“In this note Marcia Shekerdemian takes a closer look at the statutory codification of directors’ duties under the Companies Act 2006 (‘CA’) by reference to key case law, making this a highly practical guide for IPs who are considering bringing misfeasance claims under section 212 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (‘IA’).”
Full story (PDF)
11 Stone Buildings, June 2013
Source: www.11sb.com
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 – No. 5 Chambers
“The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 [‘ERRA’] received Royal Assent on 25 April 2013, bringing some significant changes to employment law and tribunal procedure. Gemma Roberts highlights the main reforms affecting employment tribunal, ACAS procedure and the changes to whistleblowing; Mugni Islam-Choudhury considers the amendments introduced to the Equality Act 2010.”
No. 5 Chambers, 6th June 2013
Source: www.no5.com
Prest v Petrodel Resources Limited 2013 UKSC 34 a victory for common sense – article by Elizabeth Darlington – Zenith Chambers
“In summary, the Supreme Court (comprising Lords Neuberger, Walker, Mance, Clarke, Wilson, Sumption and Lady Hale) has unanimously upheld the wife’s appeal and found that the Respondent group of companies held the assets on trust for the Husband. The assets therefore constitute property to which the husband is ‘entitled, either in possession or reversion’ for the purposes of section 24(1)(a) MCA.”
Zenith Chambers, 12th June 2013
Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk
Yes, it’s Article 8… again! – Hardwicke Chambers
“Counsel for the defendant in this recent case, heard at Clerkenwell & Shoreditch County Court, provided a skeleton argument on the morning of the hearing, ignoring the set aside (it being conceded there was no merit in this) but rather arguing that the Court’s lack of discretion to delay execution of a possession order by over six weeks was incompatible with Article 8. It followed that he was seeking a transfer to the High Court for declaration purposes (CPR 30.3(2)(g)).”
Hardwicke Chambers, 3rd June 2013
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Police had ‘no power’ to take ‘kettled’ woman’s details – BBC News
“Police officers who took the personal details of a woman ‘kettled’ during a trade union rally in 2011 acted unlawfully, the High Court has ruled.”
BBC News, 18th June 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Serious Personal Injury Litigation – A Quantum Update – Byrom Street Chambers
“Arguments concerning the indexation of periodical payments orders triggered many more cases than usual being tried out on numerous heads of damage. Further cases have followed after the issue of indexation was decided. James Rowley QC brings together the judgments so that trends in awards in the most serious litigation can be identified.”
Full story (PDF)
Byrom Street Chambers, 30th May 2013
Source: www.byromstreet.com
The Supreme Court grasps the nettle in Prest v Petrodel Resources Ltd – 11 Stone Buildings
“On 12th June 2013, the Supreme Court delivered judgment in the eagerly anticipated appeal in Prest v Petrodel Resources Limited [2013] UKSC 34. For the second time this year, the Supreme Court has had to grapple with the circumstances in which it is appropriate to pierce the corporate veil, the previous decision being that of VTB Capital plc v Nutritek International Corp [2013] 2 WLR 398 (a case in which a number of 11 SB members were involved). Unlike in VTB Capital, however, this time the Supreme Court grasped the nettle and gave some practical guidance as to the reach and limitations of the doctrine.”
Full story (PDF)
11 Stone Buildings, June 2013
Source: www.11sb.com
Will-writers face jail as new code of practice scheme goes live – Legal Futures
“Members of the Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) who fail to comply with its code of practice face fines or even imprisonment, as a new UK-wide scheme to strengthen self-regulation by setting standards for such codes goes live.”
Legal Futures, 18th June 2013
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
A heavy cost? – New Law Journal
“David Burrows reviews how LASPO has changed the funding landscape of family litigation.”
New Law Journal, 17th June 2013
Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk
Granting alterations licence discharged guarantor from liability, High Court rules – OUT-LAW.com
“Granting a licence for alterations without the consent of the guarantor can be enough to discharge the guarantor’s liability under the lease, the High Court has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 18th June 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
New CCTV Code of Practice: surveillance and the protection of freedoms – Panopticon
“Surveillance of the covert and digital variety has been dominating the news of late. The legal contours of the practices leaked by Edward Snowden (the NSA’s obtaining of internet metadata) and covered by The Guardian (most recently, GCHQ’s monitoring of certain communications of ‘friendly’ foreign allies) may be matters of some debate.”
Panopticon, 17th June 2013
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
Consumer codes scheme aims to improve customer confidence – The Guardian
“Rogue traders who break the law by ripping off customers with sub-standard work and shoddy services face unlimited fines and even imprisonment under a UK-wide scheme to improve industry self-regulation.”
The Guardian, 18th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Costs budgets – now with sharp teeth. If you want more than your budget, apply – UK Human Rights Blog
“The Jackson reforms, which are designed to stop lawyers spending too much of their clients’ or their opponents’ money, are still but young, and therefore not yielding much in the way of decided cases. But there were some pilot schemes which are very similar, and this case about one such scheme (in the Technology & Construction Court) is an interesting, and tough, example of why costs budgets must be taken seriously.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 17th June 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Teaching assistant wins case after being sacked over contact with her paedophile son – Daily Telegraph
“A teaching assistant who was sacked from a primary school after refusing to sever ties with her sex offender son has been awarded £28,300 in compensation.”
Daily Telegraph, 17th June 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
A gray new world – LegalVoice
“‘This is a derisory document’. Thus, Professor Roger Smith described the MoJ’s paper on Transforming Legal Aid, when he gave evidence to the Select Committee for Justice last Tuesday. The most senior members of the legal profession gave evidence about the potential impact of the proposals. The President of the Law Society, and the chairs of the Bar Council, Criminal Bar Association, and Criminal Law Solicitors Association all agreed that, if the Minister has his way, the criminal justice system will be irreparably harmed. The MoJ plans to introduce these changes by secondary legislation, although more than 90,000 signatories to an e-petition (Save UK Justice) have now called for a full debate in Parliament.”
LegalVoice, 17th June 2013
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
High Court rejects post-trial bid to double costs budget – Litigation Futures
“The High Court has rejected a bid by a successful defendant to nearly double its approved £270,000 costs budget after the case had concluded.”
Litigation Futures, 17th June 2013
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Call centres in BBC Three programme fined £225,000 – BBC News
“Two companies which appear in BBC Three series The Call Centre have been issued with fines related to nuisance calls.”
BBC News, 18th June 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
