Stephen Lawrence’s father demands judicial inquiry into police spying – The Guardian

Posted June 25th, 2013 in inquiries, news, police, professional conduct, whistleblowers by sally

“The home secretary, Theresa May, came under pressure from the father of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence to set up an independent inquiry into the Guardian’s revelations that undercover police spied on and attempted to smear his family.”

Full story

The Guardian, 24th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Magistrate suspended after telling court how cannabis killed her brother – Daily Telegraph

“A magistrate has been reprimanded for highlighting the dangers of cannabis after her own brother’s addiction to the drug led to his death.”

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Daily Telegraph, 24th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Essex ambulance ‘have a fag’ paramedic struck off – BBC News

“A paramedic who told a vulnerable man suffering a seizure to ‘have a drink and a fag’ has been struck off.”

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BBC News, 20th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Pathologist who botched G20 post-mortem abandons appeal against being struck off – The Independent

“The pathologist who botched the post-mortem of a man struck by a policeman at G20 protests in 2009 has abandoned his appeal against being struck off.”

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The Independent, 19th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

SDT rulings send out warning to law firms over relationships with debt recovery companies – Legal Futures

“Law firms must not allow arrangements with debt recovery companies to compromise their independence, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned, after two solicitors were fined heavily for allowing litigation to be carried out in their name.”

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Legal Futures, 17th June 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Can an employer increase the sanction for misconduct on appeal? – UK Human Rights Blog

“The answer of the Court was that clear and express words in the contract would be required in order to confer a power to increase a sanction on an Appeal Panel.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 11th June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Teacher caught with child abuse images can work in schools, panel rules – The Guardian

“A teacher sacked for possessing indecent images of children should be allowed to return to work in schools, a panel has ruled.”

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The Guardian, 6th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

“Fair play in action”: Court of Appeal considers the rules of natural justice – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 5th, 2013 in accountants, appeals, judicial review, news, professional conduct, tribunals by sally

“The concept of fairness embodied in the different strands of natural justice have to be seen as flexible and as not requiring the courts to lay down over rigid rules, so that where it had been agreed that a tribunal member could be temporarily absent for part of the hearing, there had been no breach of the rules of natural justice.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 5th June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

BSB’s regulatory assessment: the challenge of change – Legal Services Board

“The Legal Services Board publishes today its assessment of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) performance in the legal services sector. This performance review of the BSB’s regulatory functions represents a baseline on which future regulatory performance can be judged. It also reinforces the continuing importance the LSB attaches to improving regulatory performance. ”

Full story (PDF)

Legal Services Board, 29th May 2013

Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk

Newspaper royal charter plans are ‘bizarre’, says Liberty director – The Guardian

Posted May 22nd, 2013 in charters, damages, fines, inquiries, media, news, ombudsmen, privacy, professional conduct by sally

“A key adviser to the Leveson report, the civil rights campaigner Shami Chakrabarti, has hit out against politicians and newspaper barons, accusing them of letting down the public over promises to set up a new press watchdog.”

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The Guardian, 21st May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Standards for expert witnesses in the family courts in England and Wales – Ministry of Justice

“This is a consultation on minimum standards for expert witnesses providing evidence in the family courts in proceedings relating to children in England and Wales.”

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Ministry of Justice, 16th May 2013

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Papers drop veto on watchdog appointments – BBC News

Posted May 13th, 2013 in inquiries, media, news, ombudsmen, professional conduct, regulations, veto by sally

“Newspaper owners have backed down on demands to have a veto over the board members of any new press regulator.”

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BBC News, 10th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Aberystwyth doctor six-month ban for ‘flirting’ texts – BBC News

“A doctor who worked at Aberystwyth’s Bronglais hospital has been struck off for six months after sending flirtatious texts messages.”

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BBC News, 10th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Dental nurse wins case after being given written warning for eating apple – Daily Telegraph

“A dental nurse who was given a written warning by bosses for eating an apple has won a case for constructive dismissal against the surgery.”

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Daily Telegraph, 9th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Solicitor James Watson attacks police ‘vendetta’ – The Independent

“A defence solicitor who secured more than £500,000 in damages from a police force after he was wrongly arrested says officers mounted a ‘vendetta’ against him.”

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The Independent, 11th May 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Regulation at home, but not abroad – Gresham College Lecture

“In December 2012 Sir Geoffrey Nice finished four years as Vice Chair of the Bar Standards Board, the body that regulates barristers. After forty years in practice as a barrister, that included seven years working as an employed barrister in the UN, he will describe the differences between practice in a regulated legal community and practice in the UN system that operates with little effective regulation apart from what national systems impose on individual prosecution and defence lawyers. He will also review what he learnt as a regulator from looking critically at the Bar of England and Wales. The Bar of England and Wales and the country’s legal system as a whole proudly assert that they are the best in the world.  Are these claims justified?  If so, why was legislation thought to be necessary to regulate them more closely, and was that legislation wise?”

Transcript

Lecture by Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice QC

Gresham College, 8th May 2013

Source: www.gresham.ac.uk

Dowland v Architects Registration Board – WLR Daily

Posted April 26th, 2013 in bankruptcy, disqualification, law reports, professional conduct by sally

Dowland v Architects Registration Board: [2013] EWHC 893 (Admin);   [2013] WLR (D)  148

“The Architects Registration Board was not limited to questions of competence when considering whether to reinstate a person to the Register of Architects.”

WLR Daily, 19th April 29013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina v Cosford and others – WLR Daily

Regina v Cosford and others [2013] EWCA Crim 466; [2013] WLR (D) 147

“The test for identifying a public office turned on the nature of the duty undertaken and, in particular, whether it was a public duty in the sense that it represented the fulfilment of one of the responsibilities of government such that the public had a significant interest in its discharge extending beyond an interest in anyone who might be directly affected by a serious failure in the performance of the duty. The existence or otherwise of a public office was a question of law to be decided by a trial judge not by a jury.”

WLR Daily, 16th April 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Leveson: counsel’s relationship with barrister did not compromise inquiry – The Guardian

Posted April 24th, 2013 in barristers, confidentiality, inquiries, news, professional conduct by sally

“Lord Justice Leveson has cleared the junior counsel to his inquiry over suggestions she compromised its impartiality by conducting a relationship with the lead barrister for victims of press intrusion.”

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The Guardian, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Barristers: help shape the future of supervision – Bar Standards Board

Posted April 16th, 2013 in barristers, consultations, news, professional conduct by sally

“Practising barristers can help shape future policy by having their say on a new approach to the way they are supervised by the Bar Standards Board.”

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Bar Standards Board, 16th April 2013

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk