Criminal bar chief targets ‘corruption’ of defence work – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 26th, 2016 in advocacy, barristers, criminal justice, news by sally

‘The leader of the criminal bar has urged the government to get on with advocacy reforms to fix a sector troubled by corruption and poor business models.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd September 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

BREXIT: What now for the Bar? – Counsel

Posted September 26th, 2016 in barristers, brexit, EC law, legal services, news, referendums by sally

‘Evanna Fruithof outlines Brexit’s implications for barristers across practice area.’

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Counsel, October 2016

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

10 steps to help safeguard access to justice – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted September 26th, 2016 in civil justice, legal aid, litigants in person, news by sally

‘On Thursday 22 September 2016, Halsbury’s Law Exchange (HLE) hosted a panel discussion on the future of access to justice and litigants in person, specifically focusing on proposing solutions to this critical problem. In the lead up to the panel discussion, HLE produced a state of the nation paper that looks at the state of legal aid provision in the UK currently and asks the urgent question: “Can we safeguard access to justice?”’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 26th September 2016

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Expect case soon on right of parties to recover costs of adjudication, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 26th, 2016 in costs, dispute resolution, news by sally

‘Parties are becoming increasingly likely to claim their costs when settling debt-related disputes via adjudication – but the statutes remain conflicted over whether or not this is legally possible.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th September 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Becky Godden case shines light on issue of UK’s missing women – The Guardian

Posted September 26th, 2016 in missing persons, murder, news by sally

‘Women account for half of the 2,100 people who become long-term missing every year, but a lack of central database hampers search efforts.’

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The Guardian, 23rd September 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Freedom’s banner – Counsel

Posted September 26th, 2016 in demonstrations, legal history, news by sally

‘The legal and practical issues surrounding street demonstrations have remained remarkably similar over the 200 years since the idea of peaceful demonstrations was first thought of.’

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Counsel, October 2016

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Privacy of a doctor under GMC investigation clashes with that of his patient – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted September 26th, 2016 in complaints, data protection, doctors, medical records, news, privacy by sally

‘An interesting three-way privacy fight between a GP, a patient who had complained about his treatment by the GP, and the GMC who had investigated that complaint. The prize in that fight was a copy of a medical report obtained by the GMC from an independent expert, which had concluded that the GP’s care had fallen below “but not seriously below” the expected standard.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 24th September 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Anti-Brexit group lodges legal challenge over article 50 procedure – The Guardian

Posted September 26th, 2016 in brexit, EC law, news, parliament, prerogative powers, referendums by sally

‘The government is shutting down public debate by refusing to allow legal opponents to reveal the official justification for using royal prerogative powers, rather than seeking parliament’s approval, to trigger Brexit, according to documents lodged in the high court.’

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The Guardian, 23rd September 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

James Fox father ‘disappointed’ with lawful killing ruling – BBC News

Posted September 26th, 2016 in firearms, inquests, mental health, news, police by sally

‘A mentally ill man who was shot dead by Met Police officers at his home was lawfully killed, an inquest has concluded.’

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BBC News, 23rd September 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Children’s party organiser who raped girl four times and threatened to kill her jailed – The Independent

Posted September 26th, 2016 in child abuse, guilty pleas, news, rape, sentencing by sally

‘A children’s party organiser who admitted to raping a girl under the age of 13 four times has been sentenced to 17 years behind bars.’

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The Independent, 25th September 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Amazon UK found guilty of trying to airmail dangerous goods – The Guardian

Posted September 26th, 2016 in carriage by air, electronic commerce, hazardous substances, news by sally

‘Amazon UK has been found guilty and fined £65,000 for breaking aviation safety laws after repeatedly trying to send dangerous goods by airmail.’

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The Guardian, 23rd September 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Litigants in Person and Costs Budgeting: Campbell v Campbell [2016] EWHC 2237 (Ch) – Zenith PI Blog

Posted September 26th, 2016 in budgets, civil procedure rules, costs, litigants in person, news by sally

‘Can litigants in person ‘escape’ the rules relating to costs budgeting in all claims? To what extent does the costs management regime under CPR 3.12 to 3.18 apply to the costs of a litigant in person?’

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Zenith PI Blog, 23rd September 2016

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Vulnerability, ‘significantly’ and equality duties – Nearly Legal

Posted September 26th, 2016 in disabled persons, equality, housing, local government, mental health, news by sally

‘This was another in a number of county court judgments on section 204 Housing Act 1996 appeals which turned on the question of vulnerability after the Supreme Court decision in Hotak. In this appeal, the particular issues were whether the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) had been complied with, and then the approach to ‘significantly more vulnerable’.’

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Nearly Legal, 25th September 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Two men jailed for Coventry gangland murder cleared – BBC News

Posted September 26th, 2016 in appeals, gangs, murder, news by sally

‘Two men jailed for a gangland murder have been cleared on appeal after spending more than a decade in jail.’

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BBC News, 23rd September 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

CPS to review Poppi Worthington death – The Guardian

Posted September 26th, 2016 in domestic violence, homicide, inquests, news, prosecutions, sexual offences by sally

‘Prosecutors are re-examining the case of a toddler from Cumbria who died after being sexually assaulted.’

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The Guardian, 23rd September 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

How the 96 were finally given justice – Legal Voice

Posted September 23rd, 2016 in bereavement, families, health & safety, inquests, news, police, sport by sally

‘The Hillsborough inquest took two years and a million pages of evidence. Two of the lawyers involved explain that, despite the scale of the task, they were determined to put the deceased and their families at the heart of the case.’

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Legal Voice, 22nd September 2016

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Prison officer jailed for having affair with inmate at women’s prison – Daily Telegraph

‘A prison officer who kissed and fondled an inmate during an affair behind bars has been jailed for six months.’

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Daily Telegraph, 22nd September 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Local authorities’ statutory powers to override third party land rights will apply to a wider range of public schemes, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘Local authorities and regeneration bodies can expect greater scrutiny to be placed on their decisions to override third party rights in land on public interest grounds under new UK planning laws that came into effect in the summer.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st September 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Law Society and Bar Council condemn regulators for “attacks” on profession – Legal Futures

Posted September 23rd, 2016 in barristers, consumer protection, legal services, news, solicitors by sally

‘The Law Society has raised its opposition to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) plan to allow practising solicitors to operate from unregulated law firms to an unprecedented level, issuing a report that said there would be little or no economic benefit from the move.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd September 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Standards watchdog urges regulators to manage ‘revolving door’ properly – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 23rd, 2016 in codes of practice, confidentiality, conflict of interest, news, standards by sally

‘Fewer than a third of regulatory bodies have policies to deal with ‘revolving door’ issues where staff move between the organisation and the entities or profession it regulates, a report by the Committee on Standards in Public Life has revealed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st September 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk