Leading lawyers criticise plans to restrict legal aid – BBC News

“Ninety leading barristers have urged the government to withdraw ‘unjust proposals’ to restrict legal aid for people demanding judicial reviews.”

Full story

BBC News, 29th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Review into Bribery Act would be ‘premature’, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 30th, 2013 in bribery, legislation, news, select committees by sally

“Any review of the UK bribery laws which came into force in July 2011 would be ‘premature’, an expert has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 29th May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Women guilty over party drug that killed friend – Daily Telegraph

“The parents of a young woman who died after taking mephedrone have issued a warning against the so-called ‘party drug’ that ‘ripped our family apart’.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 29th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Protesters launch appeal against HS2 High Court ruling – BBC News

“A protest group is to appeal against a High Court ruling that effectively gave the go ahead to the London-Birmingham section of the HS2 high-speed railway.”

Full story

BBC News, 29th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Deferred Prosecution Agreements – No. 5 Chambers

Posted May 29th, 2013 in company law, deferred prosecution agreements, fines, news, sentencing by sally

“Following the Bribery Act 2010 the next instrument the Government is preparing in the ‘battle against economic crime’ is the Deferred Prosecution Agreement [‘DPA’]. Following a consultation in 2012 the Ministry of Justice inserted schedule 17 into the Crime and Courts Act 2013 [‘CCA 2013’]. Although the Crime and Courts Act 2013 received Royal Assent in April 2013, Schedule 17 is not yet in force.”

Full story

No. 5 Chambers, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.no5.com

Run down on recent and anticipated welfare benefit changes – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted May 29th, 2013 in benefits, disabled persons, housing, news, taxation by sally

“In April 2013, the so called ‘bedroom tax’ was introduced, meaning that a single person or couple with no children will have their housing benefit reduced by 14% where they occupy two bedroom accommodation and 25% if they occupy three or more beds.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 24th May 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

The New World of Whistleblowing: bringing back the public interest – 11 KBW

Posted May 29th, 2013 in employment, legislation, news, public interest, whistleblowers by sally

“The enactment of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (“PIDA”) was designed to introduce important protection for those blowing the whistle to draw attention to wrongdoing discovered in the workplace. During the passage of the Bill in the House of Lords, Lord Nolan commended those behind it ‘for so skilfully achieving the essential but delicate balance in this measure between the public interest and the interests of employers’. Fifteen years on, the verdict is less effusive. Significant gaps had been identified in the legislation, for example in failing to impose vicarious liability on employers for acts of victimisation carried out by their employees or agents. In other respects, however, PIDA has come to be seen a blunt instrument, enabling disgruntled employees to seek unlimited compensation despite having done nothing to further the public interest.”

Full story (PDF)

11 KBW, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.11kbw.com

EVENT: Temple Church – Panel Discussion & Book Launch: Islam & English Law

Posted May 29th, 2013 in Forthcoming events by sally

“Islam and English Law, ed. Robin Griffith-Jones (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013) begins with the foundational lecture given for the Temple Church by Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, on an ‘inevitable’ accommodation between shari‛a and British law. The book’s following chapters – by lawyers, sociologists and theologians – look back on developments since the Archbishop spoke and forwards along trajectories, in family law and human rights, opened by his lecture. This evening we pursue these questions further. How are the rights of all citizens to be respected and their responsibilities met?”

CPD-accreditation: 1 hour

Date: 3rd June 2013, 6.00-8.00pm

Location: Temple Church

Charge: Free entry, copies of the book will be on sale: paperback, £20; hardback, £55.

More information can be found here.

EVENT: The Bar Council – Legal Aid Question Time

Posted May 29th, 2013 in Forthcoming events by sally

“The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, is hosting a ‘Legal Aid Question Time’ debate in Westminster to give a range of interested individuals and groups the chance to have their say on the proposed legal aid changes.”

Date: 18th June 2013, 6.00-7.30pm

Location: Church House, Harvey Goodwin Suite, Dean’s Yard, London SW1P 3NZ

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.

Muslim-run company to compensate Christian worker for race discrimination – Daily Telegraph

“A Muslim-run company have been ordered to pay a Christian worker over £2,000 for racially discriminating against him because he is white.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 29th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Culture change needed at BSB, says super-regulator – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 29th, 2013 in barristers, legal profession, news, reports by sally

“The Bar Standards Board will encounter ‘significant challenges’ in emulating the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s move to outcomes-focused regulation, a report by the super-regulator has concluded.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 29th May 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Burglars win right to keep convictions secret – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 29th, 2013 in criminal records, human rights, news, time limits, young offenders by sally

“Thousands of criminals, including burglars, will be allowed to work in hospitals, schools and care homes after senior judges ruled that criminal record checks were breaching offenders’ human rights.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 29th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Choirmaster jailed for sexually abusing pupil seeks to appeal against sentence – The Guardian

Posted May 29th, 2013 in appeals, child abuse, news, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

“The disgraced choirmaster Michael Brewer is to attempt to appeal against the length of his six-year prison sentence for indecently assaulting a former pupil.”

Full story

The Guardian, 29th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

EVENT: UCL – Current Legal Issues Colloquium 2013 Law and Michael Freeman

Posted May 29th, 2013 in Forthcoming events by sally

“The UCL Faculty of Laws is celebrating Professor Michael Freeman’s extraordinary contribution to legal scholarship over the course of his distinguished career in the 2013 Current Legal Issues Colloquium.

The themes of the Colloquium will encompass children’s rights, corporal punishment of children, family and child law generally, medical ethics and the law, jurisprudence, Jewish law and legal systems/legal pluralism, all areas of research to which Michael has made significant contributions.”

Date: 1st – 2nd July 2013

Location: UCL Faculty of Laws – Graduate Wing

Charge: For conference packages see here.

More information can be found here.

EVENT: UCL – Poverty and Rights: Can and Should the Law Promote Socio-Economic Equality?

Posted May 29th, 2013 in Forthcoming events by sally

“In these times of austerity, the impact of public spending cuts on the most disadvantaged is in the spotlight. With research suggesting that the poor are disproportionately negatively impacted by spending cuts, the question of whether the law should step in on their behalf to challenge public spending decisions is at the fore. The longstanding divide between those who think that it is not the place of the law to redistribute resources and those who think socio-economic rights cannot be fully realised without such redistribution, is reignited.”

Date: 6th June 2013, 6.00pm

Location: Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, WC1H 0EG

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

EVENT: The Law Society – Civil Justice Section Conference

Posted May 29th, 2013 in Forthcoming events by sally

“Industry leaders (including the judiciary) will give delegates the benefit of their experience of what difference Jackson has really made in practice – has it been a massive change, or is everyone just carrying on the same old way?

Delegates will have the opportunity to share their own experiences, and question experts about the real world post-Jackson

CPD hours 2

The target audience is every single litigator, from commercial litigation to personal injury, and including more niche specialists, as these changes affect everyone.”

Date: 20th June 2013, 2.15-4.45pm

Location: The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

Charge: This event is free to attend for Civil Justice Section Members. Non Section Member £50 + VAT= £60.00

More information can be found here.

EVENT: IALS – Legislation, users and the web – legislation.gov.uk and the future of the statute book

Posted May 29th, 2013 in Forthcoming events by sally

“Over the last twenty years the web has fundamentally changed who is accessing legislation. The official legislation website, legislation.gov.uk is now used by millions of people every month. Who are the new users of legislation and what do they need and expect? How might the growth in audience impact both how legislation is drafted and presented? What further changes does the web have in store for the statute book? What does it mean to think about legislation as data and legislation as code, and what contribution might these ideas make to legislation that is clear and accessible – the essence of good law?”

Date: 10th June 2013, 6.00-7.00pm

Location: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

EVENT: The Law Society – Fiona Woolf Lecture

Posted May 29th, 2013 in Forthcoming events by sally

“In 2007, the Association of Women Solicitors decided to honour the achievements of Fiona Woolf CBE, then President of the Law Society, with an annual lecture by a prestigious figure.

On June 3rd 2013 the lecture will be delivered by guest speaker Katherine Grainger CBE: ‘Murder She Rowed’

CPD hours 1.0

This event is aimed at both members and non members of the Law Society.”

Date: 3rd June 2013, 6.30-8.30pm

Location: The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

Four get life for murder of Negus McLean – The Independent

Posted May 29th, 2013 in gangs, murder, news, sentencing, young persons by sally

“Four gang members were given life terms today for killing a 15-year-old boy who was chased by a ‘hunting posse of boys on bicycles’ and stabbed.”

Full story

The Independent, 28th May 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Command Papers – official-documents.gov.uk

Posted May 29th, 2013 in parliamentary papers by sally

International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006, Cm 8617 (PDF)

Government Response to the House of Lords Select Committee on Small and Medium sized Enterprises report “The Roads to Success – SME Exports”, Cm 8628 (PDF)

Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk