Stoke Newington cigarette row: Two jailed over killing – BBC News
“Two people have been jailed over the killing of a housemate in north London.”
BBC News, 14th November 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Changes mean outlook is bleak for unrepresented litigants – The Guardian
“The new Civil Justice Council paper on the plight of litigants in person pulls no punches. The number of people unfortunate enough to come before the courts without a lawyer ‘will increase and with considerable scale’.”
The Guardian, 14th November 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Trade body says ECJ ruling could undermine private copying law reforms – OUT-LAW.com
“UK copyright reform could be ‘undermined’ if the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rules that copyright levies must still be charged when rights holders have given their permission for work to be copied, an IT trade association has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 14th November 2011
Source: www.out-law.com
Oliver Letwin breached data protection laws, report confirms – The Guardian
“Oliver Letwin committed a series of data protection breaches by dumping correspondence from constituents in a park bin close to Downing Street, according to the information commissioner.”
The Guardian, 15th November 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Teacher William Drury jailed after teens had sex in car – BBC News
“A drama teacher who watched as two teenagers had sex on the back seat of his car has been jailed.”
BBC News, 14th November 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
New report on impact of legal aid cuts on disabled people – LAG News Blog
“LAG commissioned the disability charity Scope to research the impact of the proposed cuts in legal aid on benefits advice for disabled people. The report, Legal aid in welfare: the tool we can’t afford to lose, which is published today, demonstrates the serious consequences of the government’s proposals on disabled people and argues that taking benefits advice out of scope will undermine the government’s welfare reform programme.”
LAG News Blog, 14th November 2011
Leveson goes live – UK Human Rights Blog
“Today marks a minor landmark for open justice. For the first time, a public inquiry is being shown live over the internet.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 14th November 2011
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Cheshire West and Chester Council v P (by his litigation friend the Official Solicitor) – WLR Daily
“In determining whether or not there was a deprivation of liberty, it was legitimate to have regard both the objective ‘reason’ why someone was placed and treated as they were and also the objective ‘purpose’ or ‘aim’ of the placement. For adults with disabilities, whose lives were dictated by their own cognitive and other limitations, the question whether they had been deprived of liberty fell to be determined by comparing their situation with that of an adult of similar age with the same capabilities, affected by the same condition or suffering the same inherent mental and physical disabilities and limitations.”
WLR Daily, 9th November 2011
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
McGuinness v Norwich and Peterborough Building Society – WLR Daily
McGuinness v Norwich and Peterborough Building Society [2011] EWCA Civ 1286; [2011] WLR (D) 324
“A petition in bankruptcy against a guarantor could be founded, in certain circumstances, upon a guarantee which had contained a ‘see to it’ clause.”
WLR Daily, 9th November 2011
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Literature reviews concerning quality in legal services – Legal Services Board
“The Legal Services Board (LSB) is today (12 November) publishing two literature reviews designed to inform policy development on measures aiming to ensure quality in legal services.”
Legal Services Board, 12th November 2011
Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk
“The voicing of suspicions…” Gale and Others v Serious Organised Crime Agency [2011] UKSC 49 – 23 Essex Street
“On 26th October 2011 the Supreme Court gave judgment in the first Part V [civil recovery] case Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (‘POCA’) to reach the highest court in the land.”
23 Essex Street, 10th November 2011
Source: www.23es.com
Procedural Control Mechanisms – Strike Out, Deposits, Stays and Costs – 11 KBW
“The Employment Tribunal system is under attack! It is regularly exposed to criticism as being inefficient, costing those who participate in it too much money and amounting to a disproportionate burden on business. Such criticism has been made all the more fiercely of late both because of the economic climate and also because the Government has been reviewing the Employment Tribunal system with the express aim of reducing the burden placed on business by it.”
Full story (PDF)
11 KBW, 10th November 2011
Source: www.11kbw.com
Focusing Expert Evidence and Controlling Costs – Fourth Lecture in the Implementation Programme – Speech by Lord Justice Jackson
Focusing Expert Evidence and Controlling Costs – Fourth Lecture in the Implementation Programme (PDF)
Speech by Lord Justice Jackson
The Bond Solon Annual Expert Witness Conference, 11th November 2011
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
Is following people illegal? News of the World investigation techniques and the civil law – Legal Week
“The BBC revealed last week that the News of the World (NoW) had engaged ex-policeman Derek Webb to carry out covert surveillance of more than 100 individuals. From 2003 through to 2011 Webb worked for the newspaper following celebrities, royals, politicians and others, sometimes for days, or weeks at a time. For example, former Home Secretary Charles Clarke MP is said to have been watched for more than 20 days.”
Legal Week, 14th November 2011
Source: www.legalweek.com
Monetary remedies in the Tribunal (including interim relief); Maximising the value or minimising the pain – 11 KBW
A recession tends to lead to more claims but fewer trials. Employees naturally look for ways to maximise the value of their claims – particularly by reference to causes of action that bust the cap for a ‘vanilla’ unfair dismissal – often (in the case of high value employees) by reference to the whistleblowing legislation. The ‘bar’ for what qualifies for protection as a whistleblowing disclosure is set relatively low, and an employee dismissed from (say) employment in the financial services sector can usually identify something he or she has said in the recent past that can be held out as ‘revealing’ the employer’s true motivation for dismissing and/or as supporting a section 103A claim. On the flip side, recessions may give employers greater scope for ‘Polkey Chance’ arguments – market uncertainty undermines security of employment, and even if the employee has been unfairly dismissed now, who is to say that he or she would still have been in post in a year’s time?
Full story (PDF)
11 KBW, 10th November 2011
Source: www.11kbw.com
Silks who make the cut at the Supreme Court – The Lawyer
“Successful Supreme Court silks are a special breed, with the same names dominating the most high-profile cases. Katy Dowell reports.”
The Lawyer, 14th November 2011
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Rescue me … insolvency issues for employment lawyers – 11 KBW
“The policy aim behind the legislation governing insolvency is that of facilitating the so-called ‘rescue culture’ by making insolvent employers more attractive to prospective purchasers. The policy aim behind employment protection legislation is to provide valuable rights for employees. It is unsurprising that, when these two policy aims collide, problems arise.”
Full story (PDF)
11 KBW, 10th November 2011
Source: www.11kbw.com
Phone hacking: Leveson inquiry into press ethics starts – BBC News
“A judge-led inquiry launched after the News of the World phone-hacking scandal is to begin examining press practices.”
BBC News, 14th November 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Give women priority for top law jobs, urges judge – Daily Telegraph
“A senior judge has backed what critics regard as positive discrimination in an effort to change the domination of white men at the top of the judiciary.”
Daily Telegraph, 14th November 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
