Election for the 2011 Bar Council: Results – The Bar Council
“The Bar Council have today released the election results for 2011.”
The results are available here (Word)
The Bar Council, 10th November 2011
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
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
Scrap metal regulations urged to combat theft – BBC News
“Tougher regulations on the scrap metal trade are needed to combat ‘soaring’ theft, including that of plaques from war memorials, say town hall chiefs.”
BBC News, 12th November 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Compulsory Purchase: Recent Decisions – Falcon Chambers
“This paper sets out those recent cases which may be of general assistance to practitioners, covering the period June 2010 – June 2011. The paper seeks to gather together all of the relevant recent judicial pronouncements on matters relating to Compulsory Purchase, and to flag up the most relevant Upper Tribunal (UT) decisions on the subject. The paper does not cover decisions which appear to turn entirely upon their own facts.”
Full story (PDF)
Falcon Chambers, November 2011
Source: www.falcon-chambers.co.uk
Courts step in to save vulnerable from cuts – The Independent
“Two disabled men who faced losing their right to care won a landmark High Court case yesterday over cost cutting by their council. It was the latest in a series of rulings that threatens to disrupt the Government’s attempts to slash local authority spending.”
The Independent, 12th November 2011
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Press regulation poses a real danger, says Patten – BBC News
“Statutory regulation of the press would ‘pose a real danger,’ BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten has told the Society of Editors conference.”
BBC News, 13th November 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
PCC chairman Lord Hunt: the greater challenge is with bloggers – The Guardian
“He quotes Wilkes and Thatcher, admits he doesn’t know much about how papers work, and reveals how he will run the PCC.”
The Guardian, 13th November 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Torture inquiry: UN’s Juan Mendez calls for openness – BBC News
“The inquiry into whether the UK was involved in alleged torture must be open or it would ‘only serve to cover up abuses,’ a UN expert has said.”
BBC News, 13th November 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Judgment of the Supreme Court in Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53 – Hardwicke Chambers
“How should the court approach the determination of the beneficial interests in a property acquired in joint names by an unmarried couple? The Court of Appeal had held the decision of the House of Lords in Stack v Dowden did not allow the court to impute to the parties an intention that they would divide their beneficial interest in their property fairly. The Supreme Court revisited the decision in Stack v Dowden and disagreed with the Court of Appeal: If the presumption of joint beneficial ownership is rebutted, the court can, in the absence of finding any intention as to the shares, impute to the parties an intention that their beneficial interest would be divided in a manner that the court considers fair.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 9th November 2011
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Three-year-old becomes youngest trial witness – The Independent
“A three-year-old boy was given a packet of crisps by a judge after making legal history by becoming what is believed to be the youngest child to give evidence in a British court case.”
The Independent, 12th November 2011
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Stalking victims claim crime not taken seriously enough – The Guardian
“Most victims of stalking who turn to the criminal justice system for protection say it is failing them, a survey reveals.”
The Guardian, 13th November 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Former South Yorkshire PC jailed for £300m tax fiddle – BBC News
“An ex-policeman who went from ‘rags to riches’ in weeks by trying to fleece the taxman in a £300m fraud has been jailed for 10 years.”
BBC News, 11th November 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Lucozade is a drink not a ‘functional food’ court rules – Daily Telegraph
“The energy drink Lucozade has lost a bizarre legal attempt to prove it is a ‘functional food’ rather than a ‘beverage’, in a ruling which means it will still be eligible for VAT.”
Daily Telegraph, 11th November 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Mike Tindall removed from England elite squad and fined by RFU – BBC News
“Mike Tindall has been fined £25,000 by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and removed from England’s elite player squad for his World Cup conduct.”
BBC News, 11th November 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
