Director and law firm fined £50,000 for multiple compliance failures – Legal Futures

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in accounts, company directors, fines, law firms, money laundering, news, solicitors by sally

‘The director of a law firm and the firm itself have each been fined £25,000 for a series of compliance failures, including widespread accounts rule breaches and anti-money laundering (AML) shortcomings.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd February 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

CPS updates deaths in custody legal guidance – Crown Prosecution Service

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in Crown Prosecution Service, death in custody, news, police, prosecutions by sally

‘Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: “Criminal prosecutions brought against police officers for actions taken in the course of their duties are extremely rare and these decisions are only made after careful consideration of all the relevant evidence and circumstances.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 31st January 2025

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Lady Chief Justice lecture: Mediation after the Singapore Convention – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in dispute resolution, international courts, lectures, news, rule of law, treaties by sally

‘The Lady Chief Justice gave a lecture on 28 January 2025 to the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. In the lecture, entitled Mediation after the Singapore Convention, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill explored how mediation is likely to play an important role in promoting the rule of law domestically and internationally, as is happening with the promotion and development of international commercial courts.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 29th January 2025

Source: www.judiciary.uk

BSB publishes its Annual Diversity at the Bar Report – Bar Standards Board

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in barristers, diversity, news, reports by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published its annual summary of the latest available diversity data for the Bar. It covers pupils, practising King’s Counsel – KC – and practising non-KC barristers. Last year’s report is available on the BSB website.This report assists the BSB in meeting its statutory duties under the Equality Act 2010 and sets out an evidence base from which relevant and targeted policy can be developed.’

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Bar Standards Board, 31st January 2025

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Neurodiversity in the Family Justice System – Family Justice Council

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in autism, family courts, legal profession, legal representation, news by sally

‘The Family Justice Council (FJC) has published Guidance on Neurodiversity in the Family Justice System for practitioners (PDF). The guidance is aimed at legal practitioners working with neurodivergent users of the Family Justice System.’

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Family Justice Council, 30th January 2025

Source: www.judiciary.uk

High Court orders compulsory mediation despite defendant objections – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in civil procedure rules, dispute resolution, news, sport, trade marks by sally

‘The High Court ordered parties to mediate despite defendant arguments that there was no real chance of success, in a newly published ruling thought to be the first time the court has used its new powers under the amended Civil Procedure Rules.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 3rd February 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

ST v AR [2025] EWFC 4 – Financial Remedies Journal

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in divorce, financial provision, matrimonial home, news, valuation by sally

‘The Husband is 70. The Wife is 51. They have a 9-year-old daughter. They cohabited from February 2003 and in early 2012 separated due to the wife’s affair. In August 2012 – c.9 months later – they reunited. They married on 8 October 2012. In November 2020 the parties relocated to England from abroad. They came as non-doms to take advantage of the tax regime. The wife applied for divorce in May 2023. They therefore had nearly 20 years together, albeit not seamless cohabitation.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 29th January 2025

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

Case of last wrongly convicted Stockwell Six member referred to court of appeal – The Guardian

‘The last convicted member of the Stockwell Six, a group of young black men falsely accused of trying to rob a corrupt police officer more than half a century ago, has had his case referred back to the court of appeal.’

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The Guardian, 31st January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Payouts for victims of UK infected blood scandal to be extended to families – The Guardian

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in bereavement, blood products, compensation, delay, families, inquiries, news by sally

‘Thousands of bereaved parents and children of victims of the infected blood scandal will be able to claim compensation for the first time under new proposed laws to be laid in parliament this month.’

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The Guardian, 2nd February 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Mother awarded £2,400 over tutor battle for son – BBC News

‘A mother has been paid £2,600 after her local council caused “significant anxiety” by failing to provide her autistic son with the right tutoring.’

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BBC News, 3rd February 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Brothers who led county lines drug gang jailed – BBC News

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in drug offences, drug trafficking, gangs, imprisonment, news, sentencing by sally

‘Brothers who lead an organised crime group known as the Scouse Dave Line have been jailed for a combined total of more than 30 years.’

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BBC News, 31st January 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Thames Water seeks court approval for emergency cash – BBC News

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in loans, news, waste, water by sally

‘Thames Water will seek approval for an emergency cash lifeline in court on Monday as it faces running out of money in four weeks’ time.’

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BBC News, 3rd February 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Creators of AI child sex abuse images face up to five years in prison under crackdown – The Independent

‘Creators of AI-generated images of child sexual abuse will face up to five years in prison in a new government crackdown. Home secretary Yvette Cooper has announced that the UK will be the first country in the world to make it illegal to own artificial intelligence tools designed to make images of child sexual abuse.’

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The Independent, 2nd February 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Phillipson to promise ‘new era for school standards’ as Ofsted scraps single-word judgments – The Independent

‘Bridget Phillipson will promise a “new era for school standards” as Labour and Ofsted replace single-word judgments for schools with more detailed report cards.’

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The Independent, 3rd February 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Coercive control to be put on par with other types of domestic abuse in England and Wales – The Guardian

‘Coercive control is to be put on a par with other forms of domestic abuse in England and Wales with police and other enforcement agencies working together to tackle it.’

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The Guardian, 3rd February 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

DWP ‘blocked whistleblower giving evidence to carer’s allowance review’ – The Guardian

Posted February 3rd, 2025 in benefits, carers, government departments, news, whistleblowers by sally

‘The Department for Work and Pensions has been accused of blocking a whistleblower who repeatedly raised the alarm about carer’s allowance from giving evidence to an independent review of the scandal-hit benefit.’

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The Guardian, 3rd February 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

The need to plead a positive case in defence if you have a positive case in defence – Doughty Street Chambers

‘In Man v St George’s University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2024] EWHC 1304 (KB), the High Court exercised its case management powers to exclude witness evidence which put forward a positive case on an issue which had been neither admitted or denied in the defence on the basis that the matter was outside the Defendant’s knowledge. The Judge found that this was not permissible. This article considers how this issue arises in the housing disrepair context.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 28th January 2025

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

The McDonald’s Model: What happens next following a McFlurry of harassment complaints? – Doughty Street Chambers

‘In 2019, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union said it had received around 1,000 complaints from workers across UK branches of McDonald’s [1], although it was not clear whether these complaints were made against multiple franchisees or McDonald’s as the franchisor. The complaints were said to encompass a range of discriminatory behaviours, including sexual harassment.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 29th January 2025

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

New Sentencing Guideline for Strangulation and Suffocation – Devon Chambers

Posted January 31st, 2025 in chambers articles, domestic violence, news, sentencing by sally

‘Gemma McKernan provides an update on the new sentencing guideline for strangulation and suffocation.’

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Devon Chambers, 9th January 2025

Source: devonchambers.co.uk

The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010: Ryanair DAC v Benjamin Morais & Ors – Devereux Chambers

‘Analysis from Stuart Brittenden KC and Bruce Carr KC.’

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Devereux Chambers, 17th January 2025

Source: www.devereuxchambers.co.uk