Privately educated lawyers dominate corporate work – Legal Futures

‘The proportion of solicitors who attended state schools is creeping upwards, but those who went to fee-paying schools dominate corporate work, according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).’

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Legal Futures, 31st March 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Check your Email Signatures! – Falcon Chambers

‘As every property practitioner knows, s 2(3) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (the 1989 Act) requires a contract for the sale or other disposition of land to be ‘signed by or on behalf of each party’. Neocleous v Rees [2019] EWHC 2462 (Ch), [2019] All ER (D) 25 (Oct) was the first occasion on which the court was asked to determine whether an email footer satisfied the requirement for a signature in s 2(3). The issue arose in the context of an alleged compromise agreement between the parties to a property dispute, which was contained in an exchange of emails between their solicitors. Viewed in the wider context of the earlier authorities, and a recent Law Commission report, the decision encourages practitioners to consider how formality requirements in property transactions—and more generally—are now operating in an increasingly digital world.’

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Falcon Chambers, 13th March 2020

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Alibrahim v Asturion Fondation [2020] EWCA Civ 32 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted April 1st, 2020 in abuse of process, appeals, chambers articles, news, striking out by sally

‘The primary issue for the Court of Appeal in this case was what conduct constitutes abuse of process where one party to litigation unilaterally suspends proceedings for a substantial amount of time without the agreement of the other party nor the approval or an Order of the court.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 27th March 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Application to end draconian UKOG injunction banning peaceful protest at oil sites in Surrey and Sussex – Garden Court Chambers

‘Lawyers for five peaceful protestors, supported by the Weald Action Group, have applied to the High Court to bring an end to an interim injunction against protest at oil sites in Surrey and Sussex in line with a new Court of Appeal ruling.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 1st April 2020

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Jeff King: The Lockdown is Lawful – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 (Reg 6) and the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (Reg 8) both provide in identical wording that ‘During the emergency period, no person may leave the place where they are living without reasonable excuse.’ Both also enumerate thirteen exceptions (‘reasonable excuses’) to the rule. These are the restrictions widely referred to as the ‘lockdown.’ There is a question at the moment about whether they are so invasive as to be unlawful. This two-part post briefly reviews the legal basis for the confinement. I argue that the lockdown is lawful.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 1st April 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Question of Incompatibility – Deprivation of Children’s Liberty Without Court Order? – Family Law Week

‘All persons are guaranteed the right to liberty and security of the person, as enshrined in Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights. As such, when an issue arises with regard to a potential deprivation of liberty of a child (or indeed of any person), appropriate procedural safeguards must be in place to ensure the child’s Article 5 as well as their Article 8 rights to private and family life are sufficiently protected. For some time, the courts have undertaken this process through the use of the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court to authorise and review any such deprivation of liberty in a way that renders the process compliant with Article 5.’

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Family Law Week, 12th March 2020

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Guidance issued on remote access to Court of Protection – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Vice-President of the Court of Protection has today (31 March) issued updated guidance on remote access to the court.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 31st March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Coronavirus Act Amendments to the Care Act Now in Force and Guidance on Adult Social Care Duties Published – Coronavirus: Guidance for Business and Lawyers

Posted April 1st, 2020 in chambers articles, coronavirus, local government, news, social services by sally

‘Arianna Kelly looks at the newly-published guidance on social care during the Emergency Period.’

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Coronavirus: Guidance for Business and Lawyers, 31st March 2020

Source: lawinthetimeofcorona.wordpress.com

Unimprovable: compensation under section 1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted April 1st, 2020 in chambers articles, compensation, consent, housing, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘Some statutory provisions are not as well understood as they should be. Property practitioners are likely to be familiar with section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 (LTA 1927), which implies into qualified covenants against the making of improvements to leasehold premises an obligation on the landlord not to withhold consent to such alterations unreasonably. This provision is not without authorities considering what amounts to unreasonably withholding consent, although admittedly fewer than the extensive canon of case law considering the related issue of consent to assigning or subletting under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1988. By contrast, there has been very little judicial consideration of the circumstances in which a tenant is entitled to compensation from its landlord for improvements carried out at the tenant’s expense.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 31st March 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Daughter in CoP case questions “second-rate” Skype justice – Legal Futures

‘An academic who was present at the first Court of Protection hearing to be conducted over Skype last month has raised concerns over its impact on relatives and witnesses.’

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Legal Futures, 1st April 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Barrister suspended for headbutting female colleague – Legal Futures

‘A senior barrister who headbutted a junior female member of chambers during a drunken row, leaving her on the ground with blood all over her face, has been suspended for three months by a Bar disciplinary tribunal.’

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Legal Futures, 1st April 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Dorchester-upon-Thames man jailed for coughing in officer’s face – BBC News

Posted April 1st, 2020 in assault, coronavirus, criminal damage, health, imprisonment, news, police, sentencing by sally

‘A man who coughed in the face of a police officer arresting him for assaulting a woman has been jailed.’

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BBC News, 31st March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Supply of DNP that resulted in a Manslaughter Conviction – St Pauls Chambers

Posted March 31st, 2020 in chambers articles, drug offences, homicide, negligence, news by sally

‘EP was a 21 year old who suffered a number of mental disorders, bulimia nervosa, unstable personality disorder, depression and features of dependence syndrome. He had supplied her with DNP over the internet. She had consumed a number of capsules of DNP and suffered a most distressing death as it destroyed her internal organs causing them to fail. There is no effective treatment for what she suffered.’

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St Pauls Chambers, 20th March 2020

Source: www.stpaulschambers.com

The Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill – Pump Court Chambers

Posted March 31st, 2020 in bills, chambers articles, early release, news, parole, recidivists, terrorism by sally

‘The Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill was introduced into Parliament on the 3rd February 2020, as ‘emergency legislation’ in response to the Streatham Hill terrorist attack that took place on 2nd February 2020. This terrorist incident followed two other attacks by men who had also been convicted of terrorism offences and had recently been released from prison.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 30th March 2020

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

C Spencer Limited v M W High Tech Projects UK Limited [2020] EWCA Civ 331 – The relationship between hybrid contracts and valid payment notices – Hardwicke Chambers

‘The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 created hybrid contracts, and with that, complications as to the relationship between these contracts and the Act. In the significant case of C Spencer Limited v M W High Tech Projects UK Limited [2020] EWCA Civ 331, Lord Coulson clarifies whether a valid payment notice ought to separately identify the sum due in respect of construction operations.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 26th March 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Secretary of State defeats challenge to refusal of permission for building described by inspector as “quite brilliant” – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 31st, 2020 in appeals, government departments, local government, news, planning by sally

‘The High Court has rejected an appeal by a developer over a building described by a planning inspector as “a brilliant response to its context”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The relevance of pre-contract information – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 31st, 2020 in asbestos, building law, construction industry, contracts, news by sally

‘In PBS Energo v Bester Generacion [2020] EWHC 223 (TCC), the Technology and Construction Court concluded that asbestos contamination, encountered on a biomass energy plant construction project, had been foreseeable in light of the pre-contract information provided to the subcontractor. The effect of this was that the subcontractor had not been entitled to an extension of time.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 30th March 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Setting Aside Default Judgment – How Prompt Do You Need to Be? – Becket Chambers

‘The rules regarding applications to set aside default judgment are contained within CPR 13.3 and the court may set aside judgment if:

(a) the defendant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim; or
(b) it appears to the court that there is some other good reason why –
(i) the judgment should be set aside or varied; or
(ii) the defendant should be allowed to defend the claim.’

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Becket Chambers, 25th March 2020

Source: becket-chambers.co.uk

Coronavirus and Public Civil Hearings – Blackstone Chambers

Posted March 31st, 2020 in chambers articles, civil justice, coronavirus, news by sally

‘This piece, by Thomas de la Mare QC, considers how open civil justice, and in particular public hearings, will work in the coronavirus era.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 30th March 2020

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Serial attacker jailed for London sexual assault while on licence – The Guardian

Posted March 31st, 2020 in imprisonment, news, rape, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

‘A serial sexual predator has been jailed for eight years for stalking and sexually assaulting a woman while on licence.’

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The Guardian, 30th March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com