This book is the first to combine an overview of UK pension schemes in their economic and legal contexts with a focus on the governance role of trustees. To the general reader of the Gazette, advising only occasionally on pension schemes, the chapters of interest are probably those focusing on the economic scenario, but if a legal question does arise, a detailed study of the relevant chapter will set the scene - and probably convince the practitioner to call a specialist.
We live in an age of inquiry. On entering office, the coalition government inherited six ongoing inquiries. Within 14 months it had established three more, the most recent of which, the Leveson Inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal, prompts daily headlines.
Access to information held by public officials is a controversial subject. Ever since the MPs’ expenses scandal, the WikiLeaks saga and even the phone-hacking scandal there seems to be an increasing demand for a clear explanation of the complex law in this area. Government and Information, the fourth edition of this book by acknowledged experts from the University of Hull, is a good attempt at doing this.
It only seems a short while since the 2011 edition came out at the same price of £74.95. The first question is: do we need another one? The answer is not only yes we do but we also need to retain last year’s as incidents may come to light that were dated from when the previous set of rules applied. The reason a new handbook is needed is there have major changes to the profession including a new code of conduct, new accounts rules and now ABSs - nothing to do with brakes - but alternative business structures.
For the commercial practitioner, Professor Gerard McMeel’s book is a salutary but highly rewarding read. To get a deal done, a reliance on office practice notes and standard forms is near universal.
Aidan O’Neill has written a comprehensive and substantial work giving an overall view of the application of European Union law at the national level and clearly aimed at the busy UK legal professional who needs an accessible and authoritative reference close to hand.
David Salter, Charlotte Butruille-Cardew, Nicholas Francis QC, Stephen Grant
This is a useful introductory walk into the jungle of nuptial agreements, with a little guidance as to how not to be dismembered by the wild beasts lurking there. The law in nine separate countries is covered, necessarily at an introductory level. These include Australia, France, Russia, England and the US.
It was more than 40 years ago when I saw, for the first time, The White Book as more than a two-volume tome. That was when I witnessed a part of it being thrown at Lord Denning from the front row of the Court of Appeal by a serial litigator. It narrowly missed and hit the wall behind him. Having pointed out it was open to him to hold her in contempt of court, Lord Denning instead stated he preferred to assume she was merely adding force to a legal point in her favour.
Mrs Justice Rafferty describes Banks on Sentence as simply indispensable. Yet with devastating cuts continuing to be made to public funding for criminal cases, most firms are seeking to remove any unnecessary expenditure from their budgets. Many firms have out of necessity stopped all funding for training and books. To make the decisions more difficult, Banks has now became a two-volume work.
Effective risk management has become increasingly significant within the legal profession in recent years. With the advent of the new risk-based regulatory regime on 6 October, firms will have to comply with principle 8 of the Handbook, and ensure that the running of the business is ‘in accordance with proper governance and sound financial and risk management principles’.
