Leader
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OpinionThrough the labyrinth
The government has set out proposals for the Financial Conduct Authority to become AML supervisor for firms in the legal, accountancy, trust and company services sectors.
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OpinionBrave new world
AI is democratising legal action and civil society in deeply disconcerting ways. We are only just beginning to understand the enormity of the consequences.
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OpinionSlapped down
A New Statesman article declares lawyers for the super-rich have ‘strangled Labour’s Slapp bill’ by means of a ‘discreet lobbying campaign’.
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OpinionLords' justice?
‘Justice for Property Rights’ is another lobby group that has popped out of nowhere pledging to root for ‘ordinary people’ against dastardly legislators.
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OpinionMartial law
Ask the public to give an example of a court martial and many would probably cite the trial of ‘Flanders pigeon murderer’ Captain Edmund Blackadder.
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Opinion'Too difficult' box?
CILEX's chief executive notes that ‘Mazur has shown that change is possible.’ Most certainly. But likely? Probably not.
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OpinionDevolution conundrum
One of Plaid Cymru’s flagship policies is to resurrect the push for devolution of justice and policing.
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OpinionMazur’s watching brief
I asked a well-known solicitor toiling at a regional full-service firm how the Court of Appeal’s landmark decision in Mazur (In Focus, p8-9) has been interpreted in the ‘boardroom’.
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OpinionThe outsiders
Private equity in the law seems to have parked its money and entered a holding pattern.
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OpinionFamily's poor relation
There are still only 13 family drug and alcohol courts in England, 18 years on from their foundation, despite their documented success.
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OpinionLanguage problem
If a suspect remains a suspect, a victim cannot necessarily be called a victim. Is this mere pedantry? Does it matter?
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OpinionLife of PII
The solicitors’ PII market remains gratifyingly benign. So what is there to be concerned about?
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OpinionTribunal tamed
While no evidence exists to suggest the SEND tribunal is making bad decisions, ministers utter not one word of criticism of local authorities' superintendence of SEND responsibilities.
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OpinionBoiling the frog
Are we becoming inured to the salami-slicing of civic rights (and indeed responsibilities) that were once barely even acknowledged?
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OpinionProsecute in haste…
Regulation of lawyers is supposed to be fully independent. It doesn’t always appear that way.
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OpinionAnd then there were none
Not a single solicitor was appointed King’s Counsel in the latest annual round. What’s going on? I take a look at the statistics.
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OpinionCostly defeats
Last month, a leading media lawyer said two tribunal setbacks should prompt the SRA to step back from its assault on SLAPPs. Now, it is three defeats for the regulator.
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OpinionSomething doesn't add up
A juddering dissonance persists between the MoJ’s positive assessment of criminal justice services and the way those services are experienced by those on the frontline.
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OpinionIncome stream dammed
The government has revealed that it plans to cream off up to three-quarters of ‘unearned’ cash to help prop up our ailing justice system.