All Law Gazette articles in Archive – Page 1186
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China defence lawyers still face hostility
China’s defence lawyers still suffer violence, threats and arbitrary detention despite the country’s progress in embracing the rule of law, a Human Rights Watch researcher has warned. Nicholas Bequelin, speaking at the Law Society last week, said there is no room for a legal system independent ...
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SAL takes a dim view of Diwali date clash
Oh dear. In a worthy bid to promote equality and diversity in the profession, the Bar Council South East Circuit (SEC) intended to hold an event called ‘Against the Odds’ on 28 October. Good stuff, except for one small detail: no one noticed that the date clashed with Diwali. ...
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Dead funny show
Who said the death penalty wasn’t funny? Trained solicitor and Irish comic Keith Farnan will be telling some dead funny jokes as part of his one-man comedy act about the death penalty. In Cruel and Unusual, Farnan’s stand-up show tells his story from law school in ...
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Shipping investments and electrical developments
Dubai listing: National firm Pinsent Masons advised China Security & Surveillance Technology on the secondary listing of its shares on the Dubai International Financial Exchange – believed to be the first listing of a Chinese company in the Middle East. ...
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Economic downturn impacts Welsh firms
Law firms in Wales, from big commercial firms to rural high street practices, are waiting to see just how they will be affected by the turmoil afflicting the wider UK economy. ‘No one is immune to what is happening but there aren’t the extremes here,’ says Alan Meredith, senior partner ...
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How to earn your green spurs
In the A-Z of Global Warming, personal injury lawyer Simon Rosser has written a compact and useful guide, making the complexities of climate change more accessible to the lay person. The book is aimed at the reader who is aware of climate change as an issue, ...
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Employment
Employees – Racism – Suspension from work – Unfounded allegations of racist abuse Centrewest London Buses Ltd v Ukachukwu: CA (Civ Div) (Sir Anthony Clarke, Master of the Rolls, Lords Justice Maurice Kay, Stanley Burnton): 8 October 2008 ...
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The enema of reason
And still they come, those legal typos. Some bring tears to our eyes, for more reasons than one. Sarah O’Leary of Dobson Solicitors recalls a brief to counsel on a rape case referring to a client undergoing a ‘penile swap’ at the police station. ‘Politicians might see this as an ...
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SRA eyes simplified higher rights plan
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has proposed a streamlined route for solicitors who wish to gain higher rights of audience. After last month dropping a plan to introduce voluntary accreditation, the SRA board has applied to the Ministry of Justice to close off the accreditation and ...
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Firms make virtual lawyer hires
‘Virtual’ legal practices that allow employees to work from home are looking to mop up redundant City solicitors or those worried about losing jobs. A number of such practices – which employ freelance lawyers and pool their expertise – said this week that they are ...
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Solicitors fret over KBF
Solicitors have voiced concerns over the safety of money paid to a specialist lending arm of collapsed Icelandic bank Landsbanki as rescue talks failed to produce a new financial backer. As the Gazette went to press, Key Business Finance (KBF) – a subsidiary of Landsbanki’s ...
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Human rights
Health – Assisted reproduction – Consent to treatment – EC law L v (1) Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (2) Secretary of State for Health: Fam Div (Mr Justice Charles): 3 October 2008 ...
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Personal injury
Addiction – Causation – Contributory negligence – Expert evidence – Prison offices Ryan St George (a patient suing by his father and litigation friend David St George) v Home Office: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Ward, Dyson, Lloyd): 8 ...
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Intellectual property
Computers – Excluded subject matter – Patentability - Software Symbian Ltd v Comptroller General of Patents: CA (Civ Div) (Lords Justice Jacob, Maurice Kay, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury): 8 October 2008 ...
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Litigation slur
I write as chair of the Law Society Civil Litigation Committee, and on behalf of litigation solicitors, to correct a very inaccurate slur upon solicitors in the feature headlined ‘Have your say’ (see [2008] Gazette, 16 October, 16). The author says that ‘the profession has so ...
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The truth is out there
Public inquiries are cathartic for grieving families but often fail to address the very failings they identify. In recent years, public inquiries have become part of the fabric of our political life. Their recommendations are often the platform for major public policy changes.
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Post-charge questioning plans 'unacceptable'
Government proposals to allow defendants to be questioned after charge amount to ‘serious oppression’ and need to be carefully controlled, according to a leading academic. Michael Zander, emeritus professor at the London School of Economics, told the Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA) conference last week that ...
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Small wonders
I refer to Brian Craig’s comments alluding to the creation of a ‘cottage industry’ in respect of criminal legal aid firms (see [2008] Gazette, 9 October, 3). Such a view is unqualified and is also patronising towards smaller criminal practices. Mr Craig apparently believes that larger firms should be entitled ...
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Toxic waste
I write with reference to Peter Williamson’s article ‘Rehearsing for the Big Bang’ on the advent of alternative business structures (see [2008] Gazette, 9 October, 10). I remember the government’s decision some years ago to have ‘light-touch’ regulation of the financial sector. We are all now ...