All Law Gazette articles in Archive – Page 1429
-
News
A reality check on mediation
Where is the research evidence for mediation?, asks Michael Robinson. Well, in March 2007 the National Audit Office found that, on average, a mediated case takes 110 days to resolve and costs £752, compared with 435 days and £1,682 in cases where mediation is not used. ...
-
News
Human rights commission prompts diversity concerns
A lawyers’ group voiced concern this week over the makeup of the commission set up by the government to investigate the case for a UK bill of rights. The Ministry of Justice said the commission comprises ‘human rights experts’ whose remit is to help ensure that ...
-
News
Conveyancing Protocol update
The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) is building up a head of steam. The first firms have been accredited. Applications are coming in thick and fast. The concept of raising standards is hardly controversial, but giving practitioners the tools to work within the scheme has been an ...
-
News
Valuable guidance on indemnity costs
In a previous update I commented on the case of Noorani v Calver [2009] EWHC 592 (QB). This case illustrated some of the factors which the courts are likely to take into account in assessing whether to award indemnity costs. In Noorani, Mr Justice Coulson considered ...
-
News
High Court overturns Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal fines
The High Court last week criticised the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) for the lack of published guidance on the sanctions it can impose, as it overturned fines levied on four partners at a Merseyside firm. Brian Hazelhurst, Christopher Murphy, Stephen David Garrett and Martyn Robert Brown, ...
-
News
Employment
Negligence - Asbestos - Burden of proof Karen Sienkiewicz (administratrix of the estate of Enid Costello, deceased) v Greif (UK) Ltd: Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council v Willmore: SC (Lords Phillips, Rodger, Brown, Mance, Kerr, Dyson, Lady Hale): 9 March ...
-
News
Failing the means test
I have read about Crown Court legal aid and the current problems surrounding it, but do people not realise that legal aid in the magistrates’ court is a much bigger problem? I agree that the idea of cases progressing faster is usually a good thing. ...
-
News
Having faith in judicial institutions
Why do we have such faith in judicial institutions that sometimes get things wrong? The question was posed last week by Stephen Breyer, a justice of the US Supreme Court, speaking in London at an event arranged by the Bingham Centre for the Rule ...
-
News
Finger on the trigger
Conveyancing solicitors face many hurdles in their day-to-day battle to transfer ownership of property. Excessive bureaucracy from the Land Registry; frustrating delays in obtaining search data; irate clients with unrealistic expectations; all part and parcel of the average conveyance. But ...
-
News
Solicitor jailed for money laundering and fraud
A solicitor whose lavish lifestyle included driving a Lamborghini worth more than £80,000 was jailed last week for four years and eight months after a joint investigation by the police and Solicitors Regulation Authority. Benjamin Cornelius, 37, was convicted at Cardiff Crown Court of money laundering ...
-
News
Overcoming hurdles
Robert Cumming raises a good point in saying that labour laws needs to be reformed to ensure equality of pay. There is a huge groundswell of opinion, among women as much as men, that new paternity rights ought to be ‘use it or lose it ...
-
News
Personal injury
Autistic spectrum disorder - Employers’ liability Janet Vaile v Havering London Borough Council CA (Civ Div): (Lords Justices Longmore, Etherton, Sir David Keene): 11 March 2011 The appellant former teacher ...
-
News
Tied up in knots
Obiter is thinking of changing its name to the ‘Djanogly diary’, such is the frequency with which the unfortunate legal aid minister has been featured on this page in recent weeks. Indeed, Jonathan Djanogly’s (pictured) eccentric performance at last week’s National Pro Bono Centre ...
-
News
Law Society warns LSB over 'micro-management'
The Legal Services Board must resist the urge to ‘micro-manage’ aspects of legal regulation, and should reduce its budget rather than extending its role to become an ‘economic regulator’, the Law Society has warned. Responding to the LSB’s draft business plan, Chancery Lane also cautioned that ...
-
News
Protest marchers call the tune on legal aid
Tomorrow sees the Trades Union Congress ‘March for the Alternative’ rally, taking place in central London. It is predicted that tens of thousands will turn up to protest against the planned public sector spending cuts, in what is expected to be the largest TUC event ...
-
News
Legislating for changing sexual mores
Is Europe the beginning of something new or the end of something old? We know what the Eurosceptics think (end, end, end), but the soft power and liberal institutions of the EU can as easily be seen as the forerunner of a new template, which ...
-
News
New guidelines proposed for sentencing drug offenders
The Sentencing Council has today launched a consultation on proposals to introduce new guidelines for judges and magistrates sentencing drug offenders. The plans will mean that for the first time in the Crown court, sentences will be based on the court’s assessment of the defendant’s role ...
-
News
‘Recession over for law firms’ – exclusive survey
The recession has finally run its course, according to the results of a survey conducted in association with the Gazette. Six out of ten firms expect revenues to increase over the next 12 months, while only 3.6% predict a fall. ...