All Law Gazette articles in Archive – Page 1431

  • News

    Lawyers ‘sound off’ for legal aid

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    Hundreds of lawyers took to the streets of central London on Saturday to protest against the government’s proposed legal aid cuts. Under the banners of the Law Society’s ‘Sound off for justice’ campaign, Justice for All and Young Legal Aid Lawyers, they joined the TUC’s ...

  • News

    Police cuts force Tesco Law announcement

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    Controversial amendments being considered to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill are aimed at giving interested businesses a role in front line policing. Supermarket giant Tesco is known to be among the credible companies actively looking to diversify into this area. ...

  • News

    QC appointment system outdated

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    I write with reference to the article ‘Excellence comes with experience’ by Lucy Scott-Moncrieff (see [2011] Gazette, 10 March, 10). Ms Scott-Moncrieff says that ‘the QC appointments system, both now and in the past, is intended to identify excellence in higher court advocacy, which excludes the ...

  • News

    Ombudsman under fire over ‘cautious’ approach to complaints publishing

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    The Legal Ombudsman was accused of having fallen for ‘spurious objections from the legal profession’ today as it revealed its plans for a ‘staged approach’ to publishing information about complaints against law firms. In the first part of a three-stage approach, LeO has immediately begun ...

  • News

    Businesses face ‘human rights audit’

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    Human rights lawyers could be called upon to audit big businesses for possible human rights abuses, if proposals submitted last week to the UN Human Rights Council are endorsed. A six-year UN-commissioned study on business and human rights has concluded that companies should regularly carry out ...

  • News

    Claims farmers ban on hold

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    A government proposal to ban ‘claims farmers’ from offering cash inducements and other benefits to the public has been put on hold, the Ministry of Justice confirmed this week. Responding to its consultation on the proposed ban, which was triggered by Lord Young of Graffham’s report ...

  • News

    Public law practitioners at ‘breaking point’

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    Public law solicitors are at ‘breaking point’ due to increased workloads and financial pressure, according to an authoritative report published this week. A study of how parents are represented in care proceedings, by academics at Bristol University’s school of law, found that solicitors acting for parents ...

  • News

    Businesses fear hike in employment claims

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    A survey by national firm Irwin Mitchell has revealed the extent to which businesses believe government plans to scrap the default retirement age (DRA) will cause a hike in employment claims against them. Some 57% of businesses said they thought the removal of the DRA would ...

  • News

    Civil Procedure

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    Extradition - Appeal notice - European Arrest Warrants - Time limits Kane v Spain: QBD (Admin) (Mr Justice Collins) 17 March 2011 The appellant (K) appealed against a decision of ...

  • News

    Civil Procedure

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    Charities - Conditional permission - Permission to appeal - Protective costs orders R (on the application of Medical Justice) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury MR, Lords Justices Hooper, Rimer): ...

  • News

    Complaints clinic: Legal Ombudsman

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    Effective communication and regular updates are key to managing clients’ expectations When I came into post a couple of years ago now, one thing was immediately clear to me. ...

  • News

    Clyde & Co fails to thwart partner’s tribunal hearing

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    A City firm has failed to stop a former partner from bringing sex and pregnancy discrimination claims to the Employment Tribunal by seeking to rely on an arbitration clause in its partnership agreement. Clyde & Co dismissed Krista Bates van Winkelhof in January. She then filed ...

  • News

    Coalition failing on law reform

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    I read with interest your Opinion highlighting the helter-skelter approach to law reform being pursued by the coalition, While the Con-Dems certainly appear keen to sell to public opinion their reforming credentials, their words do not match their deeds. That rancid chestnut – the ‘compensation culture’ ...

  • News

    Law Society of Scotland defers constitutional reform

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    A three-year project to modernise the constitution of the 10,500-strong Law Society of Scotland has run into difficulties, after solicitors failed to agree on the proposed changes. At the Edinburgh-based body’s annual meeting last Friday, a motion to rescind the current constitution won approval, with ...

  • News

    Snooze control

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    The justice secretary copped some stick for – allegedly – nodding off during chancellor George Osborne’s budget speech last week. But while Ed Miliband accused the lord chancellor of catching 40 winks, and Ladbrokes revealed it had paid out a four-figure sum to a customer ...

  • News

    Judges should be given the respect they deserve

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    by District Judge Paul Mildred, the new President of the Association of Her Majesty’s District Judges, Bournemouth Combined Court Centre It is time to bring back respect for the judiciary along with everyone else involved in public service.

  • News

    Jackson reforms ‘devastating’

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    The government’s plans to implement Lord Justice Jackson’s headline civil costs reforms are a ‘devastating attack on access to justice’, the Law Society warned on Tuesday. Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke confirmed this week that legislation will be introduced to implement Jackson’s reforms, which will force winning ...

  • News

    A royal ding-dong

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    While Obiter will be having a quiet word with the postman about the strange non-arrival of a Royal Wedding invite, there is some comfort in the knowledge that there is another exciting royal event – with plenty of bells – in 2012. Next year will ...

  • News

    At the end of the line: is the solicitors' profession full?

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    Since 1960, when 19,069 solicitors held practising certificates (PCs), the number of solicitors with PCs rose by 2,000 a year on average to 117,862 by the end of July 2010. This number increased every year for 50 years except for 1971 and 1983. ...

  • News

    Family Procedure Rules

    2011-03-31T00:00:00Z

    The new Family Procedure Rules come into effect on 6 April. They are a welcome step in consolidating the existing disparate set of rules. They provide a single set of rules for family proceedings whether in the High Court, county courts or magistrates’ courts. No ...