All Law Gazette articles in Archive – Page 1532
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Crossley suspended for copyright infringement conduct
Solicitor Andrew Crossley was yesterday suspended from practising for two years and ordered to pay over £76,000 in costs in a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing arising from threats of court action against people accused of infringing copyright. The founder and sole principal at London ...
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No surrender on LASPO, says McNally
Peers from all parties were this week united in their opposition to the government’s planned legal aid reforms, but justice minister Lord McNally told the House of Lords he is ‘not waving a white handkerchief’ or making concessions. During the third day debating the Legal Aid, ...
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Pension reforms
From October 2012 all employers will be obligated to provide employees with a workplace pension - part of the government’s drive to ensure more people are prepared financially for their retirement. Much has been written about the pension reforms from an employment/business perspective, but far less has been said about ...
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ECHR backs whole-life sentences and cites article 6 on deportation
Three of Britain's most notorious murderers can be kept behind bars for the rest of their lives, judges at the European Court of Human Rights ruled yesterday. However, the court on the same day ruled that radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada cannot be returned to Jordan, ...
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Chancery Lane warns against move to limit jury trial
The Law Society president has defended the right to jury trial following reports that the government is considering removing some offences from the jurisdiction of the Crown court. Proposals to make low value theft offences triable only in the magistrates’ court are understood to be among ...
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Lib Dem votes on legal aid
The House of Lords is now debating amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill in the shadow of a government defeat on key proposals for welfare reform. While we are right to focus a lot of attention on the strength and ...
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Society intervenes in landmark PII case
The Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority have been granted leave to intervene in a case that could have a major impact on professional indemnity insurance for law firms.
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Joint enterprise law ‘unacceptable’, says justice committee
MPs have called for ‘immediate steps’ to reform the ‘complex’ and ‘confusing’ law on joint enterprise. The cross party Justice Committee says the doctrine is being applied ‘inconsistently’ and that legislation is needed to ensure justice for victims and defendants and to cut the high number ...
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Health and safety guru warns of political misuse
The architect of the government’s health and safety strategy has raised concerns that his report could be ‘misused’ for political purposes.
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QualitySolicitors recruits in run-up to £15m ad campaign
Law firm network QualitySolicitors has announced the recruitment of two senior executives as it prepares a multi-million-pound ‘John Lewis-style’ television advertising campaign. Lee Ellis, formerly head of commercial finance at retailer Halfords, has been appointed as finance director. Claire Smith (pictured), a former partner ...
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Bar applications up 18%
Applications for the Bar Professional Training Course have risen despite the continued fall in the number of pupillages, the bar’s annual report to the profession reveals. The annual Bar Barometer report, prepared by Dr Jennifer Sauboorah for the Bar Council and Bar Standards Board, shows there ...
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The usual suspects? (Victim of crime - part 2)
It had taken three months and 11 days to get there - a room in a police station looking at individual mugshots of nine villainous-looking young men on a flat screen computer. It was Friday 13 January 2012 and the moment of truth was upon us. ...
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Hungarian government forces 200 judges to retire
Judicial independence in Hungary is facing its biggest threat since the country’s 1989 revolution, following the government’s decision to force 200 judges into retirement and replace them with nominees of a single politically appointed individual. This development is one of several legislative changes introduced by prime ...
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HSBC's 43-strong conveyancing panel sets alarming precedent
by Jonathan Smithers, chair of the Law Society Conveyancing and Land Law Committee HSBC’s decision to create an unusually small mortgage lender panel of just 43 to serve the whole of the UK raises deep concerns for conveyancing solicitors and a wider issue for the public, ...
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Litigants in person could struggle to secure access to justice
The prospect of a huge increase in litigants fighting their cases themselves in the face of legal aid cutbacks has prompted dire warnings from judges, magistrates, practitioners and support groups about the impact this will have on access to justice. They also fear that HM Courts and Tribunals Service’s plans ...
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Law Society to launch Advocacy Section
The Law Society will next week launch a dedicated advocacy section to build a ‘community’ of solicitor-advocates to match the level of support barristers receive from the Inns of Court. The Advocacy Section will provide mentoring, training and networking opportunities at circuit and national level, the ...
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Judge slams quality of mental health advocacy
A judge has fiercely criticised the quality of advocacy in mental health review tribunals (MHRT) as calls intensify across the profession for the compulsory accreditation of practitioners appearing for mentally ill clients. The judiciary, regulators and bodies representing mental health lawyers are all calling for membership ...
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Court of Appeal orders retrial over Bevan Ashford ‘negligence’ case
A case concerning the standard of advice expected from a newly qualified solicitor in a brief, free, consultation with a distressed client is set for a retrial following an appeal court decision. In Padden v Bevan Ashford, the Court of Appeal overruled a trial judge’s ...
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ATE insurer enters solicitors PII market
A leading after-the-event insurer has confirmed it will enter the solicitors professional indemnity insurance market this year. Elite Insurance will open a book of £3m for smaller, niche firms it has worked with in the past.
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Local authority
Library - Public library - Duty of library authority R (on the application of Bailey and others) v Brent London Borough Council: Court of Appeal, Civil Division (Lord Justices Pill, Richards and Davis): 19 December 2011 ...