Headlines – Page 1259
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Right to a lawyer: UK’s wrecking proposal
The debate on the European Unions’s proposed directive on the right to a lawyer at all stages of criminal proceedings is hotting up. The Gazette covered the recent parliamentary motion tabled by the government where the justice secretary recommended that the UK opt out of the draft directive. The motion ...
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Barristers get green light to take ‘direct action’
The Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association believe it would be lawful for them to take direct action to protect members’ interests, it has emerged.
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Solicitors can take technology into police custody areas
Solicitors have been given permission to take mobile phones and laptop computers into police custody areas, under an agreement reached between the Law Society and Association of Chief Police Officers. New guidance adopted by all forces in England and Wales provides that: ‘Unless there is good ...
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Implementing Jackson - who’s making the decisions?
As the legislation to implement Lord Justice Jackson’s reforms of civil litigation costs negotiates its passage through parliament, work on the implementation of the changes continues apace. There have been rumblings from claimant lawyers that Jackson’s 10% increase in general damages - designed to compensate for ...
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New M&A support service for law firms launches
360 Legal Group, which has over 700 UK law firm members, has joined forces with legal recruiters Jepson Holt Consulting to launch new venture 360 Jepson Holt. The latter will offer what it claims to be the first comprehensive legal M&A support service, from pre-merger assessment ...
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Dowler family urges PM to halt ‘no win, no fee’ reforms
The family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler has written to David Cameron urging him to block ‘unjust and unfair’ civil justice reforms. In an open letter to the prime minister and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, the family said the reforms would ‘significantly weaken’ the ‘no ...
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Will the Dowlers make a difference?
Could this finally be the day that the government’s civil litigation costs reforms get the scrutiny they deserve? The letter sent by the family of Milly Dowler to prime minister David Cameron changes the picture completely. They claim that without the ‘no ...
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Legal issues arising from prisoners’ segregation
Several recent cases have considered the legality of segregating prisoners and the safeguards to be implemented to ensure that segregated prisoners’ rights are adequately protected and that the lawfulness of their segregation is properly reviewed. The challenges to the legality of the disciplinary or review procedures have served to clarify ...
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Immigration
Rules - Compatibility with human rights - Claimants appealing R (on the application of Syed) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; Patel v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Court of Appeal, Civil Division (Sir Anthony ...
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Sentencing
Imprisonment - Length of sentence R v X: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division (Lord Justice Pitchford, Mr Justice Wilkie, Mr Justice Holroyde): 6 September 2011 The Court of Appeal, ...
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Sentencing
Imprisonment - Length of sentence - Conspiracy to supply drugs R v Kotecha; R v Kotecha; R v Kakkad; R v Suvania: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division (Lord Justice Pitchford, Mr Justice Wilkie, Mr Justice Holroyde): 6 September 2011 ...
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Judicial appointments
Solicitors make first-rate judges. That is a bold statement, but it is one that Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) chair Christopher Stephens (pictured) stands by. He is ‘passionate’, he tells the Gazette, about seeing more solicitors securing a judicial role. The opportunities for solicitors are certainly there. ...
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Lawyers2you franchise launch highlights lack of marketing and client care skills
I am delighted that the recent story about the Lawyers2you franchise launch by Blakemores has sparked debate.
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Erring on fees
I am writing to shed some light on the current referral fee scheme, which Jack Straw appears to have adopted as his current specialism. There is one major misconception which appears to be the primary motivation fuelling Mr Straw’s outrage at the system. It is ...
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Train to nowhere
Andrew Sutherland is quite correct - and accurately describes my route into the profession.
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Sentencing
Imprisonment - Length of sentence - Conspiracy to supply Class A drug Attorney General's Reference (No 40 of 2011) R v Williams: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division (Lord Justice Pitchford, Mr Justice Tugendhat, Mr Justice Griffith Williams, judgment delivered ...
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Sentencing
Imprisonment - Length of sentence R v Johnson: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division: 8 September 2011 The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, allowed an appeal by the defendant against an ...