Headlines – Page 1345
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Society welcomes amendment to solicitors’ insurance rules
The Law Society has welcomed the decision of the Solicitors Regulation Authority to amend its proposals on reform of the solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance (PII) market.
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Law firm develops divorce app
A North London family solicitor has launched an app designed to help divorcing or separating couples in England and Wales to save money on their legal fees. Peter Martin, head of family law at Finchley firm OGR Stock Denton, has devised the ‘Divorce?’ app to provide ...
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What do men and women solicitors really think about discrimination?
The Gazette’s recent survey about whether gender discrimination exists within the legal profession clearly struck a chord with many readers. Not only did we get a pretty good response rate, but also a huge number of detailed comments and opinions from those who participated. ...
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Immigration
Human rights - Duty of care - Compensatory damages Home Office v Mohammed and Ors: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Justices Sedley, Thomas, Hooper): 29 March 2011 The appellant Home Office ...
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Human rights
Damages - Penology and criminology - General damages R (on the application of Daniel Faulkner) v (1) Secretary of State for Justice (2) Parole Board: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Justices Sedley, Hooper, Wilson): 29 March 2011 ...
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Civil evidence
Expert evidence - Expert witnesses - Immunity from suit - Justification Paul Wynne Jones v Sue Kaney: SC (Justices of the Supreme Court: Lords Phillips (president), Hope (deputy president), Brown, Collins, Kerr, Dyson, Lady Hale): 30 March 2011 ...
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Principles of privilege
In R v Seaton [2010] EWCA Crim 1980, the Court of Appeal reviewed the law of legal professional privilege in the context of police station advice, and appears to have developed the law regarding the way in which ‘no comment’ interviews may be handled by advocates at trial. ...
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The practicalities of using judicial review
To many clients, judicial review provides the opportunity to seek redress for the subjectively perceived wrongdoing of a public authority. It is a perception replete with misunderstanding and contradiction. Most often the complaint is that a body charged with a responsibility to provide public service ...
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It is vital that law firms fully prepare for outcomes-focussed regulation
Thursday 6 October 2011 marks the start of a radical new approach to the way the SRA regulates solicitors and law firms. On this day, regulation becomes more flexible and less prescriptive with the introduction of outcomes-focused regulation (OFR). It ...
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Criminal service
I read with interest District Judge Mildred’s not unreasonable request that those who appear before the courts should show due respect to the judge and, presumably, the court as a whole. His comment was in relation to the family and civil courts, but the issues apply ...
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ILEX assurance
Your headline ‘Legal Services Board rebuffs Djanogly on ILEX rights’ does not reflect accurately the LSB’s position on this issue. It is correct that the LSB is currently considering ILEX’s application to extend the rights of legal executives to conduct litigation and appear in court. In ...
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A distinguished life
I write in connection with Jonathan Goldsmith’s article about the worsening persecution of lawyers around the world. Mr Goldsmith referred to ‘a striking photo’ on the cover of ‘Lawyers without rights’ of a Jewish lawyer ‘being publicly humiliated in the streets as early as April 1933’. ...
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US lawyers consult on ABS reforms
The American Bar Association (ABA) has taken a first step towards introducing alternative business structures in response to rule changes on this side of the Atlantic. A New York law firm’s decision to bring English barristers into its partnership via its City office has prompted the ...
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Gazette survey: work-based discrimination still rife, say women solicitors
A Gazette survey has highlighted the extent to which women solicitors feel unable to progress within the profession. The research also shows that a significant percentage of women believe they have personally been discriminated against during their legal career. The survey, completed ...
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Legal Services Commission cuts 100 jobs
The Legal Services Commission has made around 100 of its 1,500 staff, including some senior figures, redundant in a bid to cut costs, the ...
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Is the legal profession being unwittingly manoeuvred into establishing a de facto safety net?
Solicitors deserve to be congratulated for their role in the success of an initiative to boost the number of law schools offering free advice. It is testament to their commitment to access to justice for the poor. So why does one ...
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Firms ignoring ABS impact are 'sticking their heads in sand'
Most solicitors will ‘survive and prosper’ in the revolutionised legal services market, but those who ignore the likely impact of alternative business structures (ABSs) are ‘sticking their heads in the sand’. That was the stark warning from David Taylor, chair of the Law Society’s membership ...
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High Court challenge to court closures
The High Court is set to hear the first of four legal challenges to magistrates’ courts closures, the Gazette has learned. A challenge to the closure of Sittingbourne Magistrates’ Court has been listed in May, and the High Court in Wales will list a hearing for ...
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Future uncertain for Community Legal Advice Centres
The closure of Portsmouth Community Legal Advice Centre (CLAC) could signal the end of the one-stop-shop model once hailed as the ‘key’ to civil legal aid, solicitors have suggested. Portsmouth CLAC closed on 31 March, at the end of its three-year contract. The Legal Services Commission ...