Headlines – Page 1355
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No escaping justice
When judges are in the news, it is normally because of some judicial pronouncement that has failed to find favour in certain quarters. So Obiter was stunned last week to learn of two judges thrust into the limelight because of a rather more animated set of events in the courtroom. ...
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Polishing the angels
When I tell people I am writing about organised crime down under, they often say ‘I didn’t know there was any’, writes James Morton. Oh, but there is. A big gangland war in Melbourne is coming to an end, mainly because there is only one man left standing. In the ...
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Damned statistics
Hard-pressed Obiter knows what it’s like to be busy-busy-busy, so has full sympathy for the Ministry of Justice’s 31 press office staff, none of whom quite had the time to spread news of the 2010 civil service staff survey results when they were made ‘public’ at the end of January. ...
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Giving a toss
Staff at Keelys in Lichfield will stop at nothing to get a mention in Obiter, even if it means dressing up as Snow White and the (three) dwarves and taking part in the annual Lichfield pancake race. Those lawyers have some flipping nerve.
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Grown-up debate on mediation
Mediation is not an alternative to litigation, though it has a place in the whole process. Mediators make all sorts of claims for mediation – that it is cheaper, quicker and better than litigation. Where is the research evidence for this? Collaborative ...
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Taking offence at the aggressive LSC
Solicitors who allege that their clients are suffering ‘aggressive enforcement’ by the Legal Services Commission’s debt collectors should refer to section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970. A person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed, they harass him with ...
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‘Head in the sand’ approach is costly
I find the Legal Services Commission’s assertions that defendants have been assessed as able to pay and that delays are caused by forms having to be returned disingenuous. Just because the LSC has assessed that defendants should contribute 90% of their income does not mean ...
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Solicitors warned about website clones
Lawyers are being warned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to keep a regular watch on their websites in order to foil 'cloning' criminals. With just minor changes to a solicitor’s website – such as an almost unnoticeable change of name or contact details – internet fraudsters ...
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New sentencing guidance for assault
The Sentencing Council has today published new guidance to judges and magistrates for assault offences. It aims to ensure a more consistent and proportionate approach to sentencing, with offenders receiving a sentence that reflects the harm they have caused to their victim and their culpability. ...
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Labour gains
Lamentable though it is that women are not remunerated equally with men in the legal profession, I fear the reason for the indefatigable ‘gender gap’ is one of nature and economics rather than any sinister motive.
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Making our voices heard on legal aid
As we await the government’s response to submissions received on its legal aid green paper, I would like to express my thanks to all of you who took the time to write to government to express your views on this important issue. I know that not ...
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Politicians need to stop showboating over Europe
Sir Alex Ferguson should stop complaining about referees: David Cameron should shut up about judges. Attacking them rarely pays dividends in the long run. Look at the fate of David Blunkett. The populist politician who took on Lord Woolf is pretty much forgotten. His onetime ...
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How chief constables' independence could be jeopardised
by Fraser Sampson, chief executive and solicitor at the West Yorkshire Police Authority In the exercise of their powers the police are answerable to the law and the law alone. So held Lord Denning in R v Metropolitan Police Commissioner, ex parte Blackburn. Since then the ...
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There are many reasons for wanting to join the legal profession
‘It is no part of my function to defend lawyers’ fees,’ Lord Neuberger said recently, ‘although, unless you pay lawyers properly, you won’t attract able people to the legal profession, and if you don’t attract able people to the legal profession, you will undermine the rule of law’.
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Legal aid cuts 'to hit 150,000 more'
The government has underestimated the number of people who will be denied legal aid funding because of its reforms by more than 150,000, according to research published today by campaign body the Legal Action Group. LAG said the government’s prediction that 502,000 people would lose access ...
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Magistrates fight planned court closures
The first two judicial review actions seeking to prevent magistrates’ court closures were issued last week, the Gazette has learned. The proceedings seek to challenge the planned closure of Sedgemoor Magistrates’ Court in Somerset and Barry Magistrates’ Court in the Vale of Glamorgan. ...
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Consumers want clarity over law firm charges
Consumers want to see charges that are easy to understand, and a ‘solicitor who remembers their name’ when they use a law firm, according to research commissioned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. A study based on interviews with 40 recent purchasers of legal services found that ...
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Motor insurers 'should reveal referral fee arrangements'
Motor insurers should publish on their websites the names of law firms with which they have referral fee arrangements, and indicate the level of fees paid, a House of Commons inquiry recommended last week. Policyholders should be sent this information with their insurance documents, and when ...
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Judge slashes success fee in Trafigura dispute
A senior costs judge has cut the £105m costs claimed by London firm Leigh Day & Co following its action against oil company Trafigura. In a preliminary judgment last month, Master Hurst reduced the success fee that the firm can claim under the conditional fee agreement ...
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High Court dismisses LSC bid to recoup £100,000
The High Court has dismissed an attempt by the Legal Services Commission to recover more than £100,000 of payments on account (PoA) to a barrister, ruling that the LSC’s delay of almost 20 years in starting the action was an abuse of process. The LSC had ...