Headlines – Page 1356
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Is trial by jury under pressure from judges?
Jury trials have been in the spotlight in the last few weeks, with two significant speeches by senior judges focusing on juries. The lord chief justice called for tough sanctions against jurors who surf the web to find information about defendants and witnesses in the case they are sitting on ...
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Court of Appeal dismisses US-style class action bid
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an attempt to bring a US-style class action against British Airways for participating in an airfreight price-fixing cartel, just nine days after the European Commission (EC) fined the airline more than €100m (£85m) for its role in the cartel and told claimants that they ...
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Law Society calls for greater focus on ethics in training
The Law Society has called for law degrees to include a greater focus on ethics and for a more robust system of ensuring the quality of institutions which provide legal education and training. This follows the joint review of legal services education and training announced ...
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Ralli motors ahead with new iPhone app
Manchester firm Ralli has launched an iPhone app to help people keep on the right side of the motoring laws. The ‘Don’t Drink – Don’t Drive - Keep your Licence’ app, which can be downloaded for free, has been designed to enable drivers to calculate whether ...
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Wigster comparison site signs up Shoosmiths’ consumer arm
The consumer services arm of national firm Shoosmiths has joined 125 firms that have signed up with legal price comparison website Wigster, which launched at the start of this month. Access Legal from Shoosmiths is the biggest firm to sign up to the comparison site ...
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Electoral process
Election rules – Freedom of expression – Proportionality Robert Elwyn James Watkins v Philip James Woolas EWHC 2702 (QB) DC (Mr Justice Teare, Mr Justice Griffith Williams): 5 November 2010 ...
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Real property
Landlord and tenant – Common parts – Caretaker’s flat – Leases Earl Cadogan & Anor v Panagopoulos & Anor [2010] EWCA Civ 1259: CA (Civ Div) (Sir Andrew Morritt (chancellor), Lords Justices Carnwath, Hughes): 11 November 2010 ...
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Suitability of personal protective equipment
I have previously written that ‘suitability’ under the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992 is a question of fact, but in terms of these regulations and their application in the context of health and safety, it must be interpreted in the widest sense. One has to look at the risk of ...
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Whitehall proposals ignore people who could fill civil legal aid void
The most common reaction to last week’s Ministry of Justice green paper on legal aid is shock. That shock is manifested among legal aid practitioners, clients and the groups that speak for clients.
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Right to seek redress under threat
The coming months provide a tremendous opportunity to argue for a system that respects and preserves access to justice for injured persons. The Consumer Justice Alliance is ready to engage with the government and make this argument loud and clear.
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Why Young is wrong on health and safety
Lord Young has resigned from his post as adviser to the prime minister following his ill-conceived statement that ‘the vast majority of people in the country today... have never had it so good ever since this... so-called recession started’. Of course, Lord Young has also ...
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Rule of law in the age of austerity
Toby Brown writes about the Access to Justice campaign concerning awareness of the recoverability of pro bono costs. This is a major advance in support of pro bono litigation. However, he failed to mention the biggest impediment to the initiation of much pro bono litigation, which is the threat of ...
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A fairer test for students
The online news item ‘Research reveals widening social divide in the profession’ stated that more than one in seven lawyers went to a private school, despite just one in 50 of the population receiving private education. This comes as no surprise.
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Call to reshape criminal justice system
by Dru Sharpling, HM Inspector of Constabulary There are swingeing budget reductions ahead for the network of agencies that make up the criminal justice system (CJS). By 2014/15 the Ministry of Justice budget will drop by 23% in real terms and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) funding ...
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QualitySolicitors take fight to big-brand competitors
The government’s legal aid proposals gave rise to a new traffic record for an item on the Gazette’s website. But that record didn’t last long, you might be surprised to learn.
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Lord chief justice fears new threats to jury trial
There must have been sighs of relief at the Ministry of Justice last week when officials realised that they would not be required to abolish trial by jury. The threat this time was not from the department’s grandly titled Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses. Louise Casey’s absurd demand this month ...
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Rain of terror
A new front has been opened in the ongoing battle between solicitors and overzealous court security staff. Not only are lawyers routinely having digital recording devices and telephones removed from their person – with the ‘Brixton Three’ even finding themselves arrested last month for storing dictation machines and memory sticks ...
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Class ceiling
Obiter was intrigued by a recent study on cuts to first-class travel, which are costing the legal profession a whopping £15,500 in lost productivity per employee per year, apparently.
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Have a gander
In Bury St Edmunds, local firm Gross & Co has graciously given up its front window to advertise this year’s Theatre Royal Christmas pantomime production of Mother Goose. The firm’s window displays have been catching the eye on Guildhall Street for many years, but Gross is particularly proud of this ...
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Stubble trouble
A group of men brandishing razor blades used to mean that someone was about to demand your wallet. But these days it merely signals the return of the month of ‘Movember’, when offices across the country are filled with comically moustachioed men growing facial hair in support of men’s health ...