Headlines – Page 1463
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Justice comes at a price, you know
The Ministry of Justice, legal aid minister Lord Bach in particular, have made much over recent months of the importance of ensuring that vulnerable people affected by the recession have access to the legal advice and assistance they require.
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The EU and criminal law: less or more?
How far, and to what extent, should the EU involve itself in criminal law developments? The answer to this will depend on your attitude to the EU itself. We have heard the arguments raging in the media over the last week or two. For those who answer ‘less, less!’...
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Law firms face hefty fines for data losses
Law firms could face a £500,000 fine if they lose unencrypted laptops or data sticks containing personal information, under new proposals. A government consultation sets out new powers for the information commissioner to levy hefty fines on organisations that breach the Data Protection Act 1998. ...
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Junior lawyers commended for pro bono work
Four young lawyers were honoured for their services to pro bono work at the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) Pro Bono Awards last week. The annual awards, presented by Lord Phillips of Sudbury in a ceremony at Chancery Lane last Thursday, celebrate outstanding pro bono work done ...
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Rise in recruitment of junior lawyers
Recruitment of assistant solicitors has seen its first sustained increase since 2007, research has revealed, in a sign that the jobs market is improving. A study by legal recruiters Hughes-Castell showed that the number of vacancies for assistants rose over the second and third quarters of ...
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Trainees lawyers should serve some time in IT, too
I was amused by one of the reader comments on my last blog – that there is nothing wrong with carrying a second phone, as a ‘belt and braces’ approach to IT is a good thing. I have since been busy adding a second PC to each of my users ...
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Coroners reforms receive royal assent
The Bar Council and the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) have today welcomed changes made to the Coroners and Justice Bill, which received royal assent yesterday. The Ministry of Justice said the act will provide better protection for victims and witnesses during criminal investigations, more consistency in ...
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Lovells results show static revenues
Half-year revenues at City firm Lovells remained roughly static for the first half of the financial year, the firm reported today. Revenues stood at £259m for the six months to 31 October this year, down slightly from £260m for the same period in 2008/09. ...
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Dispute resolution: enforcing against a judgment debtor
All prudent dispute resolution lawyers are well aware that, despite having obtained a judgment in favour of a client, enforcing that judgment against a judgment debtor could potentially cause great problems.
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Civil procedure
Banking and finance – Costs - Disclosure Timothy Duncan Earles v Barclays Bank plc: QBD (Birmingham) (Judge Simon Brown QC): 8 October 2009 The claimant (E) claimed damages in respect ...
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Criminal procedure
Road traffic – Notices of intended prosecution – Postal service – Time limits Gidden v Chief Constable of Humberside: DC (Lord Justice Elias, Mr Justice Openshaw): 29 October 2009 The ...
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Yahoo! Europe’s general counsel Grainne Brankin
At a gathering of corporate counsel in Geneva earlier this year, Grainne Brankin gave a talk on ‘how to communicate in a crisis.’ This was probably because the general counsel at Yahoo! Europe’s new Swiss headquarters has experienced crisis first-hand.
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Why third-party interventions in the judicial process benefit democracy
by Roger Smithis director of law reform and human rights organisation JusticeAmnesty International did it in the Pinochet cases – with a somewhat unexpected result. The United Synagogue did it in the Jewish Free School case. Secretaries of state do it regularly; the attorney general occasionally. Justice does it about ...
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Wish you were here?
What do celebrities Diana Rigg and Judith Chalmers have in common, aside from being two former glamour pusses of the small screen who are now, shall we say, advancing in years? Answer: they have both had the recent pleasure of being photographed with our favourite outspoken personal injury lawyer, Kerry ...
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Linesman wanders offside
Obiter suspected that last week’s Heimlich manoeuvre expert Richard Taylor, who heroically stopped his client from choking during a posh dinner, would not be the only solicitor out there to have saved a client’s life. Paul Inns, partner at Powys firm Hanratty & ...
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Tickled pink
Obiter is somewhat lost for words on this one. Staff at Lichfield-based Keelys swapped their usual suits for a ‘wear it pink’ campaign in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. While the ladies pictured have made a bit of a half-hearted ...
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Last in the Kew
George 'Gideon' Osborne will have caught it in the neck from his spin doctors for a maladroit attempt to come across as a man of the people (‘we're all in this together’, don’t forget). The shadow chancellor argued that his school, St Paul's, is ‘incredibly liberal’ because ‘your mother could ...
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Security guards do a difficult job
Clive Booth wants to know why visitors to court are asked to open their own bags and take out items as part of security checks. This is HMCS policy and is common practice among many organisations.
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Clients are not units of production
I refer to the recent letter from Hugh Barrett of the Legal Services Commission (‘Access is the number-one priority’, [2009] Gazette, 29 October, 11).
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Supreme Courts appointments process - need for change?
Arrangements to fill the 12th seat on the Supreme Court bench should be well under way by now, with no more applications being accepted for the vacancy.