All articles by James Dean – Page 5
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News
Are the law’s Judaeo-Christian roots withering?
Peter and Hazel Bull are two devout Christians who, until a judge told them otherwise, sought to run their Cornwall hotel on principles they perceived to befit their religion. Judge Andrew Rutherford ruled that, under new equality laws, their policy of not allowing unmarried partners to share double rooms directly ...
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Short sentences for young offenders ‘inefficient’
The chair of the government spending watchdog has criticised the use of short sentences for young offenders as being inefficient. At a Public Accounts Committee evidence session last week, Margaret Hodge said that the Youth Justice Board could ‘save a lot of money and get better ...
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Court rules in ‘landmark’ discrimination case
Two devout Christian hotel owners discriminated against two gay civil partners by refusing to let them share a double bed in their hotel, Bristol County Court ruled today. Judge Rutherford held that the owners, who had a policy of not allowing unmarried partners to share double ...
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SRA takes first steps in review of training and education
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has invited contractors to undertake its ‘fundamental’ review of the legal education and training system for lawyers in England and Wales. The SRA said that the review is designed ‘to ensure that the ethical standards and levels of competence of ...
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'Virtual’ visitor interrupts police interview
The security of the virtual court system has been called into question once again, after a video technician appeared on a virtual court monitor during a confidential police station consultation between a solicitor and his client and began talking to the pair, the Gazette has learned.
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EU contract law plea
The expert group tasked with advising the European Commission on EU-wide changes to contract law should have more input from English law practitioners, the Law Society said this week. Society chief executive Desmond Hudson expressed concern that the panel is currently made up primarily of academics ...
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'Boom-bust’ warning for top commercial firms
Top commercial law firms must become more flexible and less reactive to cope with the boom-bust pattern of global markets over the next 10 years, a report by consultants Jomati has suggested. Introducing variable rather than fixed costs, creating links with legal process outsourcers (LPOs), and ...
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MoJ favours ban on cash inducements
Claims farmers would be banned from offering cash inducements and other benefits to the public, under proposals put forward by the Ministry of Justice in a consultation paper. In a move to implement one of Lord Young of Graffham’s recommendations in his October report on the ...
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Thompsons presses for greater focus on rehabilitation
National personal injury firm Thompsons has called on government ministers to put rehabilitation for injury victims at the heart of its review of civil justice, after research into client attitudes showed overwhelming support for the benefits of rehabilitation. According to the firm, in a survey of ...
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News
Jones day to open three Saudi offices in 2011
US firm Jones Day will open three associate offices in Saudi Arabia this year, it announced today. An office in Riyadh has already been established, and further outposts in Jeddah and Al-Khobar will be set up later this year in association with Saudi firm Al Sulaim ...
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Corporate governance proposals ‘will dilute UK rules’, warns GC100 chair
A torrent of EU initiatives aimed at tightening up corporate governance risks ‘diluting’ robust UK rules and will be a major concern for senior in-house lawyers in 2011, the head of an influential group of general counsel has told the Gazette. John Davidson (pictured), chair of ...
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Students lured by City-style work
Prospective lawyers are most interested in pursuing careers in City-style law, figures from legal careers website All About Law seen exclusively by the Gazette have suggested. An analysis of the advice pages viewed by the 10,000 students registered on the site indicates a preference for corporate ...
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Bar Council calls for prohibition of referral fees
The Bar Council and the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) have today called for referral fees to be prohibited. In a joint statement sent to the Legal Services Board, which is in the process of deciding whether or not to ban referral fees, the two bodies say ...
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Ministry of Justice backs virtual courts scheme
Video technology will still play an important part in the courts system despite a report criticising the costs of the virtual courts pilot, the government has said. Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said in a statement that the report on a year-long pilot showed that virtual courts ...
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You must speak proper to work in the City
Clever, white, working-class men and women are being overlooked for top jobs in City law firms because they don’t quite ‘fit in’, according to research released yesterday. ‘Focusing on ethnicity enables law firms to boast excellent or, at the very least, improved diversity outcomes, despite the ...
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Age of criminal responsibility will not change, says government
The government will ‘hold firm’ on the age of criminal responsibility despite the findings of a recent critical parliamentary report on the matter, the House of Lords heard yesterday. Francis Hare, the Earl of Listowel, questioned justice minister Lord McNally over the All-Party Parliamentary Group for ...
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‘Irresponsible’ to roll out virtual courts after critical report, says Law Society
Virtual courts should not be rolled out nationally following a critical Ministry of Justice evaluation of a year-long pilot, the Law Society has said. The MoJ said yesterday that the pilot was successful in reducing the average time from charge to first hearing, failure to appear ...
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Firms reject candidates on the basis of their accents, research suggests
Top London law firms are hiring graduates with ‘smart’ accents and public school backgrounds because they think they are better for their image than working-class candidates, new research has suggested. Suitable white working-class applicants are being passed over for jobs in favour of middle-class graduates of ...
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Solicitors make errors in PII proposal forms
Solicitors continued to make errors in their professional indemnity insurance (PII) proposal forms this renewal period, according to a major broker. Illegible writing, unanswered questions, inaccurate fee breakdown between work types, and incomplete financial information continued to litter law firms’ proposals, according to Kim Swestun, associate ...
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MPs warned they will be ‘overloaded’ due to legal aid cuts
A group campaigning against the government’s legal aid cuts has sent Christmas cards to MPs warning them that they could be overwhelmed with constituents’ problems. Justice for All, a coalition of legal and advice agencies, politicians, trade unions, community groups and members of the public, said ...