All articles by Jonathan Goldsmith – Page 31
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Do we need a European Public Prosecutor?
It would be cowardly not to begin this week with comments on the reports that the UK government will opt out of the EU’s criminal justice measures. I stress at the outset that the views I give on this subject are mine, and not those of the organisation for which ...
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A compendium of legal news
It never rains but it pours. I go away for a week to the IBA conference in Dublin, and find on my return many developments of interest for solicitors.
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Making things happen: lawyers or poets?
A recurring theme of my time at the International Bar Association (IBA) meeting in Dublin last week was the relationship between law and literature. It is appropriate that this should occur in Ireland, with its significant contribution to the English language canon.
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Small claims: a typical European story
An interesting report was published last week on the website of ECC-Net, the network of European Consumer Centres set up to help EU consumers. The network provides advice on EU consumer rights and helps with disputes with traders in other EU countries. The report looks at how the European small ...
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Legal profession is finally getting to grips with technology
It surprises me that technology has taken so long to be a profound influence on the legal profession and its work. After all, we have been using mobile phones and email for over 20 years, and all the rest – iPads, smartphones, online selling – have followed in its wake. ...
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When human rights and clients’ rights conflict
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a fashionable concept. Big firms flaunt their CSR credentials, and no one knows whether it is a marketing strategy to make us buy their goods and services, or a serious attempt to promote a better society. It was only a matter of time before law ...
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Tips on appearing before the court of justice
I assume that all lawyers have memories of the first time that they appeared in court: tongue-tied, hot and cold flushes, mistaking the judge for the usher, standing in the wrong place, unbidden words emerging in a strange order, asking for an illegal remedy, leafing through the wrong file.
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A vote against culture wars
Two legal items were reported on the same day last week, which led me to fear that the UK is moving towards the culture wars that disfigure debate in the US.
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Crunch time for EU criminal lawyers
Last week, as the summer holidays drew to a close, I tried in vain to be funny. This week, I am back in my school uniform, hair brushed and in serious mode, because the EU is about to discuss an important piece of legislation - the right of access to ...
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Networking order
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is holding a conference on 27-28 September in London for regulators from around the world (well, chiefly from the common law world judging from the last programme I saw). It covers many important topics, with an A-list roster of speakers. Its goal is to share best ...
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Seeing the world through lawyers’ eyes
It is the middle of the summer, and nothing legal stirs, at least in my part of the wood. So I have been reflecting on some of the profundities implicit in the condition of being a lawyer. No matter the trade or profession, we all suffer ...
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Lawyers and the 1960s
I am in the US, and as I move around places to stay, I read whatever previous holidaymakers have left behind in our apartment. It makes for variety and unexpected choices. In our current accommodation, there is a book called Boom! by Tom Brokaw, which is described as ‘Voices of ...
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An earthquake in US legal education
If you are feeling miserable about lawyer problems in our jurisdiction, read this and put your feelings in perspective. Last week, I wrote about going to the American Bar Association’s (ABA) annual meeting to learn. Well, here comes the most important thing I discovered: the legal education system in the ...
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A very brief introduction to the Japanese legal profession
I have just come back from Kobe, Japan, where I attended a meeting with the Japanese and Chinese bars. This is an annual event in our calendar, and a beneficial one.
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Money laundering - at last, the evidence?
As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for. Something is about to happen that some have requested for a long time. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the inter-governmental body which takes the lead in the global fight against money laundering, and which is the inspiration behind ...
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Should everything in the EU be divisible by 27?
I see it as my role to give the positive side of the European project - of which there is much to say - and to berate the UK press, which abuses the EU thoughtlessly day after day. But I am sorry to report that I shall have to continue ...
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Patents - it’s not over after all
Those of you who are following the twists and turns of the European patent saga should know that the fat lady has not yet sung. The Gazette wisely said in their recent article that the saga ‘appears to have been settled’. But appearances are known to be deceptive, and the ...
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Lawyers' paradise directive
There are around one million lawyers in Europe. If they all lived together in a single country, it would be more populous than three other EU member states (Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta). And of course the country’s name would be Paradise. I understand that the European Commission is ready to ...
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New technology forces legal profession into uncharted territory
Cloud computing is a form of outsourcing. There is legal process outsourcing where, classically, a large law firm sends some legal work to India where it will be undertaken more cheaply. And there is non-legal outsourcing – such as cloud computing – where a back-office function, such as file storage, ...