All articles by Jonathan Rayner – Page 30
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Landmark judgment on fixed-share partner rights
Fixed-share partners of law firms are not employees and cannot claim employment rights before a tribunal, the Court of Appeal has ruled. However the ruling, in a case brought by Martin Tiffin against southern England law firm Lester Aldridge (LA), applies only when fixed-share partners enjoy some of the ‘obligations ...
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Judicial watchdog probes Winehouse coroner case
The Office for Judicial Complaints is investigating the case of an assistant deputy coroner who was appointed by her senior coroner husband despite not having the minimum required experience.
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Euro patent court ‘ruinous for business’
As Britain, France and Germany haggle over which country should host a Europe-wide patent court, the professional body for UK intellectual property lawyers has warned that the proposed court would not be in the public interest - and could be ‘ruinous’ for business.
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Law Commission to tidy law on financial provision after break-up
The Law Commission is to bring ‘clarity and predictability’ to the law entitling married couples and civil partners to claim financial provision from one another upon divorce or dissolution of their partnership, it was announced this week. The commission said that it aims to review two ...
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Fury over ‘chaos’ in central civil claims processing
A ‘totally chaotic’ scheme to slash costs and processing times for civil claims has prompted around 100 individual complaints to the Law Society’s council member for civil litigation. The complaints concern Salford Business Centre (SBC), also known as the National Civil Business Centre, which is HM ...
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Compensation awards restored to solicitors
The body that pays compensation to victims of violent crime has backed down in the face of a judicial review challenge and restored its policy of paying awards directly to solicitors. In a related development, it is also to allow legal fees to be paid out ...
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Mirror wills invalidated by signature mix-up, appeal judges rule
A simple mix-up when a husband and wife signed mirror wills 13 years ago means they have no value in law, the Court of Appeal ruled today. The ruling disinherits the couple’s intended heir and has left lawyers calling for a more flexible approach to probate law. ...
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Firms warned over letters to Citizens Advice clients
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned firms that they could risk breaching the code of conduct by contacting individuals directly on behalf of clients if those individuals are represented by Citizens Advice.
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JLD gets the message out, forsooth
What’s in a name? / That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet (Romeo and Juliet). I’m getting all Shakespearian about names here because the moniker - the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) - defies easy definition. For starters, lots ...
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Fewer apply to study law
Applications to study law at UK universities and colleges have fallen sharply, figures released today show - but not as sharply as applications for university places overall.
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Lawyers divided on EU data rules
Proposed new data protection rules designed to cut red tape and save EU companies €2.3bn a year in administrative costs have met with a mixed reaction from UK lawyers. Under a directive due to be published this week some businesses would be liable to fines of ...
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Call for inquiry over church child abuse 'cover-up'
Child protection lawyers have called for a public inquiry into an alleged cover-up by churches of widespread sexual and physical abuse of children in England and Wales. In a letter to The Times last week, they claimed that the implementation of new ‘safeguarding’ policies has been ...
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UK ‘blocking’ EU human rights accession
The UK is blocking moves to close a ‘gaping hole’ in European human rights protection, it has been claimed on the day that prime minister David Cameron is to address the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. A joint statement issued by the Council of ...
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City solicitor jailed for perverting the course of justice
A former partner of City firm Macfarlanes who claimed he was the victim of a kidnap to avoid being arrested for drink driving was today sentenced to 12 months in prison. Francis Bridgeman, 43, from Wards Lane, Wadhurst, East Sussex, was found guilty of perverting the ...
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Judge slams quality of mental health advocacy
A judge has fiercely criticised the quality of advocacy in mental health review tribunals (MHRT) as calls intensify across the profession for the compulsory accreditation of practitioners appearing for mentally ill clients. The judiciary, regulators and bodies representing mental health lawyers are all calling for membership ...
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Hungarian government forces 200 judges to retire
Judicial independence in Hungary is facing its biggest threat since the country’s 1989 revolution, following the government’s decision to force 200 judges into retirement and replace them with nominees of a single politically appointed individual. This development is one of several legislative changes introduced by prime ...
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The usual suspects? (Victim of crime - part 2)
It had taken three months and 11 days to get there - a room in a police station looking at individual mugshots of nine villainous-looking young men on a flat screen computer. It was Friday 13 January 2012 and the moment of truth was upon us. ...
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ECHR backs whole-life sentences and cites article 6 on deportation
Three of Britain's most notorious murderers can be kept behind bars for the rest of their lives, judges at the European Court of Human Rights ruled yesterday. However, the court on the same day ruled that radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada cannot be returned to Jordan, ...
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Former equity partner brings claim to Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has begun hearing an age discrimination case brought by a former equity partner who claims his law firm acted unlawfully in making him retire aged 65. The hearing is expected to last three days from today and the ruling could have wide-ranging implications ...
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Solicitor jailed for money laundering
A solicitor has been jailed for 12 months for money laundering, perverting the course of justice and prejudicing a money laundering investigation. Nicholas Heywood, 45, of High Bank Lane, Bolton, was sentenced at Chester Crown Court (pictured) on 11 January for facilitating the laundering of money ...